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ByAW 0 JO E
CBICAGO-It' Black His
tory Month. The special
hows, announcements, arti
cl and events are quickly
filling up your calendar. But,
wait. This is the year to expe
rience up close the source of
this great history, a trip to
Africa. Now, since actually
traveling bac across the At
I,antic is beyond the reach of
moat, there is a worthwhile
substitute that is doable: a
trip to Chicago to take in the
new Africa Exhibi t at the
Field Museum. '
Although no exhibit could
begin to cover all of Africa in
depth, the Field Museum's
illit Jl t,
Central, East and North M
rica and the Atrican Diu
por during various periods.
Africa provides you with
a broad introduction to the
African continent and pe0-
ple of African descent.
More than 340 ethnologi-
ROYAL BE�I ART - A plaque frOID Benin Kingdom; Edo peoples
Nigeria, 17th century. A cast copper alloy. (photo by Jeffrey Ploskonka)
, Then discover the signifi
cance of mining and metal
working and the social con
text of Benin bronz and
ivory.
You may go on to explore
the savanna environment
and investigate Africa's
Great Rift.
And eventually you will
find the complexity of the de
sert ecosystem on a caravan
d endan . Learn th vari
ous way in which they m in
tained their ethnic culture
and pride within the mul
ticultural Americas.
The $4 million Africa ex-
hibit r pr n coll ra-
ive ef or by Afric n an
African American scholars
the narr tors and d igner
of their ,own people' stori .
.Interactive and hands-on
h i exhibit is a
.long rm commitment. So, if
lack i tory month is too
hart to allow h tri p, then
ther will be time this spring
or summ r.
cal objects appear in the con
text of their . In 15,000
square feet of space, a ri
of ven true-to-life settings
makes you feel as if "you are
there"-African cities: Com
munity and Family Life; bus
and Audio-visual Presenta
tions; Introduction-Orienta
tion Gallery; Art and
Society; Adaptation and En
vironments; Commerce
Caravans Across the Sa
hara; and Africans in the
World-Transforming the
Americas. '
You will be drawn into the
Africa exhibits by a lively
and festive marketplace
that is a recreation of a bus
tling street in Dakar,
Sen ale
M a �tletl�l4!!J8e
.. i r ftAlah� ..... +1inft
of Tabaaki, a Muslim holy
day.
Continuing on the jour
ney, you will survey the ma
jor art-producing regions of
the Cameroon grass fields
and Zaire.
ctiviti , multimedia pres
ntations and one of the fin
t collections of African
rtifacts help visitors come to
d r under tandingofAf
riC :.
tri p across the Sahara to the
Kano marketplace,
Finally, the African Dias
pora s tion provides exp ri
ence that help visitor
examine a number of qu -
tiona, including how and why
lavery happen .
In th m ricas, you w.ill
find the d p ations and in
novation brou ht to our con
temporary world by African