DYNAMIC DIMENSIONS:
LAYERED MEANINGS IN AFRICAN ART

Buchanan Hall Atrium Gallery
April 1 – April 29, 2019

Dynamic Dimensions: Layered Meanings in African Art is an exhibition curated by Mason Art History students of African artifacts and artworks from the George Mason University permanent collection. Led by African art historian Dr. LaNitra Berger, students participating in ARTH495/599 Objects and Archives in Art History: Curating an Exhibit, spent two months using the Fine Arts Gallery as a laboratory in which to discover the essentials of researching and curating an exhibition. This project culminated in an intellectual exploration focused on the roles, functions, and meanings of pieces in the Mason African artifacts/artworks collection and furthered greatly needed scholarly research.

Students learned about provenance, original functionality, and the formal features of African art, in addition to valuable technical skills needed to put together an art exhibition. These skills ranged from research, to the writing techniques needed to produce wall labels, and how to solve issues of properly hanging objects and images in a gallery space.