Artists' Books and Africa

Since artists’ books are not normally associated with African art, our goal in this exhibition is to introduce the genre and survey its “African” manifestations. Opens September 16, 2015 at the National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC. 

Since artists’ books are not normally associated with African art, our goal in this exhibition is to introduce the genre and survey its “African” manifestations.  The featured books are from the Smithsonian Libraries’ Warren M. Robbins Library at the National Museum of African Art and the National Museum of African Art collection.  They offer the full span from illustrated nineteenth-century atlas folios to livres d’artistes to twentieth-first century artists’ books.

In accord with the Smithsonian’s mission of “valuing world cultures,” this exhibition presents Africa in books of artistry and imagination.  The forms and structures of these artists’ books blend with a stunning range of African themes explored by both African and international artists.

Learn more about Artists' Books at the Smithsonian on our Smithsonian Libraries Artists' Books Collection webpage.