What is Masquerade?

This exhibition tells the stories of currently active masquerade artists in West Africa. Our aim is to offer a fresh take on the vitality of contemporary masquerade arts and showcase the artworks and voices of the individual creators. In focusing on current artists, their motivations, artistic choices, and the patronage and economic networks with which they engage, this exhibition makes clear that creativity in masquerade is fundamentally contemporary. By demonstrating the contemporary relevance of masquerade, the exhibition also questions why more masquerade artists at work today are excluded from the art historical “canon.” Further, another major goal of this show is to provide a research model in working on and researching with contemporary masquerade artists, and to bring in issues of restitution and ownership. In the end, this exhibition offers audiences a more nuanced and personalized voice with which to understand the vibrancy of contemporary masquerade arts in West Africa.