THE AFRICA CENTER Stepping inside the freshly opened NYC institution with CEO Uzodinma Iweala

Stepping inside the freshly opened NYC institution with CEO Uzodinma Iweala

The Africa Center

Sitting majestically at One Museum Mile is The Africa Center (TAC). This splendid Robert A.M. Stern-designed building has tantalised onlookers with the potential of its 70,000-square-foot, three-storey presence for a while. The non-profit organisation has been built on the legacy of the legendary Museum for African Art, founded by Elsie McCabe Thompson in 1984. The museum first opened on the Upper East Side, before migrating to Soho and Long Island City, until finally setting its sights on its current prestigious location. It was due to re-open in 2015, but after various setbacks its scope and vision transformed and in early 2019, TAC opened its doors with a renewed and refreshingly straightforward vigour.

“Our mission is to transform narratives about Africa,” says Uzodinma Iweala (the award-winning author of novels Beasts of No Nation and Speak No Evil), who began as CEO of TAC in 2018, joining a board of trustees that includes co-chairs Hadeel Ibrahim, Chelsea Clinton and president Halima Dangote. “Our three main tenets are culture, policy and business. We’re starting with culture because that’s how you shape narratives. These stories are complex — some are exhilarating and some are tragic — so this is an opportunity to show what it means to be African, and examine the importance of Africa’s place in the world.”

TAC started small but perfectly formed with Teranga, a café and installation space offering casual dining by famed Senegalese chef Pierre Thiam, as well as a line-up of performances, exhibitions, discussions, book readings and film screenings. “We have focussed on building community and relationships through our initial programming. As an institution, our people are our collection, so we’re trying things out as a way to gather thoughts and ideas,” Iweala explains. “It’s a multi-disciplinary approach and a participatory process. We will develop this iterative thinking into TAC’s DNA as we grow. If we are transforming ideas around what the story of Africa is, then we must remain ready to transform ourselves.” The first art installation came from Victor Ekpuk, who created the site-specific mural Harlem Sunshine. This was followed by the exhibition All Power To All People by Hank Willis Thomas in association with Kindred Arts. There have been theatre performances by the Hear Word! collective and music from the Chineke! Orchestra, as well as workshops by AtWork, an art initiative of the Moleskine Foundation and curator Simon Njami. Also exciting is the arrival of Portals, a shared studio housed in a shipping container that facilitates real-time video interactions between participants in similar portals around the globe. “We are thrilled with our varied audiences so far. Some people have been waiting for a long time for us to open, and some had never heard of us before, but either way are super excited that a place like this exists for them.”

Now that TAC is finally open, the next step will be to open a larger performance and gallery space and after that, develop a marketplace, makers’ space and educational facilities, plus a policy institute and business centre. “When it comes to policy, our starting point is thinking imaginatively about Africa’s massive youth population. What future are we trying to build in terms of security, employment and the environment?”, Iweala says. “At a moment when there are so many forces seeking to divide us, TAC can provide an amazing space for a celebration of creative connectivity and productive debate.”