May 12, May 20, May 22
10:30 a.m., 12 p.m.
May 13
10:30 a.m., 12 p.m., 2:30 p.m.
May 15
10:30 a.m.
Space is limited; please RSVP per date via Eventbrite
All tours meet in the museum’s ground-floor pavilion
May has traditionally been a time for Americans to recognize all the incredible mothers in our lives. And the National Museum of African Art’s collection includes mothers of all sorts, from a tiny five-inch-tall mother-and-child charm to a complexly carved four-foot-tall helmet mask made to honor the ancestral mother of twins. Join us throughout the month for docent-led tours highlighting these incredible artworks and honoring African mothers.
Free and open to the public
Image caption:
The Akaga of Odo-Owa, Bamgboye (Yoruba artist)
c. 1895–1978, Ekiti State, Nigeria
Helmet mask
Early to mid-20th century
Wood, pigment
118.5 x 38.5 x 40.8 cm (46 5/8 x 15 3/16 x 16 1/16 in.)
Museum purchase, 2001-20-1
Photograph by Franko Khoury