Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3358-890X

Date of Award

5-1-2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Anthropology

First Advisor

Emanuela Guano

Second Advisor

Louis Ruprecht

Third Advisor

Nicola Sharratt

Abstract

Transnational routes of exchange include the flow of materials often embedded within a range of social relations and cultural processes. This research examines the representation and circulation of art and artifacts from parts of Africa within Atlanta, a major metropolis in Georgia, United States. Using ethnographic research methods, I investigate cultures of patronage, acquisition, curation, and exhibition of African art within select art organizations in Atlanta, using a small-scale African art gallery as a case study. The study reveals the complex social dynamics and negotiations surrounding engagements with transnational African art across institutional contexts in Atlanta. My findings also show how institutions of art can serve as contact zones facilitating dynamic cultural exchange and communal belonging between diverse patrons connected by their interests in African art. Core outcomes relate to identity performance and the affective, decolonial potential of institutions mediating the transnational flow and circulation of African art.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/36972900

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