The Eiteljorg Gallery of African Art, on the second floor of the Krannert Pavilion, features more than 400 objects. Visitors can see and enjoy a collection that includes masks, figures, textiles, and many other types of objects that represent all major regions of the continent. Maps help to pinpoint African peoples and their art within the continent’s vast geographic and cultural framework, and informational labels and photomurals clarify the religious, social, and political contexts of the art. Video kiosks offer visitors an opportunity to see and hear how objects were made and used.
Many works in the gallery are displayed in the open, rather than in cases or behind glass, reflecting the wishes of Harrison Eiteljorg, the late Indianapolis industrialist whose 1989 gift of 1,200 works of African art is the foundation of the IMA collection. Eiteljorg knew that African art is a living art—part of the fabric of African life—and he wanted the collection to be as accessible as possible.

Gallery Panorama