Fifty years ago, independence movements started to sweep across the African continent, bringing to the newly independent nations the promise of political, economic, and cultural freedom from their colonial rulers. As Ghana celebrates fifty years of independence in 2007, the San Diego Museum of Man is partnering with artists from Ghana and Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) to showcase artistic expressions—paintings and sculpture—from accomplished African artists. Guest Curators Kwamina Ewusie, Peter Swaniker, and Joe Kinsella have selected a number of artists to participate, and the exhibit will feature their first-person narratives to describe their works.

Tapfuma Gutsa, sculptor from Zimbabwe.

Limited in scope to Ghana and Zimbabwe, where the curators are currently working, the exhibition asks the viewer to listen closely to the artists and what they are saying about their work and their societies (that in most cases overlap with Europe and North America) as they discuss their interpretations of the rich heritage and the influences represented through their art.

This exhibit and Art and Expression: Legacy of Our Collections was celebrated with a shared Members' Preview and grand opening on May 10. The new exhibit is now open in the Museum's Main Floor West gallery. Artists Speak will be on view until February 2008.

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