National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution

10/23/2026

Afrobeat Vibes is just three weeks away! Join us on Thursday, Nov. 12, for our premiere fundraising event, now in its third year.

These are photos from our past two celebrations. 🥂✨

We hope to see you at this celebratory evening of African art, cuisine and music. Proceeds support our exhibitions and public programs.

Registration is required. Buy your ticket here: https://africanart.ticketspice.com/afrobeat-vibes-at-the-smithsonian-nov-12-2026

The event is hosted by the National Museum of African Art’s Global Africa Council.

📸 Afrobeat Vibes Jan. 2026 and Nov. 2024, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution

10/20/2026

We recently unrolled a few textiles in our collection to photograph them for a loan show. The artists are all Senegalese and linked to the École Nationale des Beaux Arts in Dakar. They created highly decorative, monumental tapestries like these. Many were hand woven, and the average size is about 5 feet tall by 7 feet wide.

The Dakar School art movement emphasized cultural identity in a modernist framework. It followed Senegal’s independence from France in 1960, ending about 300 years of colonial rule.

The title of the second artwork, “Les Oiseaux du Pays,” translates to “The Birds of the Country” — perhaps as an homage to Senegal.

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Khalifa Gueye, “Promenade” (detail), 1980s, Tapestry, Hand woven wool and cotton yarns dyed with commercial dyes, 56 × 73 1/8 in., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of Africare, 2020-10-4

Ansoumana Diedhiou, “Les Oiseaux du Pays” (detail), 1980s, Tapestry, Hand woven wool and cotton yarns dyed with commercial dyes, 54 × 83 in., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of Africare, 2020-10-2

Boubacar Goudiaby, “L’oiseau no 1” (detail), 1980s, Tapestry, Hand woven wool and cotton yarns dyed with commercial dyes, 58 3/4 × 76 3/8 in., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of Africare, 2020-10-3

Papa Ibra Tall, “Poete aux Mains Magiques” (detail), 1969, Tapestry, Cotton, wool, dye, 62 × 89 1/4 in., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of Robert S. McNamara, 84-7-1

10/19/2026

Today we wish a happy 90th birthday to Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, director emerita of Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art. A notable anthropologist and educator, she served as director of our museum from 2009 to 2017.

Dr. Cole was also at the helm of two historically Black colleges: Bennett College and Spelman College—where she was the first African American female president.

Pictured here is a silver medal commemorating the inauguration of Dr. Cole as the seventh president of Spelman College. A gift from Dr. Cole, the medal is now in the collection of Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

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Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, 2013

Charnelle Holloway (American, b. 1957), Medal commemorating Dr. Cole as president of Spelman College, 1988, Metal, 19 3/4 × 8 × 1/2 in., Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Johnnetta Betsch Cole, 2015.209.3

10/15/2026

We are pleased to announce a donation of over $2 million in endowment funds as well as a bequeathed collection of 19th- and 20th-century African artworks.

A gift from former Michigan senator Jack Faxon (1936–2020), this generous donation includes 100 artworks that Faxon acquired over the course of his life.

The funds support the care and development of the National Museum of African Art’s permanent collection, which now includes the Jack Faxon Collection of African Art.

The donation is one of the most significant in the museum’s history.

Read the full press release here:
https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/national-museum-african-art-announces-over-2-million-gift-and-bequeathed

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From the Jack Faxon Collection of African Art:

1. Fante artist, Ntan or ompe (drum), Central Region, Ghana, Early to mid-twentieth century, Wood, pigment, hide, hair, fiber, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Bequest of Sen. Jack Faxon, 2021–3-66

2. Suku artist, Kopa (cup), Kwango Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Early to mid-twentieth century, Wood, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Bequest of Sen. Jack Faxon, 2021–3-31

3. Baga artist, Sibondël headdress, Boké Region, Guinea, Early to mid-twentieth century, Wood, paint, metal, fiber, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Bequest of Sen. Jack Faxon, 2021–3-39

10/06/2026

Happy publication day to AFRICAN ART WORKS: ARTISTS CREATING CHANGE / THE JACK FAXON COLLECTION, which features more than 200 striking photos, paintings, sculptures, and textiles from the collections at the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution! The book explores artworks that are not only beautiful, but that are designed to do work and solve an issue for the artist themselves or their community. https://smithsonianbooks.com/store/art-architecture/african-art-works-artists-creating-change-the-jack-faxon-collection/

10/06/2026

10/02/2026

It’s time to celebrate!

The National Museum of African Art is proud to present its third annual Afrobeat Vibes, a joyous evening of African art, cuisine, dance and music.

This year’s event will take place on Nov. 12, 2026.

Your ticket purchase provides support for our exhibitions and public programs. Your generosity makes it possible for us to bring world-class art to our community, the nation and visitors from around the globe.

We can’t wait to dance, raise a glass and celebrate with you! Get the details and register here: https://africanart.ticketspice.com/afrobeat-vibes-at-the-smithsonian-nov-12-2026

The event is hosted by the museum’s Global Africa Council.

09/29/2026

Have you noticed our look? Vibrant patterns and colors fill the museum.

Our special edition merchandise was designed so you can take a piece of our museum home with you!

This branded merch is only available in our on-site shop, so visit the National Museum of African Art at 950 Independence Ave. SW to make your purchase.

Income from sales supports Smithsonian's educational programs, exhibitions and activities.

09/24/2026

Today marks the 10-year anniversary of our treasured Smithsonian family member, the National Museum of African American History and Culture. 💜 ✨

We're honoring the moment by sharing this Asante gold pectoral disc from our collection. It was loaned to NMAAHC in 2016, the year the museum opened, as part of the exhibition "Slavery & Freedom."

These types of circular pendants—often worn in royal contexts—are intricately made, hammered from the thinnest of gold or cast by the lost-wax process.

We're proud to have been connected with Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture since its beginning, and we congratulate the museum on an extraordinary decade.

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Akan artist, Pendant, Late 19th-early 20th century, Gold alloy, 3 15/16 x 3 15/16 x 7/8 in., Gift of the Roy and Brigitta Mitchell Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, 2010-10-1

09/22/2026

Our Live Arts Series "The Earth Still Shakes" continues this weekend on Saturday, Sept. 26, 4–7 p.m., as part of Community Day.

Through musical performances, curated by Jay Pather and featuring Inka Kendzia with DJ Sole, the series will reflect the spiritual shudders that abound in ritual performance activisms and actions and the ways that artists talk through their bodies to express their connections to objects, the natural world and the cosmos.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/live-arts-series-the-earth-still-shakes-tickets-1999280830784?aff=oddtdtcreator

📸 (left to right) Jay Pather courtesy of University of Cape Town; Inka Kendzia photo by Hana Sho