For nearly a century, the Newark Museum of Art has been a pioneer among U.S. museums in the collecting and display of African art.
Today, the Museum’s nationally known collection includes nearly 5,000 works representing artistic creativity, past and present, from across the continent.
Expanding Africa at the Newark Museum: Building for the Next Century
The Newark Museum has embarked on a major initiative that will result in an expansion and reinstallation of its African art galleries. At 8,400 square feet, the new suite of galleries will triple current space to showcase the Museum’s innovative, audience-centered approach to exhibiting the artistic creativity of this diverse continent.
These new galleries will provide a dramatic ”stage” for the presentation of works from the Newark Museum’s comprehensive collection of African art, developed over the course of a century and now encompassing nearly 5,000 objects. Along with a collections catalogue and other educational materials, the new galleries will impact the way our audiences—adults, families, students, teachers and scholars—think about, view and engage with African art.
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The expanded galleries are scheduled to open in 2015, marking the Centennial of the Newark
Museum’s African collection. Early support for this transformative initiative has been received from major foundations, including $1,000,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and a $500,000 Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Private donors have also dedicated funding for this project.