Palmer Museum exhibition to feature vital works of contemporary African art

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Palmer Museum of Art in the College of Arts and Architecture is hosting an exhibition devoted to art from Africa by present-day artists. The exhibit, titled "Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection," opened on Feb. 7 and presents 40 works of sculpture, painting, ceramics, printmaking and photography by 22 living artists who have lived and worked on the African continent or in the diaspora.

"Having 'Insistent Presence' at the Palmer Museum is an incredible opportunity for Penn State students and faculty, as well as the Centre County community and beyond, to experience contemporary art from Africa,” said Palmer Director Amanda Hellman, who specializes in African art. “We are so excited to bring the impactful and extraordinary works, lives and experiences of these artists from thousands of miles away straight to our doorstep.”

Past and present lives

Visitors who come to discover "Insistent Presence" will encounter arresting artworks about artists’ past and present lives in Africa, including their identities, values, relationships and struggles in the midst of 21st-century realities. Artists hail widely from Tunisia and Egypt to Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania.

“I'm looking forward to 'Insistent Presence' because it highlights the factors of forming identity, an idea I find super-relevant for college students,” said Palmer Museum intern Faith Turnbull, a fourth-year public relations major with minors in German, global and international studies, and digital media trends and analytics. “I also find the exhibition's inclusion of artists from all over Africa very important for accurate representation."

“'Insistent Presence' offers a digest of African culture that invites viewers to experience life over many decades across the vast continent,” said Margaret Nagawa, the exhibition’s guest curator and a doctoral degree candidate at Emory University. “Each work in the exhibition provides a lens through which the viewer can gain insight into the social, political, and religious context in the region.”

The artists use their art and practice to reclaim the body as an expression of political views, aesthetic experimentation and the everyday disappointments and triumphs of human life, added Nagawa. As they chronicle decolonization, restitution and other topics from African history and experience, visitors can consider the role the body plays in colonialism, humanism and modernity.

Presence and absence

The exhibition is arranged in three sections that investigate notions of the presence and absence of the human body.

“The Body in Society" section focuses on how people interact with one another and the world around them. The works include a range of themes that highlight individual and collective identity, politics and religious and social ideologies, using the human form as an avenue to express intersections and divisions between the private and public self and belonging. This social connection with the world is underscored in the concept of "ubuntu," found in different societies on the African continent, which foregrounds the idea that the self is defined only in terms of relationships with others, and that these relations foster individual well-being.

In “The Artist is Present," creators use their bodies as a medium in performance, sculpture, photography, painting and animation to communicate personal or cultural histories. The presence of the artist in their work is an act of self-definition that speaks to individual and relational narratives, social interactions and the lifestyles and cultures experienced in each artist’s respective region.

Artists featured in “The Absent Body” section use inanimate objects to suggest and comment on the human person and experience, drawing not only on physical manifestations of the body but also ideas that suggest the figure via clothing, accessories, furniture or other objects. The absence prompts viewers to form their own mental image of a body or encourages them to imagine themselves in its place.

“I’m looking forward to exploring the pieces through the three sections,” said Beyla Holbrook, a third-year public relations student with a minor in legal environment of business who is also an intern at the Palmer. “I’m excited because it is bringing new global perspectives to the museum, and it aligns with other works and installations like our permanent African art collection.”

“This exhibition and programs will be a great introduction to the Palmer for new visitors as well as a reflection of what keeps the students and community coming back for more,” she added.

Upcoming related programs

A variety of public programs will be organized throughout the spring semester to engage the Penn State and surrounding community in exploration of "Insistent Presence" and the artworks, artists and themes in the exhibition.

Gallery Talk + Conversation: "Insistent Presence"

Thursday, Feb. 12, 5:30 p.m., Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos and Jason D. Kogan Galleries

Enjoy an in-depth gallery conversation with Amanda Hellman, Palmer director and specialist in African art.

Drop-in Tour: Relationships and Identity in Art (ASL interpreter in attendance)

Sunday, Feb. 15, 2 p.m., start in the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Lobby

Drop in and discover the Palmer’s world-class collections and exhibitions with a friendly and knowledgeable museum guide. ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation by Gary Thomas.

Gallery Talk + Conversation: "Insistent Presence"

Friday, Feb. 20, Noon, Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos and Jason D. Kogan Galleries

Enjoy an interdisciplinary gallery conversation with Beatrice Opokua Atencah, John M. Anderson assistant teaching professor of art, and Dorothy Takyiakwaa, assistant teaching professor in African studies.

Art After Hours: "We Are Here"

Thursday, Feb. 26, Free, drop-in, 5–8 p.m., Event Space, Galleries, Object Study Room

Experience special exhibition "Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection" and reflect on the power of what it means to be present. Enjoy music and dance performances by Penn State student organizations and explore how the human body acts as a vessel for social and political histories and contested identities through a collage art-making activity. Light refreshments will be provided.

Gallery Talk + Conversation: "Insistent Presence"

Thursday, Feb. 26, 5:30 p.m. during Art After Hours, Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos and Jason D. Kogan Galleries

Enjoy an interdisciplinary gallery conversation and poetry reading with Gabeba Baderoon, associate professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, African studies, and comparative literature, and award-winning poet and visual artist Jolyn Phillips.

Curator Talk: Margaret Nagawa

Thursday, March 5, 6 p.m., Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos and Jason D. Kogan Galleries

Maragaret Nagawa is the curator of "Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection" and a doctoral degree candidate at Emory specializing in contemporary African art. Her research focuses on sculpture and language, showing that artists center the human body in forging alternative definitions to the narrow categorizations of art, craft and literature envisioned by colonial administrators. Nagawa’s work in curating the exhibition examines how artists have reimagined the human figure to pose questions about social and political histories, contested identities and a possible future for how we relate to one another.

Gallery Talk + Conversation: "Insistent Presence"

Wednesday, April 1, 11 a.m., Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos and Jason D. Kogan Galleries

Enjoy an in-depth gallery conversation with Amanda Hellman, Palmer director and specialist in African art.

Drop-in Tour: "Absence and Presence"

Sunday, April 12, 2 p.m., start in the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Lobby

Drop in and discover the Palmer’s world-class collections and exhibitions with a friendly and knowledgeable museum guide. Each tour explores a theme, lasts about one hour and includes close-looking through discussion and experiential learning opportunities. Sign language interpretation for drop-in tours is offered upon request and interpretation services must be requested in advance and are subject to interpreter availability. Contact Bronwyn Flemming at bmf5778@psu.edu.

Family Day: "Art of Presence"

Saturday, April 18, Free, drop-in, 1–4 p.m. Event Space, Galleries

Celebrate creativity, identity and connection through art experiences inspired by our spring exhibition "Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection." Spark curiosity as you explore how artists represent the human body, community, memory and imagination across sculpture, painting, photography and more. Drop in for gallery experiences, hands-on art activities and family friendly tours that invite visitors of all ages to look closely, share ideas and discover new perspectives. Say hello to the friendly faces of the Palmer — staff, graduate assistants, interns and volunteers — who will guide your family through discovery, creativity and fun throughout the museum building, collection and special exhibitions.

Garden and Gallery Book Club: "A Bigger Picture"

Thursday, April 30, 6–7:30 p.m., Event Space, Galleries

Join educators from the Arboretum at Penn State and the Palmer Museum for the spring 2026 edition of the Garden & Gallery Book Club! We will be discussing "A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis" by Vanessa Nakate, which explores themes that resonate with the Palmer’s special exhibition "Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection," open on Feb. 7. The exhibition investigates the ways artists use the body as a lens to explore sociopolitical histories, contested identities, and the ways we relate to one another and the spiritual realm. It provides a striking visual counterpart to Nakate’s "A Bigger Picture," a memoir that tells how she fought to have the voices of African activists and those from the Global South heard within the larger climate justice movement. Copies of the book will be available for sale at the museum store.

Free, with registration required. Register here for the book talk featuring Vanessa Nakate.

Drop-in Tour: "The Artist and the Self"

Sunday, May 10, 2 p.m., start in the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Lobby

Drop in and discover the Palmer’s world-class collections and exhibitions with a friendly and knowledgeable museum guide. Each tour explores a theme, lasts about one hour and includes close-looking through discussion and experiential learning opportunities. Sign language interpretation for drop-in tours is offered upon request and interpretation services must be requested in advance and are subject to interpreter availability. Contact Bronwyn Flemming at bmf5778@psu.edu.

About the exhibition

"Insistent Presence," which is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, is organized by the Chazen Museum of Art and presented by the Palmer Museum of Art. Its presentation at the Palmer is overseen by Amanda Hellman, director, with support provided by the Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos Dean’s Chair in the College of Arts and Architecture and the Susan Welch Dean’s Chair in the College of the Liberal Arts. It first opened in 2023 with works drawn from the Chazen Museum of Art’s Contemporary African Art Initiative, a five-year project supported by the Straus Family Foundation that built upon several contemporary African artworks the Chazen collected in the late 1990s. The Palmer Museum is the last stop on the show's traveling tour.

Artists included in the Palmer’s display are Souad Abdelrassoul, Dawit Abebe, Péju Alatise, Ajarb Bernard Ategwa, Omar Ba, Leilah Babirye, Ranti Bam, François-Xavier Gbré, Jackie Karuti, Lebohang Kganye, El Loko, Gonçalo Mabunda, Immy Mali, Neo Matloga, Sungi Mlengeya, Nana Yaw Oduro, Léonard Pongo, Collin Sekajugo, Khaled Ben Slimane, Ibrahima Thiam, Barthélémy Toguo, and Malick Welli.

About the Palmer Museum of Art

The Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State is the largest art museum collection between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and the most significant academic art museum in the state of Pennsylvania. A key element of Penn State’s land-grant mission of teaching, research and public service, the museum is a vital and accessible cultural resource for Penn State’s students, faculty and scholars, as well as for all visitors to and from the entire central Pennsylvania region. Through its world-class objects, programs and outreach, the free museum is a welcoming, inclusive and vibrant forum for authentic arts experiences and cultivates meaningful dialogue about today’s most potent ideas and pressing concerns.

An expansive 21st-century teaching museum, the Palmer Museum is a beacon for advancing the arts and humanities on Penn State’s University Park campus and throughout its diverse communities. The Palmer is dedicated to catalyzing groundbreaking research, scholarship and publications and providing impactful, object-based learning for Penn State and K-12 students. Its rewarding and thought-provoking exhibitions and programs promote visitor participation, belonging and discovery. In 2025, the Palmer was voted one of 10 winners in the national USA Today 10Best contest for "Best New Museums."

About the Chazen Museum of Art

The Chazen Museum of Art makes its home between two lakes on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Within walking distance of the state capitol building, it sits squarely in the heart of a vibrant college town. The Chazen’s collection of approximately 25,000 works of art covers diverse historical periods, cultures and geographic locations, from ancient Greece, Western Europe and the Soviet Empire to Moghul India, 18th-century Japan and modern Africa.

About exhibit curator Margaret Nagawa

Margaret Nagawa is a Ugandan artist and curator with expertise in African art and the relationships between visual, literary and performance art. She is pursuing doctoral studies in art history at Emory University and holds a master’s degree in curating from Goldsmiths, University of London and a bachelor’s degree from the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Arts at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, where she studied painting and sculpture. She taught classes and curated several exhibitions at the Makerere University Art Gallery and led several collaborative artist initiatives in Uganda.