African Art

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 13 May 2026

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 13 May 2026

Ancient Egypt

The Bust of Nefertiti: Ancient Masterpiece or Genius Hoax?

On December 6, 1912, a team of excavators led by Ludwig Borchardt, unearthed a wonderful work of art in Egypt. They found the bust of the Egyptian...

Montaine Dumont 13 May 2026

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 10 May 2026

Artist Stories

Faces of Mozambique: How Malangatana Reflected His Native Culture in Art

One of the most prominent African artists of the 20th century, Malangatana was a multitalented artist who had many dreams. He realized them with his...

Merve Parla 15 April 2026

Pectoral with Isis, ca. 538 to 519 BCE, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA. Nubian gold Ancient Egypt

All The Glitters: Gold of Nubia

The ancient African civilization of Nubia thrived along the banks of the Nile, encompassing present-day Sudan and southern Egypt. Nubia gained renown...

Maya M. Tola 25 February 2026

Colonial looting. Jimoh Ganiyu, Double Standard, 2010. Resist! African Art

Colonial Looting of African Art: A Century in Exile

Have you ever wondered how European modern artists were inspired by African art? They certainly didn’t travel to the continent. The answer is...

Jimena Escoto 25 February 2026

Theater & Cinema

Djibril Diop Mambéty—The Poet of African Cinema

“It is good for the future of cinema that Africa exists.” Born on January 23, 1945, in Colobane, a small town south-west of Dakar, Djibril Diop...

Montaine Dumont 25 February 2026

Benin art African Art

Art Treasures from the African Kingdom of Benin

Today we’ll go back in time to the 1500s when the wealth of the Benin Empire (in contemporary Nigeria) was at its peak: when Europeans traded with...

Magda Michalska 25 February 2026

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 19 February 2026

African Art

Colonial Looting of African Art

Have you ever wondered how European modern artists were inspired by African art? They certainly didn’t travel to the continent. The answer is...

Jimena Escoto 15 February 2026

Museum Stories

7 Things You Must See at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM)

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Cairo, Egypt, which opened its doors on November 4, 2025, represents one of the most significant milestones in the...

Maya M. Tola 12 February 2026