Celebrating Connections
By Naa Atswei Laryea, AAI Research Associate
In 1974, the Africa-America Institute published its 19th Volume of its flagship Africa Report, the cover asking a probing question: “Will African art ever go home again?” The author, Susan Blumenthal, provided a comprehensive report on the state of restitution, listing key stakeholders, histories, and timelines–concerns that still arise today.
50 years later, Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop’s film Dahomey presents the story of 26 repatriated works to Benin from France, after French-President Emmanuel Macron rang the restitution bells in his 2018 address in Ougagdougou. Diop complicates the process and narrative of restitution, questioning: Who are the true beneficiaries? Why now? Where specifically should the masks now live? And compelling to me: if masks could speak, what would they say?
When tasked with creating an inventory of AAI’s art collection, I took particular notice of African masks with aesthetic similarities to those of the Bwa and the Fang peoples. Diop’s provocations echoed, prompting me to bring them to AAI’s quarterly staff seminars. Together, we not only discussed the film’s masterful craft but also explored the significance of the masks often overlooked.
Carved wooden African masks displayed in AAI’s New York City office.
While looking through the office artwork, I began to notice another pattern. Six works by the same artist crystallized as a collection of Fred Archibong. With their mixed media, three-dimensional and purple motifs, these six works posed additional questions: What was the significance of this artistic language? How did they end up in AAI’s hands? And perhaps most pressingly: who was Fred Archibong?
Mixed media, sculptural paintings of Fred Achibong displayed in AAI’s New York City office.
My inquiries led me to the National Museum of African Art’s Library, where a file on Archibong resides. Through letters, pamphlets, and articles, a portrait emerged:
Archibong was a renowned corporate sculptor who contributed countless works to various Nigerian corporations, organizations, and governmental bureaus. His interviews show that he was opinionated, passionate, and rather controversial, often criticizing his fellow Nigerian creatives. In the 1990s and early 2000s, his work went international and “was shown in all 6 continents”, one article states. A letter suggests his work may have been presented in New York City at the United Nations, which may have been how he entered the local market and further, at AAI. Regardless of his success, Archibong existed on the margins of the Lagosian community, highlighting a more diverse narrative amongst Nigerian modernist artists.
Whether through Bwa and Fang craftsmanship, Mati Diop’s meditative films, or Fred Archibong’s innovative practice, African artists have long animated and advanced AAI’s mission to bridge Africa and its Diaspora. Their work, crossing time and space, continues to spark the kinds of questions that shape and sustain Global Africa’s journey to healing and repair, liberatory education, and community. Through AAI’s archives, we can ground ourselves in the histories of Global Africa, allowing us, in the spirit of Sankofa, to “go back and get” knowledge we share. As I continue my journey with AAI in Accra this winter, I look forward to deepening my work in research, connecting with changemakers, and helping inspire impactful partnerships across the Atlantic.
Naa Atswei Laryea is a recent graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University where she majored in Africana Studies and was a Barbara Silver Horowitz ‘55 Scholar of Distinction. In 2022, she was a Lilly Foundation Grant Intern at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, assisting with their educational and summer programming initiatives. Atswei has also conducted various research projects supported by Barnard College, the Institute African Studies at Columbia University, and the African Studies Association. This year, she joined the Africa-America Institute as a Research Associate.