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The Africa Center

Coordinates:40°47′47″N73°56′57″W/ 40.79639°N 73.94917°W/40.79639; -73.94917
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This article is about The Africa Center in New York City. For the African art museum in Washington, D.C., seeNational Museum of African Art.
The Africa Center
Museum entrance on Fifth Avenue
Map
Former names
Center for African Art
Museum for African Art
EstablishedSeptember 1984(1984-09)
Location1280Fifth Avenue
New York,NY10029
U.S.
Coordinates40°47′47″N73°56′57″W/ 40.79639°N 73.94917°W/40.79639; -73.94917
Public transit accessNew York City Subway: New York City Bus:M1,M2,M3,M4,M106buses
Websitewww.theafricacenter.org

TheAfrica Center,formerly known as theMuseum for African Artand before that as theCenter for African Art,is a museum located atFifth Avenueand110th StreetinEast Harlem,Manhattan,New York City,near the northern end of Fifth Avenue'sMuseum Mile.Founded in 1984, the museum is "dedicated to increasing public understanding and appreciation ofAfrican artand culture. "The Museum is also well known for its publiceducationprograms that help raise awareness ofAfricanculture, and also operates a unique store selling authentic handmade Africancrafts.[1]

The Museum has organized nearly 60 critically acclaimed exhibitions and traveled these to almost 140 venues nationally and internationally, including 15 other countries. Forty of these exhibitions are accompanied by scholarly catalogues.

History[edit]

Holland Cotterwrote in 2010 about what is now the Africa Center, "In the 1980s and '90s it revolutionized the way art, any art, could be exhibited. No one else has fully picked up that challenge since. Maybe the museum itself, under wraps the last few years, can do so again."[2]

1984–1993: Early years[edit]

What is now the Africa Center was opened as the Center for African Art in September 1984 by its founding director,Susan Mullin Vogel,who had previously worked as Associate Curator in the "Department of Primitive Art" at theMetropolitan Museum of Art.The center's original location was on theUpper East SideofManhattan,in "a pair of converted town houses at 54 East 68th Street."[3][4]As director, Vogel curated and organized ground-breaking exhibitions which put into question ways in which African art is presented to Western audiences, and how museum practices structure knowledge for the public. The most well-known of these exhibitions are "Art/Artifact: African Art in Anthropology Collections" in 1988, "Exhibition-ism:Museums and African Art "in 1994, and" Africa Explores: 20th-Century African Art "in 1991. Based largely on Vogel's earlier exhibitions,Roberta Smithwrote inThe New York Timesin 1989 that the 1980s "may also come to be seen as the beginning of the golden age of African art exhibitions."[5]

1993–2002: SoHo[edit]

In February 1993, the institution changed its name to the Museum for African Art and moved to a three-times larger space at 593 Broadway inSoho,that was designed by the architect and artistMaya Linand described by New York Times architecture criticHerbert Muschampas "a flowing sequence of galleries, unfolding on two floors," in which Lin "uses subtle gradations of color to suggest a passage through time as well as space."[6][7]After founding director Vogel was named director of theYale University Art Galleryin 1994, Grace C. Stanislaus was named as executive director in February 1995.[8]Elsie McCabe (later Elsie McCabe Thompson) led the institution from 1997 until she resigned in 2012. When McCabe took over, she "set her sights on moving the tiny museum and collection" from Soho to uptown Manhattan, saying (ironically given that she moved the museum to its third and fourth locations), "A museum is very much an edifice, and you can't attract a loyal and dedicated audience if you're constantly on the move."[9]

2002–2006: Long Island City[edit]

In September 2002, the museum moved to its third location, at 36–01 43rd Avenue, third floor, inLong Island City,Queens,intended as "an interim home before a permanent move to 110th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan," a site that in 2002 was expected to be ready "within four years or so."[10][11]In 2005, the museum was among 406 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from theCarnegie Corporation,which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayorMichael Bloomberg.[12][13]The Museum closed its public gallery in Queens in 2006, and in 2013 the board changed its name to the New Africa Center, which later became the Africa Center, and changed its intended purpose from art museum to "a clearinghouse and public policy institute for all things Africa."[14]After several years of delayed openings,[1]and the realization that the initial goal of a museum on Fifth Avenue was not sustainable,[15]the decision was made to broaden the project's scope, and push back the opening to 2015. The new building would be on Museum Mile at the corner ofFifth Avenueand East110th StreetinEast Harlem,Manhattan.[16]

2006–present: Museum Mile[edit]

The new location, in a building designed by architectRobert A.M. Stern,is the first museum building built on New York's Museum Mile since the completion of the Guggenheim in 1959. It was to serve as a cultural center, modeling itself after theAsia Societyand other similar organizations. The new building's aim was to make the museum accessible to a wide range of people from the world over, thus solidifying the museum's presence as one of the most challenging and diverse art institutions in the U.S.[17]The new building would encompass approximately 90,000 square feet (8,400 m2) with 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2) of exhibition space, as well as a theater, education center, library, classrooms, event space, restaurant and gift shop. The growth into the cultural center was spearheaded by, CEOUzodinma Iwealaand board membersChelsea Clinton,Halima Dangote,andHadeel Ibrahimdaughter ofMo Ibrahim.[1]

While the outer-shell of the building was completed in 2010, critical interior build-out and occupation was delayed by stalled fundraising efforts and leadership transitions.[18]In 2015, the Africa Center hiredMichelle D. Gavin,formerUnited States Ambassador to Botswanaand an expert on Africa, as its managing director.[9]Gavin left in late 2016.[19]In the interim, the Africa Center was to present pop up events in its new space until the building is completed.[15][20]In February 2019, Terenga, a West African fast-casual restaurant, opened in the Africa Center space.[21]

The Africa Center also hosts a Shared StudiosPortal,which connects the center live and in real-time to communities around the world. The majority of their Portal connections are to sites on the African continent.[22]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcMaloney, Jennifer (September 27, 2013)."New Africa Center's Journey in N.Y."The Wall Street Journal.RetrievedOctober 5,2013.
  2. ^Cotter, Holland (September 9, 2010)."Globetrotting While Staying Close to Home".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 27,2021.
  3. ^McGill, Douglas C. (September 18, 1984)."Center Devoted to African Art Opens".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 27,2021.
  4. ^Glueck, Grace (November 3, 1985)."Old-Country Pleasures; Center for African Art".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 27,2021.
  5. ^Smith, Roberta (July 16, 1989)."ART VIEW; Balancing African Anthropology and Art".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 27,2021.
  6. ^Reif, Rita (February 7, 1993)."ARTS/ARTIFACTS; For African Art Treasures, A Place to Spread Out".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 27,2021.
  7. ^Muschamp, Herbert (February 12, 1993)."Review/Architecture; Crossing Cultural Boundaries".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 27,2021.
  8. ^"New Director for African-Art Museum".The New York Times.February 4, 1995.RetrievedFebruary 27,2021.
  9. ^abManly, Lorne (March 18, 2015)."Africa Center Post Gives Michelle D. Gavin a Chance to Show Diplomatic Skills".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 27,2021.
  10. ^"COMING ATTRACTIONS; Eakins, Warhol, African Art and a Bus Ride to Long Island City".The New York Times.April 24, 2002.RetrievedFebruary 27,2021.
  11. ^Cotter, Holland (September 20, 2002)."ART REVIEW; The Face (And Soul) Of Africa".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 27,2021.
  12. ^Roberts, Sam (July 6, 2005)."City Groups Get Bloomberg Gift of $20 Million".The New York Times.RetrievedAugust 20,2011.
  13. ^"Carnegie Corporation of New York Announces Twenty Million Dollars in New York City Grants"(Press release). Carnegie Corporation of New York. July 5, 2005. Archived fromthe originalon May 11, 2008.
  14. ^Cohen, Patricia (August 23, 2013)."Museum for African Art Broadens Its Mandate".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 27,2021.
  15. ^abMaloney, Jennifer (August 22, 2013)."Museum for African Art Pivots Toward Policy".The Wall Street Journal.RetrievedOctober 5,2013.
  16. ^"Mayor Bloomberg Announces New Home for the Museum for African Art".NYC EDC. February 8, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon July 25, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 28,2021.
  17. ^Chan, Sewell (February 9, 2007)."Museum for African Art Finds Its Place".The New York Times.RetrievedAugust 20,2011.
  18. ^Moynihan, Colin (March 24, 2017)."Africa Center Looks to Close Fund-Raising Gap, and Open Its Doors".The New York Times.RetrievedApril 4,2019.
  19. ^Moynihan, Colin (February 8, 2017)."Loss of Director Is the Latest Setback for the Africa Center"– via NYTimes.
  20. ^Maloney, Jennifer (September 26, 2013)."New Africa Center Sets 2014 Opening Date".The Wall Street Journal.RetrievedOctober 5,2013.
  21. ^Upadhyaya, Kayla Kumari (February 4, 2019)."West African Fine Dining Chef Returns to NYC With a Hip Harlem Restaurant".Eater NY.RetrievedApril 4,2019.
  22. ^Pitcher, Laura (May 13, 2019)."Step Inside These 'Portals' to Connect with Diverse Communities Around the World".VICE.

External links[edit]

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