Open every day 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

National Museum of African Art - Smithsonian Institution

Africa Out Loud

Africa Out Loud

This Spoken Word and Open Mic celebrates the beauty and art of the African Diaspora with host 2Deep!

Date and time
Friday, March 31 · 6 – 8pm EDT
Location
Smithsonian National Museum of African Art 950 Independence Avenue Southwest Washington, DC 20560

Express yourself onsite! Come join our host poet 2Deep for an open mic event to celebrate the beauty and art of the African Diaspora.

2 DEEP THE POETESS, a spoken word artist of Nigerian descent will be our host for Africa Out Loud. With over a decade of snatching microphones and captivating audiences, 2Deep’s resume reads like Who’s Who travel guide. From Cornell University to Ottawa University, American University to Penn State, United States to Australia, this German born Alabama raised entertainer has spoken to crowds all over the globe. She’s opened for the late Gil Scott-Heron and performed for President Barack Obama’s first inaugural celebrations at the Washington National Cathedral. She was a four year undefeated slam champion, 2007 Talk To Me Eastern Slam Winner, member of Busboys and Poets’ 2009 Slam Team, Word War II Slam Champion, and prior Busboys and Poets’ Slam Master.

Register here

This event is free.

I Am Beautiful! Teen Portrait Showcase/Contest

Caleb Patterson
Caleb Patterson, Age 18
Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Museum Studies Department

The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art invited young people across the DMV to submit their original photographs, drawings, videos and other forms of portraiture. The I Am Beautiful! Teen Portrait Showcase/Contest coincides with the exhibit Iké Udé: Nollywood Portraits. This year’s theme is “I am Beautiful”. Teens ages 15-19 were encouraged to explore beauty in individuality.

Caleb Patterson of Duke Ellington School of the Arts won the title of grand winner. Agyei Allrich of NationHouse Homeschool Support Program won first place. Mandichera Hargrove, also of NationHouse Homeschool Support Program won second place. Alex Mendez-Santana of Duke Ellington School of the Arts won third place.

See their work

OPEN! Before Nollywood … The Ideal Photo Studio


Before Nollywood . . . The Ideal Photo Studio is a living exhibition and an ongoing research and photography project that explores the lives of patrons from the Ideal Photo Studio and a history of Benin City and its community through the photographs of Solomon Osagie Alonge. We are seeking your help in naming people in the Ideal Photo Studio portraits, and inviting you to share personal stories and memories of your childhood, friends, family, social life, and community in Benin City, Nigeria, at the Tapestry of Benin Memories wall.

Enter exhibition


Enollywood ke re . . . Owa Isey’ama n’kere keghi re ọrhiemaan’iwu kevbẹ iruẹmwi n’ifo kevbe inwina isey’ama ne agha ya ghe agbon emwa n’ye owa isey’ama n’kere kevbẹ itan or’Ẹdo kevbẹ ikinkin agbon or’Ẹdo ne adeghe vbẹ u we isey’ama ne SolomonOsagie Alọngẹ ru. Tẹ I ma gualo iyobo vbe obọwua vbẹ ne a gha ya rẹẹn eni emwa n’re ama egbe Owa Isey’ama n’kere, kevbẹ we re n’ima gie ne a tie rue ne u t’okha ọghe egbe rue kevbẹ ayere vbẹ u re ovbokhan, ose, ẹgbẹ, agbon n’ẹdẹ, kevbẹ ikinkin agbon or’Ẹdo, Enaigirria vbẹ egbe ekẹn n’avbe ayere ivbiẹ Edo.

Laẹ uwe orhiema

Iké Udé: Nollywood Portraits

Iké Udé: Nollywood Portraits
Sadiq Daba
Sadiq Daba

Multimedia artist Iké Udé celebrates the luminescent beauty and mystique of African visionaries by turning his lens on the talented people who drive Nollywood, Nigeria’s $3 billion film industry.

Known for his performative and iconoclastic style and vibrant sense of composition, Udé’s photographs use color, attire and other markers to make elegant yet unexpected portraits. His photographs make a bold statement about the power of African identities, despite centuries of attempted erasure by Eurocentric art history and notions of beauty.

NMAFA global stream