By: Emily Felty, Staff writer
The Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery recently introduced a new traveling exhibition from Syracuse University entitled “Nyumba Ya Sanaa: Works from the Maryknoll Collection.”
This exhibit showcases the artwork of 22 contemporary Tanzanian artists who attended a school in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, called Nyumba ya Sanaa (“House of Art” in Swahili). According to Dr. Barbara McNulty, Director of the Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, the school was organized in 1972 by the Maryknoll Sisters led by Sister Jean Pruitt.
“Their goal was to create an outlet for Tanzanian artists,” McNulty said. “They had a workshop there, and they sold their work to many museums across the United States to help them economically.”
Exhibitions like this one take several years to plan. A balanced line of exhibitions with different themes is offered at the art gallery to appeal to the various academic disciplines.
“For this particular exhibition, we are hoping that classes in history, religion and cultural studies will be interested,” McNulty said. “Students will be able to look into the different types of print making. We also have some wonderful sculpture, and the themes of the work really tell a bit of the story about Tanzanian culture.”
Hannah Dieringer, a senior majoring in business administration and art and art history, is the Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery intern for the fall semester. As the gallery intern she assists with the various museum tasks involved in this exhibit: helping with labels, creating layouts and doing some marketing.
“I think that art really allows people to have a visual understanding of certain topics or genres and learn about new things in a different way,” Dieringer said. “This new exhibition is contemporary Tanzanian artists. There’s a whole host of different mediums happening, and it is just really important for people to learn about other cultures in general.”
This unique collection contains prints, drawings, watercolors, sculptures and textiles donated by the Maryknoll Sisters.
“I really like the water color paintings,” Dieringer said. “The detail in them is beautiful. It’s interesting to see the difference between the water colors and the prints.”
Besides the opening reception, two other special events were held in association with the exhibit at Zimmerman Recital Hall. Domenic Iacono, Director of the SUArt Galleries, presented a lecture entitled “Fertile Ground: Art from Tanzania” in mid-November. Sister Jean Pruitt, the founder of the school Nyumba ya Sanaa, was also at this lecture. The other November event was a performance by an African Dance Troupe from Lancaster called IMANI Edu-Tainers.
The exhibition is free and open to the public. The art gallery is open Wednesday evenings from 5-8 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 1-4:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. The “Nyumba Ya Sanaa” exhibit will continue through Dec. 18.
E. FELTY