Beyond the Museum Label

Western museums often display African art as anonymous tribal artifacts — stripped of their makers' names, original settings, and intended functions. A Yoruba mask built to be worn in a specific ceremony, with music and dance, now sits silently behind glass labeled with a colonial collection date instead of its maker.

That practice reflects a colonial assumption: that African art was collective rather than individual, so specific artists didn't matter. In reality, master carvers, weavers, and metalworkers were celebrated in their communities, often famous across entire regions.