Augustus (Gus) Casely-Hayford, Ph.D. has been named the Director of The National Museum of African Art (NMAA). The acclaimed curator and cultural historian is known for his impressive combination of knowledge, experience, communication skills and passion to the Museum. Born in London, he was educated at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, where he received his doctorate in African history. Casely-Hayford succeeds Johnnetta Betsch Cole, who served as director of the NMAA from March 2009 through March 2017.
Image below: Gus Casely-Hayford, Ph.D. - Photograph by Jaimie Gramston
The National Museum of African Art opened a new permanent exhibition titled Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa's Arts on November 4.The installation features over 300 works of art and comprises the largest long-term presentation of the Museum’s permanent collection to date. Visionary is “the museum’s first exhibition to offer broad thematic connections between works from across the spectrum of times, places, and media represented in the museum’s holdings.”
The National Museum of African Art is exhibiting Jim Chuchu's Invocations, thru June 24, 2018. The museum is the first institution to acquire and display the Kenyan multimedia artist's suite of video projections: Invocation: The Severance of Ties (2015)and Invocation: Release (2015).”
The exhibition is curated by Karen E. Milbourne. The two distinct videos loop in succession and follow the structure of initiation ritual.
The Museum of African Art is exhibiting Artists' Books and Africa for an indefinite period. The exhibition is the first to focus on African artists' books from the Smithsonian Libraries’ Warren M. Robbins Library and the National Museum of African Art.
