Press

The Art of African Women: Empowering Traditions, a major exhibition that presents an unprecedented survey of African artistic traditions passed down from mothers to daughters for centuries, will open Friday, October 8th in the New York State Museum's West Gallery.

The exhibition, which will be at the Museum through February 27th, features more than 140 photographs by internationally acclaimed Namibian-born photojournalist Margaret Courtney-Clarke. The photographs are complemented by dozens of objects - pottery, textiles, beadwork and other decorative arts - some of which have been photographed with their creators.

Captured during her 20-year quest to document traditions in the South, West and North Africa, the images in the exhibition pay homage to the beauty African women have created in their lives despite social, political and economic upheavals. Courtney-Clarke, who was born and raised in Namibia, introduced this body of work in her award-winning books - Ndebele, African Canvas and Imazighen: The Vanishing Traditions of Berber Women. Her books have been translated into French, German, Italian and Dutch and have generated worldwide interest in these vanishing arts.

She also co-authored a series of juvenile books with Maya Angelou in 1994. In 1999 she released Maya Angelou: The Poetry of Living, a tribute, comprised of revealing photographs and interviews of the poet laureate and friend.

The exhibition surveys traditional interior and exterior housing design, pottery, weaving and other decorative arts. It includes three components -- an introduction to African women and their art forms, a section exploring the various motifs that appear in their work and a children's component, African Kids, designed to expose young people to traditional art forms and introduce them to the children from the South, West and North.

In recent years, Courtney-Clarke has devoted her time to the Ndebele Foundation, fundraising,
building a Cultural Centre for Women and Children in South Africa and teaching the art of African women to the next generation.

A free teacher workshop is offered by the State Museum on Thursday, October 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. The workshop includes an exhibition tour, resource materials and a related art activity. Reservations are required and may be made through the Capital Region Center for Arts in Education at (518) 442-4240.

Also in connection with this exhibition, ICM Artists, LTD will present Sweet Honey in the Rock in Concert Friday, October 29th at 8 p.m. Courtney-Clarke is expected to appear at a pre-concert reception, which begins at 6 p.m., to celebrate the opening of the exhibition. The reception is for Museum members and advance ticket holders for the concert. Further information is available at (518) 408-1033.

Other programs, planned to complement the exhibition, include the African Drum Making Workshop Saturday, November 6th and Saturday, November 13th and the Henna Workshop on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2005. To register and obtain additional information on these programs call (518) 473-7154.

The Art of African Women exhibition is organized by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library. The New York State Museum expresses its gratitude to Capital District Physicians' Health Plan and the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center for their support of this exhibition and associated programming.

The State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Started in 1836, the museum has the nation's longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey. The museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Further information is available by calling 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

The New York State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week throughout the year except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.