Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art Hosts Holiday Marketplace

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art will host a marketplace as part of a series of events that celebrate its 60th anniversary. Approximately 15 educational artisans from the African diaspora will set up Saturday, Dec. 7, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Concourse Level of the museum, three levels below the ground floor.

Since its founding in 1964, the museum has promoted cross-cultural understanding. The marketplace honors this mission by paying homage to the cultures of the African diaspora. It will feature a diverse group of items offered by educational artisans who represent a variety of African cultures to enable visitors to appreciate and learn more about authentic traditions from different regions of Africa. Examples include basket weaving, textiles, gourd art, jewelry, furniture and an Africa memory game to test your knowledge of the continent. The museum’s store will also be present; proceeds from the store’s sale support the Smithsonian.

Visitors are encouraged to explore the National Museum of African Art’s newly redesigned Ripley Center entrance and the museum’s adjoining galleries to deepen their understanding of African arts and culture.

Current exhibitions include the award-winning “From the Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya with Ayana V. Jackson,” which imagines a powerful underwater world of African spirits; “Bruce Onobrakpeya: The Mask and the Cross,” featuring works by one the fathers of postcolonial Nigerian modernism whose art interprets spiritualism through a global lens; and nine objects from the royal court of Benin that are displayed in a special exhibition marking the museum’s 60th anniversary.

About the National Museum of African Art

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art is the only museum in the world dedicated solely to the collection, conservation, study and exhibition of Africa’s arts across time and media. The museum’s collection of over 13,000 artworks spans more than 1,000 years of African history and includes a variety of media from across the continent. For more information, call 202-633-4600 or visit the museum’s website. For general Smithsonian information, the public can call 202-633-1000. Follow the museum on X, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. Beginning as a private educational institution in 1964 to promote cross-cultural understanding, the museum is now celebrating its 60th anniversary. Founded by Warren M. Robbins, a former U.S. Foreign Service officer, it started when Robbins showcased his personal collection in a Capitol Hill townhome that had once been the home of Frederick Douglass. Robbins was inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and motivated by a desire to share how African art inspired Western art. The museum joined the Smithsonian Institution in 1979 and has continued to expand Robbins’ vision and collection for six decades.

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