Exhibition Reviews
- Hodges Collection: "Unearthing Insights: Transformative Possibilities in African Indigenous Artwork at Aggie Land" by Dr. Nodia Mena.
The Hodges Collection show, housed in the H. C. Taylor Gallery at Agricultural and Technical State University, offers an opportunity to learn about African cultures' incredibly diverse and rich cultural heritage and traditions. The collection comprises Bundu masks, Gara textiles, country cloth, textiles of West Africa, and paintings. The masks are wooden carved with an air of magnificence and regality. Each one looked like a crown. I was particularly curious about how they all portrayed a feminine image. I learned that Sande women wear these masks during ceremonies in Sierra Leone. Each mask is carved with symbolic features and meaning for girls' initiation into the Sande society. The Gara textiles', country cloths, colors, and patterns are head-turning and great conversation starters. I learned that Gara is a generic name given in Sierra Leone to fabrics produced by wax-resist block-stamping and tie-dyeing techniques. The paintings are the donor's own, Mr. Reggie Hodges, which he created during his Peace Corps service. Mr. Hodges' intentionality in depicting Indigenous Africans' beauty, strength, and cultural wealth is represented through each brushstroke in his paintings.
- Yale Quantum Institute: "The Pedagogical Possibilities of the Gallery: A review of The Quantum Revolution: Handcrafted in New Haven" by Ms. Jesa Rae Richards.
Entering the exhibit, The Quantum Revolution: Handcrafted in New Haven, hosted by the N.C. A&T University Galleries felt like being welcomed into a conversation. The project is a collaboration between students and faculty from the N.C. A&T Quantum Information Science & Engineering (QISE), the Yale University Quantum Institute (YQI), and the N.C. A&T College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS). The gallery is loosely divided, with contributions from YQI on one side and art by CAHSS on the other, though this use of space in no way suggests a division between art and science.
