Passages

This powerful exhibit of African tribal ceremonies reflects 30 years of commitment to preserving the endangered cultures and peoples of 90 tribes across Africa. Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher pay homage to the rituals that mark every important occasion in tribal life — birth, initiation, courtship, marriage, royal coronations, seasonal rituals, healing exorcisms, and death. These images are the result of a long, enduring and deeply respectful relationship with tribal peoples. This, combined with Beckwith and Fisher’s extraordinary photographic skills, creates an intimate portrayal of ceremonies long held secret that might have never been recorded. It is an exhibit that both preserves and presents the power, complexity and celebration found within the rituals of African tribal life.

Beckwith and Fisher’s award-winning publications include the definitive 2-volume reference African Ceremonies, and Passages, the soft-cover accompaniment to this exhibition.

Critically acclaimed by the New York Times (“a visual feast”), Time Magazine (“a magnificent documenting of the continent’s rapidly vanishing kaleidoscope of tribal rights”) and The Wall Street Journal (“…these two women have gone further and deeper into tribal Africa than any photographers have gone before”), the exhibition is curated by the Brooklyn Museum and available for travel through 2018.

Exhibition Inquiry

Exhibition Details:

Ninety-two 2’x4′ to 10’x10′ sized R-prints mounted, ready to install; video and music footage; 16 jewelry artifacts. 600 linear feet, 10 crates / 4000 lbs. Artists available for presentations.

Previous Venues

Museum City Dates
The Museum of Natural Science Turin, Italy Nov 2009 – Jan 2010
The Bowers Museum Santa Ana, CA Nov 2008 – Aug 2009
National Geographic Museum Washington, DC Oct 2004 – Jan 2005
Carnegie Museum Pittsburgh, PA May 2003 – August 2003
Naples Museum of Art Naples, FL February 2003 – May 2003
Borges Centro Cultural Buenos Aires, Argentina December 2002 – March 2003
Mississippi Museum of Art Jackson, MS July 2002 – October 2002
Brooklyn Museum of Art New York, NY July 2000 – September 2000