Follow Her Lead: Womanhood in African and Diasporic Arts
July 30, 2019–March, 2020 | Stanley Visual Classroom, Iowa Memorial Union
A woman gave birth to a king.
—Akan proverb
This exhibition draws from the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art permanent collection to feature work created by, for, and/or about women from Africa and the African diaspora. It explores arts of leadership, fashion, and transformation that inform the expression and representation of womanhood. Along with a focus on ceramic pottery created by women, recently acquired contemporary works include Joyce Scott’s necklace, Election Day, which uses fashion as a statement on the need for everyone to vote. Simone Leigh’s Face Jug engages innovatively with historic arts of Africa in order to explore black female subjectivity. An elaborate construction of female identity underlies the Ait Khabbash bridal ensemble from southeast Morocco.
