July 24, 2017
12–1 p.m.

Join us for an artist talk with Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow Juan Orrantia! The photographer will discuss Why Would, his project tracing Amilcar Cabral, the leader of the first African independence movement from Portuguese colonialism. Featuring photographs from Guinea-Bissau paired with ethnographic objects and historical images from Portuguese colonies, Orrantia has created a catalogue of traces, of uncertainties, of things imagined. Orrantia will discuss the possibilities of contemporary photography to explore memory, its limits, and its role in the way narratives are constructed but also silenced—particularly in the case of forgotten or absent histories of African colonialism and liberation.

Juan Orrantia was born in Colombia and is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He relies on the ambiguity of photography to explore the veracity of what or how we remember in the construction of narratives and meanings. Orrantia has received the Tierney Fellowship in Photography (2010–11), was a nominee for the Higashikawa Award, and has held residencies at Khoj International Artist Workshops (India). His work has been featured in solo exhibitions in Berlin, Colombia, and South Africa, and group shows including the Encontros da Imagem, Rencontres de Bamako, the New York Photo Festival, Le Cube (Paris), and the Contro-Sguardi Documentary Festival, among others.

Free and open to the public

August 2
1:30-3:30 p.m.
Space is limited; register by calling 202.633.4632

Join us at the National Museum of African Art to beat the heat and engage with art! Receive a brief introduction on African art and drawing fundamentals from the museum’s curator of education Deborah Stokes. Then, be guided through our African Mosaic exhibition to get inspired by original works of art and sketch your own masterpiece. Meet at the museum’s information desk at 1:30 p.m. to get started. All materials will be provided.

This workshop is presented as part of the museum’s series of Workshop Wednesdays. Every first Wednesday of the month, stop by the museum for classes from trained teachers. All skill levels and ages welcome; participants under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Visit here for a full list of upcoming workshops.

Free and open to the public, but registration is required. Please call 202.633.4632 to reserve your seat