TEACHING

During the Middle Ages, West Africa was home to rich and dynamic cultures that created objects whose power and beauty continue to resonate today. Most spectacular were those made of gold. In this talk, Gus Casely-Hayford, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, traces the history of gold and the growth of West Africa’s empires. By exploring this network, which includes the powerful emperor of Mali, Mansa Musa, he reveals the impact these former kingdoms continue to have on contemporary values and cultural expression.

12 January 2020

Read an interview with Gus Casely-Hayford about the Balthazar exhibition.

Artists Genevieve Gaignard and Rashaad Newsome address why and how they create spaces for Black histories that explore notions of rulership, power, and place. This conversation, moderated by Tyree Boyd-Pates, curator of Western history at the Autry Museum, poses questions about absence, erasure, and the process of reclaiming history for members of the African diaspora in the spaces of the art museum and beyond.

19 February 2020

Read a reflection by Tyree Boyd-Pates about Adoration of the Magi scenes and race.

Early medieval legends reported that one of the three kings who paid homage to the newborn Christ Child in Bethlehem was from Africa. But it would be nearly one thousand years before artists began representing Balthazar, the youngest of the magi, as a Black African.

This online exhibition examines the juxtaposition of a seemingly positive image of kingship with the painful histories of Afro-European contact, particularly the brutal enslavement of African peoples. This online exhibition uses the phrase “Black African” to underscore the racial diversity across the African continent and to address the theme of Balthazar’s Blackness in European art.

Visit the virtual exhibition here.

Nativity (or crèche) scenes from the Middle Ages to today often include three kings (or magi) bringing gifts to the infant Jesus. Often, these scenes include a Black king, sometimes referred to by the name Balthazar (his two traveling companions are known as Caspar and Melchior). European Christian tradition often referred to Balthazar as coming from Africa, and maps from the time reveal a combination of fantasy, desire, and lived encounters with Africa and African people. 

This Smarthistory article presents European perceptions of Africa based on real-life encounters with a range of people, including rulers, diplomats, religious dignataries, and enslaved people.

Read the article here.