Opening Celebration - Caravans of Gold - January 26

You are invited

CARAVANS OF GOLD FRAGMENTS IN TIME

ART, CULTURE, AND EXCHANGE ACROSS MEDIEVAL SAHARAN AFRICA Organized by The Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University Traveling to The Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Fall 2019 The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C., Spring 2020

Also on view Isaac Julien: The Leopard (Western Union Small Boats), 2007

Join us for a journey along Africa's trade routes - a story of art, culture, and exchange stretching from the medieval Sahara, across the globe, and into our own time.

OPENING CELEBRATION Saturday, January 26th, 2019 10 am - 6 pm, free, open to all

10:30 am - 1:00pm CARAVANS AND CROSSROADS: ART, MUSIC, AND STORIES All-ages, artist-led activities, West African DJ sets, and griot performances throughout The Block Museum 2 pm OPENING PROGRAM Pick-Staiger Concert Hall 50 Arts Circle Dr., .Evanston, IL 60208

RSVP: bit.ly/CaravansofGold or block-museum@northwestern.edu

OPENING PROGRAM with world-renowned experts Welcome remarks: Jonathan Holloway Provost of Northwestern University, Professor of History and African American Studies Annelise Riles Executive Director, Buffett Institute for Global Studies, Associate Provost for Global Affairs Presentations and conversation: Kathleen Bickford Berzock Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Block Museum of Art Gus Casely-Hayford Director, Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art, Host, "Lost Kingdoms of Africa," BBC Chris Abani Nigerian-born novelist, poet, essayist, Northwestern Professor of Creative Writing

FREE AND OPEN TO ALL 40 Arts Circle Drive Evanston, IL 60208 847. 491. 4000 blockmuseum.northwestern.edu @nublockmuseum Exhibition catalog published by The Block Museum of Art and Princeton University Press.

Caravans of Gold has been made possible in part the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor, as well as by Northwestern University's Buffett Institute for Global Studies. An anonymous donor has made possible the exhibition’s travel to the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Myers Foundations, the Alumnae of Northwestern University, the Robert Lehman Foundation, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and the Evanston Arts Council Agency.

Front Image: Fulani, Senegal, Bead, 19th-20th Century, gold filigree. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Eleanor Clay Ford Fund for African Art, .