Two special community events organized by the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures will mark African Heritage Month on Thursday, Feb. 28.
A special reception at Rodman Hall featuring traditional African music will be held for Masques, Mythes et Mascarades/ Masks, Myths and Masquerades, a multi-site exhibition of African masks in collaboration with SOFIFRAN.
“African masks are at the very roots of humanity’s origins,” says Nafée Faigou of SOFIFRAN. “They crossed through 6000 years of human history and civilization without a wrinkle. They are universal and anchored in our collective unconscious mind.”
African masks are not pieces of art and do not belong to particular individuals, Faigou says, but are an expression of the tribe’s humanity and play important social, political and sacred roles in a society.
The exhibition at Rodman Hall is linked to current exhibitions in the Matheson Learning Commons and the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures and features masks from private collections in Niagara. The exhibition is open until March 3.
Also on Feb. 28 is African Voices/Voix Africanes/Sauti za Afrika, which will animate Heather Hart’s Northern Oracle rooftop installation. People of African descent will share their thoughts and experiences as visible minorities in the Niagara region in a diversity of languages.
The events are a collaboration between SOFIFRAN, the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, and Rodman Hall Art Centre.
Both events are free and open to the public.
What: African Voices/Voiz Africaines/Sauti za Afrika and Masques, Mythes et Mascarades/ Masks, Myths and Masquerades
Where: Rodman Hall Art Centre
When: Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.
