African Art

Photography

Through the Lens of Activism: Zanele Muholi in 5 Photographs

Zanele Muholi is not only one of South Africa’s most celebrated contemporary artists but also a leading voice in the global conversation around...

Carlotta Mazzoli 12 June 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Queen Mother Idia of Benin

Africa is a beautiful continent filled with sweeping landscapes and mighty rivers. Its history is filled with great kingdoms and large empires. Its...

James W Singer 11 May 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Saint Anne

To the south of Egypt is the mysterious land of Nubia. It has a complex history due to the different states and religions that have occupied the...

James W Singer 27 April 2025

Lalibela rock-hewn churches cover African Art

Medieval Christian Monoliths: The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia

The highlands of northern Ethiopia contain eleven fascinating and unique churches. The so-called rock-hewn churches of Lalibela were carved directly...

Alexandra Kiely 18 April 2025

Review

Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica at the Art Institute of Chicago

The verb “to project” has a variety of meanings. It can allude to planning a project, presenting an idea, or promoting a concept. The exhibition...

Aniela Rybak-Vaganay 20 February 2025

News

5 Artists from the MACAAL Collection: Celebrating Africa’s Artistic Diversity

Set to reopen on February 2, the MACAAL museum in Marrakech, Morocco is a cultural hub championing African and African diasporic creativity. Here we...

Carlotta Mazzoli 30 January 2025

Contemporary Art

5 Works to Get to Know Christelle Oyiri—Tate’s New Infinities Commission

Christelle Oyiri, also known as Crystallmess, is a French interdisciplinary artist, DJ, and music producer of mixed heritage—Ivorian, Guadeloupean,...

Seoyoung (Alyssa) Kim 2 January 2025

Tutankhamun Ancient Egypt

Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun: Over 100 Years Later

The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun was a landmark event in the study of history and archeology that captivated the world. The life, death, and...

Maya M. Tola 10 December 2024

Ancient Egypt

Akhenaten: Artistic Development in the Amarna Period

Amenhotep IV, widely recognized as the notorious Akhenaten, was the enigmatic “heretic” pharaoh who ruled during the Eighteenth Dynasty.

Maya M. Tola 10 December 2024

Broad collar of Senebtisi, ca. 1850–1775 BCE, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA. Ancient Egypt

All That Glitters: Gold Jewelry in Ancient Egypt

Personal ornaments were favored by ancient Egyptians from the Predynastic to the late Roman periods, and most of them wore some type of jewelry. The...

Maya M. Tola 10 December 2024

Ancient Egypt

The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut in Egypt

Hatshepsut (c. 1507-1458 B.C.E.) was the fifth pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty and arguably the most important among ancient Egypt’s many female...

Maya M. Tola 10 December 2024

Contemporary Art

Meet Lina Iris Viktor and Her Gilded African Queens

Lina Iris Viktor (b. 1987) is a Liberian-British multidisciplinary artist. She lives and works in Italy, maintaining a limited presence on social...

Errika Gerakiti 20 November 2024