Contemporary African Spirituality - Opening Reception

On Display: February 8 – April 7

Contemporary African Spirituality in Art explores cultural practices that have been mixed, juxtaposed, and collided with ideas, themes, materials, and techniques, both African and Modern, by African and African diaspora artists in New Jersey and surrounding areas. Curated by Atim Annette Oton, it examines the transformation of spirituality from the lens of visual artists.

The exhibit is co-sponsored by The Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University.

About Guest Curator Atim Annette Oton

Atim Annette Oton is a Nigerian-born, American and British-educated designer turned curator. She founded and is curator of the Harlem-based Calabar Gallery, which showcases contemporary African Artists and African Diaspora artists globally.

She has been the African Art Curator for Amref Health Africa ArtBall for the past 4 years, which honored artists Wangechi Munu, El Anatsui, Toyin Ojih Odutola, and Zanele Muholi. Oton has also served as curator for the Jersey City Theater Center and as Curator for Community Engagement at the Bronx: Africa exhibition at Longwood Gallery.

As a Huffington Post Black Voices Blogger, Oton created the series, The Pulse of Africa, where she wrote about global Africans working in Africa and across the diaspora and presented an inside view on Africa’s progress, issues on arts and culture, technology and opportunities.

Oton served as the Associate Chair of Product Design at the Parsons School of Design in New York City and founded Blacklines Magainze, a quarterly publication celebrating Black designers.

She studied architecture at the City College of New York and at the Architectural Association Graduate School in London, England.