PRACTICUM
Students’ thematic guided tours through the permanent exhibition
May 11th – May 20th 2017
The program is organized by the Museum of African Art, in cooperation with the Centre for Career Development (University of Belgrade – Faculty of Philosophy) and with the support of the Secretariat for Sport and Youth of the City of Belgrade.
With the support of curators/mentors, students from the Faculty of Philosophy are offered a practical and theoretical introduction into African Arts and the curatorial profession.
Over the course of two months, students are motivated to work diligently on tailoring their very own themes within the field of African arts and cultures, thus producing both elaborate and interesting methods of presentation. Each student offered different view on the Museum’s permanent exhibit. The students will guide visitors through the permanent exhibit and provide them with the experience of Africa through ten different perspectives!
*Guided tours are available only in Serbian.
GUIDED TOURS THROUGH PERMANENT DISPLAY
Thursday, 11 May 2017, at 6 pm
The Mysterious Power of the African Mask
Sladjana Biljić, Undergraduate Student of Archaeology
The mask is an essential element in dance rituals, rites and ceremonies of African communities. Because of its magic and power, members of the community treat the mask with great respect: from its creation and protection, its participation in various rituals and different social occasions. Masked, and accompanied by musical instruments, in certain rhythm, the mask-wearer loses his identity and transforms into a supernatural being that provides communication between community members and ancestral spirits.
Friday, 12 May 2017, at 6 pm
Humanity without limit – understanding of morality of African peoples
Aleksandra Knežević, Undergraduate Student of Philosophy
Ignorance often produces misunderstanding, fear and prejudice. Due to lack of education, we have a tendency to diminish the value of what we do not know and do not understand. If we want to overcome the prejudices that we have about the culture, belief systems, art and lifestyles of African people, we need to understand what is at the core of all things, and that is a philosophy. The guided tour will focus on Ubuntu philosophy and the ethical system of the Akan, in order to enhance our philosophical knowledge of African peoples.
Saturday, 13 May 2017, at 5 pm
From Life to Death – the Rituals of West African Communities
Maja Banović, Undergraduate Student of History
The guided tour through the permanent display will introduce you to the secret world ritual among West African communities, as well as the role of music, dance, masks and sculptures within it. This is an opportunity to learn that rituals are far more than just “music and dance”, and that they are key communication tools that are used to mark important events in both the life of the community and the individual, as part of it. Join us on our tour through the permanent display and discover the world of African rituals.
Sunday, 14 May 2017, at 5 pm
Play and/or Real Life: Growing up among the people of West Africa
Katarina Milovanović, Undergraduate Student of Pedagogy
This tour will consider the role of parents through the eyes of the people whose beliefs and rituals color everyday life and important events in the lives of individuals and communities. We will get acquainted with the customs and beliefs that are related to fertility and childbirth, the importance of motherhood, masked dancers, secret societies and other customs during initiation that await both boys and girls on their path to adulthood.
Monday, 15 May 2017, at 6 pm
Zoomorphic Motifs and Symbolism in West African Art
Nastasija Radovanović, Undergraduate Student of Archaeology
In many West African communities, animals have occupied a key place in mythology, legends and rituals. We will get acquainted with the permanent display of the Museum by tracing zoomorphic (animal) motifs in the works of the Dogon, Bambara, Senufo, Baule, Dan and Gere peoples, whose traditional sculptures and masks in wood dominate the display. Stories about animals teach us a lot about the people themselves and the way they see the world around them.
Tuesday, 16 May, at 6 pm
Myths and Legends of West African Peoples
Dušаn Тоšić, Undergraduate Student of History
This guided tour is an introduction to the traditional legends of different cultures of Africa, above all the Dogon, Bambara, Senufo and Ashanti. Through the tour you will find out about the first “beings” that walked the land and how they influenced their descendants – humans. We invite you to join us and learn how myths and legends permeate African reality today.
Wednesday, 17 May 2017, at 6 pm
Symbols of power in Western African communities
Sofija Dakić, Undergraduate Student of Sociology
Through this guided tour, we will learn about the laws, rituals, tools and decorative items, and try to understand all the ways in which these elements culminate into one whole – one community, with its specific characteristics, mythology and art. Having removed our prejudice, we will be able to distinguish many similarities and differences between “our” and “their” social systems and, above all, recognize all those genuinely identical nuances of everyday life, of the big and small, powerful and powerless people, no matter what space or time they dwell in.
Thursday, 18 May 2017, at 6 pm
The Influence of West-African Art on European Modern Art
Marijana Štrubel, Undergraduate Student of Art History
What is the situation in European artistic circles in the late 19th century when the fruits of African material culture became available to the general European public? What interest did African masks, sculptures and textiles provoke among painters such as Matisse, Picasso, Darren, Vlaminck...? Join us on this tour through the permanent display of the Museum and let us trace works of art like the ones that produced new directions in art in the 20th century.
Friday, 19 May 2017, at 6 pm
(Post)Yugoslav Life of the Museum of African Art
Sara Nikolić, Master Student of Ethnology and Anthropology
Tito traveled the length and breadth of Africa, and Belgrade streets bear the names of its kings and revolutionaries. For forty years in this city, in Andre Nikolića 14, Street, there is the Museum of African Art. In all this time, the Museum, as an architectural structure and institution, has grown, changed and adapted to new contexts. Walking through the concrete structure of the MAA and garden that surrounds it, you will get to know the Museum as a place of reconciliation and compromise, and learn more about the economic, political and cultural changes that formed over the course of forty years.
Suturday, 20 May 2017, at 5 pm
The Meaning of the Ancestral Cult among the peoples of West Africa
Dragana Ćurčin, Undergraduate student of Ethnology and Anthropology
African religious practice with its mystique and uniqueness, has provoked worldwide interest over the centuries. The ancestral cult was prevalant in almost every part of Africa and the veneration of ancestors held an important role in many ceremonies. On the permanent display of the Museum, there areshowcased cult figures and masks which were used by the Dogon, Senufo, Bambara, Dan and Gere peoples.
