Smithsonian National Museum of African Art - Washington, DC

Address:950 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, District of Columbia
Tel: (202) 633-4600

The National Museum of African Art, located on the National Mall, specializes in African art and culture. The museum started with the personal collection of African pieces of art by private collector Warren M. Robbins, in his own home. In 1963, he began housing his collection in the former residence of Frederick Douglass, and was the first museum in the nation to dedicate itself exclusively to African Art. In 1987, the Museum was relocated to the National Mall and renamed the National Museum of African Art.

Among its many exhibits, the National Museum of African Art houses the extraordinary Voices in Dialogue exhibition, the start of a series in which talented African artists are invited to take part in a visual conversation, each artist responding to the work of the previous. The result is a beautiful multi-artist site-specific work of art, and encompassing the art, history, and culture of the entire African continent.

The African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection is also on display, showing off over 80 original works of art, in one of the world's most respected collections of sub-Saharan African Art.

The National Museum of African Art is located on the National Mall, at 950 Independence Avenue, between the Sackler Gallery and the Smithsonian's Arts & Industries Building.

The collection of the National Museum of African Art (NMAfA) embraces the diverse artistic expressions found throughout Africa, from ancient to contemporary times.