African art is a vibrant and diverse expression of culture, history, and creativity. From local galleries showcasing emerging Black artists to national museums preserving historical artifacts, there are numerous avenues to explore the richness of African artistic heritage. This article delves into the world of African art, highlighting galleries in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the esteemed National Museum of African Art, while also addressing the complex concept of authenticity in African art.
Exploring Black-Owned Galleries in Charlotte
Are you looking to visit black-owned galleries in Charlotte? You can make a day of it to purchase Black art, learn about Black artists, and experience Charlotte’s expanding Black arts scene. Start with these galleries located across the Charlotte Metropolitan from University City to Uptown! In addition to showcasing beautiful artwork, each gallery represents a Black perspective and inspiration.
Real African Art Gallery
Located in a shopping center in University City, Real African Art is a tribute to the Zimbabwean and African artists in Charlotte. The gallery honors the hardworking spirit of Zimbabwe and other African nations. The gallery owner Calstain Ganda also dedicates the gallery to his mother. When you walk into the gallery, you feel the connection between home, community, and creativity. The work for display and sale mainly includes fine-art sculptures and paintings inspired by nature and tradition.
Nine Eighteen Nine Studio Gallery
Owned by Joanne Rogers, Nine Eighteen Nine Studio Gallery highlights emerging Black artists, with exhibitions including photography, paintings, and sculptures. When visiting the studio gallery, the space will likely feature emerging artists - particularly artists of color. And the work on display shares a collective message for the community about life, culture, and the artistic experience. Visit Nine Eighteen Nine Studio Gallery at Charlotte’s Visual and Performing Arts Center on 700 N. They offer workshops, exhibitions, discussions - even yoga and mediations. The space is in the University area, right off the rail trail.
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BLKMRKTCLT
BLKMRKTCLT lives as a creative, collaborative studio and gallery for photographers and artists of color. Owned by the local artists and DJ, Dammit Wesley, the gallery hosts exhibitions, pop-ups, events, and workshops. It’s a vibe for sure - giving homage to Black culture at Charlotte’s Camp North End. Purchase merch or meet one of the in-house well-known artists including Carla Lopez, Sir Will, or Carey J.
Black artists share culture and history through murals across Charlotte
The Question of Authenticity in African Art
What makes African art “authentic”? How do we know when an object is the real thing and not a fake? For decades, there has been a consensus around authenticity for African art: a genuine object is one that was made by a “traditional” artist for a “traditional” use and was used to fulfill its intended purpose. Is this understanding of authenticity anything more than a spurious and imposed notion? Such a definition of real African art emerged from the demands and desires of anthropologists, dealers, auction houses, collectors, art historians, and museums. Many of the traits they seek, including originality and age, are of subsidiary relevance to the objects’ primary audiences.
The authentic piece is imagined to sustain residual ties to its users and makers, because it was once danced or kept in a shrine. Conferring authenticity on African art has long been a uniquely Euro-American preoccupation. Once an object that was spiritually or practically useful leaves its milieu, it enters other alien realms, including the market. An object that is viable as a commodity to sell, is accompanied by a parallel, entrepreneurial urge to fool through fakery.
GET REAL seeks to unpack our associations of truth with originality as they relate to Africa and the art world as a whole. Ithaca College’s collection of African art will be shown with key loans to explore the tensions that arise in the bestowal of authenticity by questioning the real vs the fake and/or the copy, at different moments in an object’s biography. We examine artworks from the perspective of African patrons and artists, anthropologists, dealers, collectors, artists, art historians, and museums.
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MoCADA: A Hub for Black Culture and Art
Stay current on all things MoCADA. MoCADA celebrates 25 years! Visit MoCADA Culture Lab II, our flagship gallery space in the L10 building just above the Plaza at 300 Ashland Place. Beginning June 20, 2025, MoCADA, in partnership with local small businesses, will offer sweet and savory bites, coffee, tea and other favorite drinks from across the African diaspora. Located right in the heart of Fort Greene, MoCADA Cafe is where culinary arts meets the visual arts, and the perfect venue to gather or work remotely. Ubuntu Garden was created as a safe haven where visitors can leave the concrete jungle behind to rest and recharge within our community green space. Visit us during open season. MoCADA will not be on Governors Island for the 2025 season.
The National Museum of African Art: A National Treasure
The National Museum of African Art is a leading institution dedicated to the collection, conservation, study, and exhibition of African art. Here are some of the exhibitions and installations currently on display:
- Happy 60th Birthday NMAfA!
- Tsedaye Makonnen-Sanctuary :: መቅደስ :: Mekdes: Tsedaye Makonnen is a Washington, D.C.-based Ethiopian American artist. Makonnen envisioned the central installation in this exhibition, Senait & Nahom | ሰናይት :: እና ::ናሆም | The Peacemaker & The Comforter, while she was an artist in residence for the National Museum of African Art as a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow. The sculptures are in dialogue with artworks from across the Horn of Africa’s history drawn from the museum’s collection, which the artist selected with curator Kevin D. Dumouchelle.
- Benin Bronzes: Ambassadors of the Oba / Bronces de Benín Embajadores Del Oba
- Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa’s Arts: Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa’s Arts, the National Museum of African Art’s most recent, large-scale presentation of its collection, is the first to offer broad thematic connections between artworks across the spectrum of time, place, and medium. Visionary aims to get visitors to look with fresh and focused insight and, in so doing, to see works of art-and each other-with new eyes.
- Currents: Water in African Art: Water is in all of us-to live, we need water to drink. Featuring artworks from the museum’s permanent collection, this exhibition proves that water is one of most potent forces on earth. Its currents flow through myths, metaphors, and rituals. Diverse and wide-ranging in material, time period, style, and intended use, the objects in this exhibition span the continent of Africa to explore the importance of water for both practical and artistic purposes.
- Wind Sculpture VII: Commissioned from internationally renowned artist Yinka Shonibare MBE, the installation of Wind Sculpture VIIat the entrance to our museum promises to mark a new landmark of public art on the National Mall. The ship-sail shapes of Shonibare’s Wind Sculpture series, painted to appear like his trademark wax-print cloth material, evoke cross-continental connections-in history, in trade, in politics, in ideas, and in contemporary art.
- Bruce Onobrakpeya: The Mask and the Cross
These exhibitions and installations provide a comprehensive look at the diverse artistic expressions of Africa, showcasing both historical and contemporary works.
| Name | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Real African Art Gallery | University City, Charlotte | Showcases Zimbabwean and African artists, focusing on sculptures and paintings inspired by nature and tradition. |
| Nine Eighteen Nine Studio Gallery | Charlotte’s Visual and Performing Arts Center | Highlights emerging Black artists with exhibitions including photography, paintings, and sculptures. |
| BLKMRKTCLT | Camp North End, Charlotte | A creative, collaborative studio and gallery for photographers and artists of color. |
| MoCADA | Fort Greene, Brooklyn | A hub for Black culture and art, featuring exhibitions, a cafe, and a community garden. |
| National Museum of African Art | National Mall, Washington, D.C. | A leading institution dedicated to the collection, conservation, study, and exhibition of African art. |
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