Many of the objects on view at art museums have lived astonishingly mobile lives. Objects in UMMA’s African Art galleries are no different. They were created, traded, commissioned, shipped, inherited, auctioned, shipped again, bought, or otherwise passed through markets, dealers, and museums across multiple continents before arriving here in Ann Arbor.

In this Subject Matters event, UMMA Curator Dave Choberka and UMMA’s Assistant Curator of African Art Ashley Miller unpack the complicated journeys some works of art take and how several objects in the We Write to You About Africa exhibition made their way to UMMA. We will consider the legacies of colonialism in the history of the African collection and focus on the new art UMMA has acquired to create a vibrant museum experience for our visitors.

This 90-minute event digs into provenance, cultural exchange, colonial entanglements, contemporary market dynamics, and the ethical questions museums face when artworks have long, layered histories.