African Islam: A Trans-Saharan View of Art and Culture

Pillsbury Auditorium

Lecturer: Rene Bravmann

Islam and Africa: each has made a remarkable contribution to the other. Rene Bravmann will examine the creative interactions between this universal faith and local African cultures across the Sahara Desert in both North and West Africa. He will first examine the impact of Islamic belief and writings upon 19th-century Asante kings and courtly culture south of the Sahara in present-day Ghana, and then will travel northward to Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia to investigate the blending of Islamic faith and Sudanic modes of addressing the spirit world among descendants of west African slaves.

Emeritus professor of art history at the University of Washington, Seattle, Bravmann is the author of many books on the sculpture of West Africa and the mobility of ideas and art across the continent.

$10; $5 for MIA members; free for members of the African Art Affinity Group. To reserve tickets, call (612) 870-6323 or reserve tickets online »

more »

Dancing with the Divine: Arts of India, Tibet and South East Asia

Discover why Shiva dances, the Buddha meditates, and Mahavira gives away all his possessions. Examine how Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain artists create art in the service of worship and devotion to their gods.

more »

China Art Cart

more »

South and Southeast Asia Art Cart

more »

Highlights of World Art 1600-1850

more »

On Dragons' Wings: Arts of China

See how dragons and guardian spirits reflect ancient traditions and beliefs, how artists delight in the beauty of mountains and mist, and how Chinese scholars spend their days in pursuits both serious and whimsical.

more »

Photography Art Cart

more »

Living Arts of Africa

Discover objects for daily use and regalia fit for a king from the diverse continent of Africa. Learn about masquerade and divination, as well as customs for settling disputes and initiating young men and women into the community.

more »

More Real? Art in the Age of Truthiness

Ending Soon!

Thursday, March 21, 2013—Sunday, June 9, 2013
Target Gallery (admission charged)
Ticketed Exhibition (FREE for members!)

more »