E4 Art COLLECTIONS Africa’s image, writ larger
New statue just one tactic to raise small museum’s profile
by Jacqueline Trescott When museum curator Chris-
tine Mullen Kreamer read a year ago that a towering sculpture of Toussaint Louverture created by Senegalese artist Ousmane Sow was up for auction, she knew it was a perfect fit for the National Museum of African Art. And Kreamer knew she had an ally, even if the acquisitions budget had to be pumped. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, the mu-
seum’s director, didn’t hesitate to back her deputy director. She knew the work of this contempo- rary artist would again signal the museum’s seriousness about living artists. She knew the statue was a showstopper, bigger-than-life-size, with its haunting carving of Lou- verture, the leader of the suc- cessful Haitian slave revolution against the French, comforting a slave woman at his feet. “I can’t imagine a work of art
that more dramatically says what this museum is about. Here is a work of art by an African artist. Here is a portrayal of a heroic fig- ure of the Diaspora, and the mes- sage is a cry for freedom,” Cole said. “Clearly, our focus is on Afri- can art, but, clearly, we want to be part of the global community.” For more than a year, Cole, 73, has managed the museum, one of the Smithsonian’s smallest, with an eye to increasing its visibility, connections and collections. An anthropologist by training, Cole had little experience with the museum world. Instead, she has a track record of turning around educational institutions. Even so, no one is surprised by the bold steps Cole has taken, even in times of financial struggle at an un- derrated institution. Tall with a deep, resonant voice and com- manding presence, Cole had al- ready built a national reputation
as an inspiring leader and fund- raiser.
When she was president of Spel- man College, a historically black women’s college in Atlanta, she raised $113 million, and she also had a successful campaign for $50 million at Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C. Her life in the upper reaches of the aca- demic world stretched from 1987 to 2007, with the two college presi- dencies and a professorship at Emory University. “This museum is no longer the
best-kept secret at the Smithso- nian. I had a dislike for that phrase, but it also pleased me. It said the museum does have a track record,” Cole said with confidence, as she discussed her staff’s initia- tives in her office. Cole’s absence of credentials might have alarmed museum pur- ists, but Richard Kurin, the Smith- sonian undersecretary for history, art and culture, said he knew she would succeed. “She has a way of translating is- sues to an international and na- tional stage, “ Kurin said. “As presi- dent of a college, she connected with scholars, international or- ganizations and donors. And those are good skills to have at a mu- seum.” In fiscal 2008, the museum raised $454, 885; last year, it raised $816, 909. Education programs and out- reach to Washington’s foreign service and diplomatic sectors has always been a strong suit for the African Art Museum. At one point, it had more student visitors than adult patrons. Cole knows aca- demic audiences well. A native of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Oberlin and a doc- torate and master’s in anthropolo- gy from Northwestern University, she has a whopping 54 honorary degrees.
And throughout her tenure in academia, she maintained a love of African art and did field work in Liberia, Haiti and Cuba. She also co-curated an exhibition on kente cloth at Emory University. “We are much more conscious about outreach,” she said, and not
FRANKO KHOURY
Museum director Johnnetta Betsch Cole, left, hosts Haitian first lady Elisabeth Delatour Préval after the earthquake.
just the collectors of African art or the diplomatic corps, now headed by ambassador Roble Olhaye of Djibouti. “I want to intersect also with the African immigrant com- munity,” Cole said, adding that she interviews every cabdriver with roots in Africa about the museum. Outreach takes many forms. When the museum was planning an exhibition on objects that illus- trated animals, it surveyed its own collection. In 2005, the museums was given the Walt Disney-Tish- man African Art Collection, a 500- piece survey that had plenty of examples. But the curators also called on the National Museum of Natural History, the National Post- al Museum, the Discovery Theater and the National Zoo to learn how they use animals in education projects. One innovation was put- ting aside six objects of art that blind and low-vision visitors could handle, and also publishing a guide in Braille. This month, the museum fea- tures an exploration of the art of the coiled basket, a carryover from many parts of Africa. The show is a collaboration of four organiza- tions, led by the Museum for Afri- can Art in New York. Earlier this year, a survey show of Yinka Sho- nibare, the acclaimed Nigerian-
British artist, drew 122, 662 visi- tors. The exhibition was organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney and was part of the Smithsonian museum’s celebra- tion of Nigeria’s 50th year of inde- pendence, an ongoing two-year program at the museum. A visit by Haiti first lady Elisa-
beth Delatour Préval to the mu- seum after the January earth- quake led to a project in which Haitian children expressed their emotions through artwork created inside converted buses. Their paintings will be displayed at the Smithsonian this summer. Cole also reached out to singer Ange- lique Kidjo to star in a fundraiser that netted $227,000. And she in- vited her friend Camille Cosby, the educator and philanthropist who gave $20 million to Spelman, to join the museum’s expanded, 18- member board.
“I just want to make sure this museum is owned by every- one,” she said. Its under- ground location has created some isolation. Sometimes, tourists didn’t know it ex- isted, although it has been part of the Smithso- nian for 31 years. Last year, 403,000 people vis- ited, compared with 322,000 in 2008. But the en- cyclopedic museums of the Smithsonian attract mil- lions each year. One Saturday morning, Cole led a group of emerging leaders through the museum. Not an unusual task for a direc- tor of a small museum, but one that gave her a framework for the future. “They asked how did I think we can help people rethink how they think about Africa,” Cole said. “That gave me reaffirmation of the power of this place.”
trescottj@washpost.com
Showstopper: Senegalese artist Ousmane Sow’s “Toussaint Louverture et la vieille esclave.”
KLMNO
SUNDAY, JUNE 6, 2010
FRANKO KHOURY/NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART
ENTER THE
SPOONFUL OF SUGAR SWEEPSTAKES
Get swept up in the fun this summer when Mary Poppins comes to the Kennedy Center Opera House for a limited premiere engagement! Enter today for your chance to win one of
15 pairs of tickets
to the opening night performance. Plus, one lucky
Grand Prize winner
will also receive $1,000 and — as an added spoonful of sugar — two desserts a month for a year!
To enter, go to
washingtonpost.com/postfun by June 14
Mary Poppins
The Kennedy Center Opera House
July 1 – August 22, 2010
To order tickets, call 202-467-4600, or visit
kennedy-center.org
GHI ©Disney/CML
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Sweepstakes is sponsored by WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post and Stevens Advertising (collectively, “Sponsors”). Sweepstakes is open to those who are 18 years of age or older and live in Washington, DC, Maryland, or Virginia at the time of entry and receipt of any prize. Odds of winning depend on number of entries. Average retail value of the grand prize is $1,700. Average retail value of the regular prize is $200. Void where prohibited by law. Entry period begins on 6/1/2010 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time (“ET”) & ends on 6/14/2010 at 11:59 p.m. ET (“Entry Period”). To enter and for complete sweepstakes rules, log on to
www.washingtonpost.com/postfun.
E293 6x10.5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164