The Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) and the Aga Khan Museum of Toronto Present Ekow Nimako’s Kumbi Saleh 3020 CE- February 5 – May 14
“The Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is delighted to present Kumbi Saleh 3020 CE, a monumental sculpture constructed from over 100,000 black LEGO February 5, 2022 through April 16, 2022. In early 2021, the Aga Khan Museum’s acquisition of Kumbi Saleh 3020 CE by Ghanaian-Canadian artist Ekow Nimako grabbed headlines around the world. HMAAC is the first opportunity for audiences to see the sculpture outside of Canada.
Nearly 30 square feet in scale, Kumbi Saleh 3020 CE is Nimako’s reimagining of the capital of the medieval Kingdom of Ghana to forge a utopian vision of sub-Saharan Africa 1,000 years in the future. With astounding detail, he uses the medium of LEGO® to explore Afrofuturism, the cultural movement that envisions Black, African, and Afrodiasporic people and narratives through a science-fiction lens. The artwork draws on elements from the past to give scope to the future, while providing an expansive foundation of hope for the next millennia and beyond.
Nimako in his artist statement explains, “In both concept and aesthetic, the piece represents an uninterrupted, unco-opted narrative of Black civilizations that seeks to reclaim histories, reconcile ancestral traumas, and imagine liberated futures for all African peoples.” In essence it is a reimagination of a Blackness that is not constructed against the backdrop of enslavement, colonization, and violence. As for the use of LEGO pieces, the artist shared that it “further evokes a futuristic aesthetic to capture architectural forms and elements from the natural world, transcending the medium’s geometric form.”
According to Aga Khan Museum Curator Michael Chagnon, Kumbi Saleh 3020 CE advances the Museum’s mission to “bridge culture through the arts and foreground cultural narratives that often remain unheard.” For HMAAC, “This sculpture allows the museum to continue its participation in global conversations that are occurring throughout the African Diaspora,” said HMAAC CEO John Guess, Jr.
Related programming for the exhibition begins with a February 12 talk by Johns Hopkins University Center for Africana Studies Director Minkah Makalani, with an additional lecture by Johns Hopkins Professor Nathan Connolly and a conversation between Curator Michael Chagnon and University of Houston Professor Dina Al-Sowayel, Other programming will include workshops for young, middle and high school students by artist Nimako.
Kumbi Saleh 3020 CE is generously sponsored by the Houston Endowment, HEB, the Aga Khan Foundation, LEGO, the Houston Freedman’s Town Conservancy and the Board of Directors of the Houston Museum of African American Culture.”
ABOUT EKOW NIMAKO
Ekow Nimako is a Toronto-based, internationally exhibiting LEGO® artist who crafts futuristic and whimsical sculptures from the iconic medium. Rooted in his childhood hobby and intrinsic creativity, Nimako‘s formal arts education and background as a lifelong multidisciplinary artist inform his process and signature aesthetic. His fluid building style, coupled with the Afrofuturistic themes of his work, beautifully transcend the geometric material to embody organic and fantastical silhouettes. Nimako has exhibited works in Canada, Germany, Korea, and the United Kingdom.
ABOUT THE AGA KHAN MUSEUM
The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto Canada, has been established and developed by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The Museum’s mission is to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the contributions that Muslim civilizations have made to world heritage while often reflecting, through both its permanent and temporary exhibitions, how cultures connect with one another. Designed by architect Fumihiko Maki, the Museum shares a 6.8 hectare site with Toronto’s Ismaili Centre, which was designed by architect Charles Correa. The surrounding landscaped park was designed by landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic.
ABOUT THE HOUSTON MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE
The mission of HMAAC is to collect, conserve, explore, interpret, and exhibit the material and intellectual culture of Africans and African Americans in Houston, the state of Texas, the southwest and the African Diaspora for current and future generations. In fulfilling its mission, HMAAC seeks to invite and engage visitors of every race and background and to inspire children of all ages through discovery-driven learning. HMAAC is to be a museum for all people. While our focus is the African American experience, our story informs and includes not only people of color, but people of all colors. As a result, the stories and exhibitions that HMAAC will bring to Texas are about the indisputable fact that while our experience is a unique one, it has been impacted by and has impacted numerous races, genders and ethnicities. The museum continues to be a space where a multicultural conversation on race geared toward a common future takes place.
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