Gallery talks are casual conversations between artists, curators, and other special guests with NOMA visitors frequently scheduled throughout the year. Louisiana residents receive free admission to NOMA on Wednesdays courtesy of The Helis Foundation.

Join Curator Ndubuisi Ezeluomba for a discussion about Ancestors in Stone, an exhibition centered upon a recently acquired akwanshi stone monolith from the Cross River region of Nigeria, supported with figures and objects rendered in part or whole in stone from other regions of West Africa. The show speaks to the significance of stone as both a natural element and a significant material in the veneration of ancestors. Although carved stones represent ancestors, uncarved stones may also represent ancestors. Such characteristics suggest the importance of stone to this and other African cultures.

Image: Akwanshi, c. 16th century, Stone, Ejagham artist, Nigeria, Museum purchase, Francoise Billion Richardson and Robert P. Gordy Funds, 2019.11