Transatlantic Dialogue:  Art in and Out of Africa
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Woman in a Palm Leaf Skirt

Sokari Douglas Camp
Nigerian, born 1958
Woman with Palm Leaf Skirt
from the ensemble Audience
(Excited Women), 1986
Steel, paint, crayon
National Museum of African Art,
purchased with funds provided by the Annie Laurie Aitken Endowment, 97-4-2

Audiences watching regattas are primarily made up of women. Dressed in their best wrappers, Kalabari women stand on the riverbank cheering the boats with their dignitaries and masqueraders. While Woman with Palm Leaf Skirt, from the ensemble Audience (Excited Women), is not kinetic, the figure’s pose captures the excitement of the audience. The sculpture’s openwork is amazingly representative of the patterns and movements found in the cloths worn by women attending festivals.



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