Enid Schildkrout's 'Into The Heart Of Africa'

​Into the Heart of Africa, an exhibition presented by The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) that was curated by guest curator Dr. Jeanne Cannizzo was a source of much contention between the people and the museum. The exhibit was inspired by an interest in exploring the hundreds of African artefacts – which had been stolen and collected during the European colonization of African countries – that have been stored by the ROM for over a hundred years. Through this collection of artefacts, Cannizzo intended on retelling the story of Canada’s involvement in the European colonization of Africa. Cannizzo led the planning and designing of the exhibition, however the ROM had significant

In Basil Davidson’s video “Different but Equal,” he outlines the European perception of Africa upon their discovery of the continent. Claims that the Europeans were making about African culture, however, were far fetched and did not depict Africa in a positive manner. History according to pre-European Africa was rich and diverse, but once Europeans saw for themselves how different their continent was from Africa, they began to make up their own version of African history.

The 22,000 square-foot exhibition space contains more than 20 galleries. This museum showcases over 30,000 artifacts. The exhibitions are set up as a time traveling experience that takes visitors across hundreds of years and across the globe. The journey begins in Africa, the cradle of human life and continues on to the slave trade, and the contribution to African culture. In the end, the journey discloses with remarkable triumphs in medicine,

This is an interesting story. It was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. I'm going to choose juror 11 because I thought it was interesting how he constantly saw the bigger picture of democracy and choice during the whole process. He voted "not guilty" after enough evidence was presented that the old man could not have walked to his door in 15 seconds and therefore couldn't have seen or heard what he said he did, which is a good reason for a "reasonable doubt".

Barbara Cooper argues that the gap between African historians and the general field of historians is derived from the many debates surrounding the legitimacy of oral sources as a tool of understanding the evolution and development of Africa and its past. As a result of this, the exciting developments occurring within African history have been “…rendered unintelligible to academic historians in general” (Cooper 211) as the methodological research that Africanists put into acquiring and using oral sources are overlooked and ignored. She encourages other historians to utilize this research and for African history scholars to do their part as well by participating in conversations with other historians and debates to bring their work to light. All in the hopes that African history becomes relevant and exciting to a larger audience including historians outside the African field of work, as this history is too important to be

Into Africa by Martin Dugard, is a unique retelling of one of David Livingstone’s last expeditions through Africa. Martin Dugard lives in Orange County, California and is an accomplished writer and adventurer. Martin Dugard accurately provides his readers with an inside look at his characters motivation and inner thoughts. Dugard has also written several other nonfictional history books that showcase his desire to display his characters psychological processing such as Killing Clinton, published in 2012, and Killing Lincoln, published in 2013. Into Africa was published in 2003, by Doubleday, a division of Random House, inc. in New York, NY. Dugard uses the book to prove his thesis that Henry Morton Stanley and

It is appropriate to say that the conditions of Blacks in the past have improved since various Black power movements. The twenty first century generation of African Americans continues to be content with the accomplishments’ of our ancestors, instead of becoming more aware of our heritage and culture in order to understand the present. Renée Stout’s art develop from Black movements such as Garveyism and the Pan-Africanism movements that aimed to instill racial pride and racial unity. Just as these movements made Blacks around the Diaspora aware of the conditions of other Blacks, Stout’s exhibit, Tales of the Conjure Woman, unveil the oppressed culture of Africans and African Americans while instilling racial pride and unity.

Belonging to a group and possessing some form of identity has been the drive to keep people unified within nations. As Empires expanded, many rulers realized that a unified people would prove less difficult to govern. Therefore a common trend amongst states battling to establish their colonies was to integrate the beliefs of their nation into those they had conquered. The aftermath, though destructive in numerous areas, was rather effective. People were easier to organize when they believed in the same things, something that proved fatal in the lives of many cultures, such as the African culture during the era of decolonization. However, the cause of rebellions and wars for freedoms, many nations decided on rebuilding their scattered people. Instead of conquering foreign lands, which proved more and more difficult to maintain with technology advancements and globalization, states are now more content with collaborating than expanding their empires. Yet while such movements have quelled the hunger for creating vast empires, conflicts within states, particularly ethnic

America is viewed by many people around the world as the land of opportunity. This suggests that America is a country where anyone can succeed, live prosperously and have freedom; that if only they can make their way here, all their dreams will come true. People believe America is where they will find freedom; a place where you have freedom of religion, freedom of speech, political autonomy, etc. Every day there is talk of America’s illegal immigration problem; people are dying to come here, figuratively and sometimes literally. These stories of unwanted immigrants coming to the US have been told by politicians and the media for a long time. However, people never hear about the hardships some of these

On a “Trip to Congo” Sir Richard F. Burton writes a story during his exploration to the Yellalla or Cataracts of the Congo leaving some detail insights of the customs and behavior of the African communities. He only gives his point of view from an imperialist position and sometimes denigrates and diminishes the people and their culture. Even though Burton had a translator throughout his trip the language barrier prohibits interaction with the communities and the ability to empathize with the natives. Interaction and understanding is the key to appreciate their behaviors, instead Burton

Dominant media produces films using generalized, and distorted images of Africa to create the idea of a dark continent in need colonial help, due to native civilization’s inability to live in a functional society. Mountains of the Moon, follows Richard Burton and John Speke, two explorers in search of the Nile. Set in pre-colonial times, this movie constructs images of Africa, perpetuating African’s inability to live in developed societies, and shows their natural inclination to appease British explorers. The Kitchen Toto, tells the story of Mwangi, who becomes a British officer’s kitchen Toto after his father is killed for opposing the clandestine independence movement. This movie shapes inaccurate images of African independence movements, showing those who are not under colonial rule as threatening, malicious, problematic, and incompetent of leadership. A Good Man in Africa tells the story of a British Diplomat, Morgan Leafy, who lives in Kinjanja, a nation recently freed from British rule. This film portrays Africa’s dependence on neocolonial rule through the Kinjanja’s fait, which rests in the hands of Dr Alex Murray, the man who is in the way of Adekunle’s exploitive building project. These three films represent ho western cultures imagination has evoked stock narratives, creating artificial Africas, in dominant media and films, leading to falsified images expanding from pre-colonialism to twentieth century neocolonialism.

The chapter “Practices of National Unity and Reconciliation” from Susan Thomson’s book Africa and the Diaspora: Whispering Truth to Power: Everyday Resistance to Reconciliation in Postgenocide Rwanda, gives readers insight on the daily struggles of reestablishing lives and a nation after brutality. The various practices and mechanisms of national unity operate within the dense apparatus of the Rwandan state and are a central element of the RPF’s unity-building activities, which are, in tur, the foundation of its Vision 2020 development program (Thomson 108). Rural Rwandans that participated in Thomson’s research say the future isn’t very bright since the past continues to interrupt their present. However, the policy of national unity and reconciliation

Imagine if one could choose between one life or another. Choosing a better life, or keeping the life that one has now, would be an amazing action. “Life on the Mississippi,” by Luis Alberto Urrea, and “My Childhood on the Continent of Africa,” by David Sedaris, both focus on the possibility of being able to choose between one life or another, while the reader will become emotional from the characters, in order to keep the reader engaged in the texts. The way this possibility is shown throughout “Life on the Mississippi” and “My Childhood on the Continent of Africa” is through the characterization of the characters and imagery, which gives the reader an emotional

Shifting Views: Peoples and Politics in Contemporary African Art, is the Baltimore Museum of Art's first exhibition of contemporary African art. Works by Senam Okudzeto, Diane Victor, Julie Mehretu, William Kentridge, Gavin Jantjes, Robin Rhode, and David Goldblatt include photographs, prints, and drawings that center a variety of local and global African diasporic issues: Migration and globalization, apartheid and state-sponsored surveillance, public and private space, segregation and stereotype are all on display here. The seven artists included in the exhibition are representative of three countries: South Africa, Ethiopia, and Ghana, though many of the artists currently reside in Europe or the U.S. The show's curators were especially interested in South Africa; five of the seven participating artists hail from the country. Three of those South African artists are white, and one is of mixed race.

Frantz Fanon discusses collective catharsis, “In every society, in every community, there exists, must exist, a channel, an outlet whereby the energy accumulated in the form of aggressiveness can be released.”This is the inspiration for my curatorial practice. As a curator, community organizer, first generation Caribbean-American and New York City native, my curatorial work seeks to foster resistance and empowerment with oppressed communities. I seek to do this by cultivating spaces for collective catharsis and critical discourse, becoming the catalyst for radical action. A passion for Justice by every means necessary is at the root of my desire to study Contemporary Art and Art Theory of Africa and Asia at SOAS.