News & Events

West African Art Exhibit and Lecture at UNC Asheville

December 17, 2010

Art educator, collector, and curator Jan Goffney will present an exhibit of West African art at UNC Asheville's Highsmith University Union Gallery. The exhibit, "African Art: A Collectors Perspective," includes traditional masks, mortar and pestles, slave shackles and Kente cloths, and will be on view from January 10-February 7. Goffney will also give a lecture accompanying the exhibit at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20, in the gallery. A reception featuring traditional West African foods will begin at 5:30 p.m. The events are free and open to the public.

"African Art: A Collector's Perspective," showcases a selection of art and artifacts from Goffney's personal collection. Goffney hopes to use the exhibit to break down common misconceptions about Africa's past and present. Goffney served as curator in the Detroit Public Schools Children’s Museum specializing in ethnic studies, and later opened her own Multicultural Museum. She has spent many years traveling to Africa to collect artworks and their accompanying stories.

The event is sponsored by the following programs at UNC Asheville: the Office of Student Activities and Integrated Learning, the Honors Program, Multicultural Student Programs, the Center for Diversity Education, the Department of Africana Studies, and the Craft Studies Initiative.

The gallery is located on the lower level of UNC Asheville's Highsmith University Union, and is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday. For more information, call 828.251.6991.