Don’t Sleep On The Global Africa Project (PHOTOS)

(Photo by Hank Willis Thomas.)

If you see one art exhibition in New York City this year make sure it’s the Global Africa Project. A group show of over 100 artists from the African Diaspora working in Africa, the U.S., Caribbean, Europe and Asia.

PHOTOS: The February Show At The Chocolate Factory

Co-curated by Lowery Stokes Sims, MAD’s Charles Bronfman International Curator, and Leslie King-Hammond, Founding Director of the Center for Race and Culture at MICA, The Global Africa Project showcases a diverse group of creators. Featured artists are experimenting with the fusion of contemporary practices and traditional materials, and design collectives that are using their creative output as engines of local economic change. The artists range from well-known figures such as Yinka Shonibare, MBE, Kehinde Wiley, and Fred Wilson. Also shown is Nigerian-born, London-based fashion designer Duro Olowu, and Paris-based Togolese/Brazilian designer Kossi Aguessy, who has collaborated with Yves Saint Laurent, Cartier, and Swarovski. Additionally, the Gahaya Links Weaving Association, a collaborative of Hutu and Tutsi women working in traditional basketry techniques in Rwanda. (http://collections.madmuseum.org)

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully-illustrated, four-color publication to be published jointly by the Museum and Prestel Publishers, in association with the MICA Center for Race and Culture. The approximately 280-page book will feature an introduction by MAD director Holly Hotchner, curatorial essays by Lowery Stokes Sims and Leslie King-Hammond, as well as contributions from scholars and curators who are conversant with the intersections between contemporary design, architecture, craft, art, and national and cultural craft practices.

On view through May 15, 2011. For more information visit MAD.