Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Trans-Saharan Exchange

FAIN: GE-250133-16

Northwestern University (Evanston, IL 60208-0001)
Lisa Graziose Corrin (Project Director: January 2016 to June 2019)

Planning for a traveling exhibition and a catalog exploring the history and artifacts of the gold trade in West Africa and Africa’s global economy from the 8th through the 16th centuries.

The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art requests a $65,000 planning grant from the NEH to support the planning of Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Trans-Saharan Exchange, a traveling exhibition, scholarly catalogue, and series of public engagement programs. Organized in partnership with Yale University Art Gallery, this project brings to light how West African gold fueled a global economy from the 8th through the 16th century, and was the impetus for the movement of things, people, and ideas across the Sahara Desert. NEH funding will support two convenings of humanities scholar advisors, as well as essential curatorial travel to Mali, Nigeria, Morocco, France and the UK to visit collections, identify key international loans, and build partnerships with these lending institutions.