Night Life: Nocturnal Worlds in African Art

“Night Life” presents 20 artworks from across Africa that address the various ways nighttime was, and in some cases still is, perceived and experienced. Offering warmth and privacy, sumptuously patterned blankets and basketry panels promote peaceful slumbers. Wooden masks, head rests, and figures support contact—through dreams—with spiritual companions and advisors. Memorial figures of deceased relations are reminders of their continued presence after death, when the sun sets on life itself. With the sounds of African nightlife in the background, these artworks speak to the richness and vitality of life after the sun goes down.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website