Mint Museum Randolph reopens African art galleries
After a multiyear renovation, the Mint Museum Randolph has re-opened its African art galleries. The new installation fills three galleries and includes fertility statues, textiles, African masks and other forms of art from across the African continent.
The re-installation began in 2019 when Jen Sudul Edwards joined The Mint. Edwards said she wanted to work on several spaces, including the African galleries, so she reached out to Lisa Homann, Ph.D., an associate professor of art history at UNC Charlotte, who had studied African art since 2007.
One of the new pieces, “Kimi Masquerade Ensemble,” is a full-body costume that represents the African practice of “masquerade,” which involves wearing elaborate masks and costumes while giving performances that have symbolic meaning. The costumes generally are made with two parts — a head and body.
To commission the head for “Kimi Masquerade Ensemble,” Homann turned to David Sanou, an artist in Burkina Faso. Other artists in that West African nation worked on commission to create the body.
Homann said Sanou agreed to work with her only because his late father had requested it. Homann has been doing research in Bobo-Dioulasso, a city in Burkina Faso, since 2006.
“It has never, ever, to my knowledge, happened that an uninitiated foreigner was able to commission full-bodied masquerades with consent, not only from the artist…but from…chiefs that are the head of the town,” Homann said.
It took Homann three years to get permission to commission the body portion of “Kimi Masquerade Ensemble,” she said, noting that commissioning the entire costume took “multiple relationships,” including a blacksmith she’s known since 2007.
“They trust me, and I trust them,” Homann said.