African Modernism | Taft Museum of Art

African Modernism in America

February 10–May 19, 2024 | Fifth Third Gallery

African Modernism in America features nearly 80 dynamic and vivid works of art created in Africa during the 1950s and ’60s. Co-organized by the American Federation of Arts and Fisk University Galleries, the exhibition explores the relationships formed between African artists and American patrons, artists, and cultural organizations amid the interlocking histories of civil rights, decolonization, and the Cold War. Many of the paintings, sculptures, and works on paper in the show were drawn from Fisk’s remarkable collection of gifts from the Harmon Foundation. Following World War II, this foundation, along with other institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Fisk University, and other historically Black colleges and universities, supported and exhibited the work of Black artists, including the important modern African artists Ben Enwonwu (Nigeria), Ibrahim El-Salahi (Sudan), and Skunder Boghossian (Ethiopia). Showing African art in the United States rooted it in the present and encouraged American audiences to engage with African artists as contemporaries. The inventive nature of the works in this exhibition challenges the assumptions of the time about African art being isolated to a “primitive past.” Some pieces took inspiration from early Christian art, West African sculpture, and Nigerian literature, while others reflect the influences of American jazz and modern European art.

Experience the Exhibition

Enjoy special tours, behind-the-scenes insights, and more during this unique exhibition!

Ibrahim El-Salahi (Sudanese, born 1930), Vision of the Tomb, detail, 1965, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 in. Collection of The Africa Center, New York, 2008.2.1, Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson, © Ibrahim El-Salahi, All rights reserved, ARS, NY 2022, Courtesy Vigo Gallery and American Federation of Arts

Frame|Work Blog

5 Must-See Works in African Modernism in America

On a time crunch? Here are five must-see works in our special exhibition African Modernism in America, on view February 9–May 19, 2024.

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Ndidi Dike Designing The Politics of Selection at Fisk University, January 2022. Photograph by Perrin Lathrop

Frame|Work Blog

Shaping African Modernism: The Presence and Absence of Women Artists

The Taft Museum of Art is pleased to present African Modernism in America, an exhibition organized by Fisk University Galleries and the American Federation of Arts. One of the highlights in the show is a photocollage by contemporary artist Ndidi Dike (right). This powerful work investigates the women who explored modernism in Africa and shaped its narratives.