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Across West Africa, Indigenous communities mark holidays, rites, and sacred events with a remarkable variety of ceremonies ranging from dances to processions. These masquerade traditions incorporate meticulously carved masks and full-body costumes that often facilitate links between humans and the spiritual world. There’s evidence of masked customs dating back millennia, and today, artists continue the tradition of hand-hewn masks and ensembles in vivid colors and a wide array of materials—sometimes with a twist.
The exhibition New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations, which opens at the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg next month, celebrates contemporary creations by four artists: Chief Ekpenyong Bassey Nsa (Nigeria), David Sanou (Burkina Faso), Sheku “Goldenfinger” Fofanah (Sierra Leone), and Hervé Youmbi (Cameroon). Along with displays of some of their masks and full ensembles, visitors will be able to explore documentary photographs and videos of ceremonies and parades in addition to immersive multimedia experiences.
Headpiece by André Sanou and body by anonymous artist, “Kimi” masquerade ensemble in honor of André Sanou’s ‘Qui Dit Miuex?’ (2022). Collection of Fitchburg Art Museum, photo courtesy of the New Orleans Museum of Art
“Across many West African cultures, masquerade a broad range of artistic, social, spiritual, and civic traditions,” the museum says. “Encompassing sculpture, textiles, performance, music, movement, and community participation, these performance traditions continuously adapt to contemporary life.” Sanou’s geometric masks are bold and brightly painted, often paired with costumes made from colorfully dyed fiber. And one can even spot pop culture references in Youmbi’s “Tso Scream Mask,” for example, which coats the iconic visage from the Scream movie franchise with thousands of beads.
New African Masquerades is conceived as a dynamic exploration of the masquerade tradition’s collaborative and community-based practices, inviting viewers to a kind of reverie where time-honored heritage meets constant innovation. The show is organized by the New Orleans Museum of Art in partnership with the Museé des Civilisations noires in Dakar, Senegal. The exhibition opens on August 15 and continues through January 3, 2027, in St. Pete, Florida. Follow updates on the museum’s Instagram.
Hervé Youmbi (Cameroon), “Tso Scream Mask” from the ‘Visage de masques (IX) series’ (2015-2023), wood, pigment, fiber, beads, textile, glue, velvet fabric, cotton fabric, silk embroidery, and horse hair. Collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art
Hervé Youmbi, “Tso Scream Mask” and “Tso Scream Leopard Mask” at the Nka’a Kossié society succession ceremony at Fondanti Chieftancy (December 3, 2022). Photo by Hervé Youmbi, courtesy of the artist and Axis Gallery, New York and New Jersey
Sheku “Goldenfinger” Fofanah (Sierra Leone), “Fairy Masquerade Ensemble” (2022), fabric, sequins, wood, paint, and glue, life-size. Commission for the Fitchburg Art Museum, photo courtesy of the New Orleans Museum of Art
Hervé Youmbi, “Bamiléké-Kwele Ku’ngang Gorilla Mask” and “Single-faced Rhino Mask” during a ceremony in Fondanti village (2019). Photo by Hervé Youmbi, courtesy of the artist and Axis Gallery, New York and New Jersey
Headpieces by David Sanou, studio of André Sanou, “Kimi” masks during a performance of greetings with the lead griot Tchiedo playing his drum behind them (May 3, 2022), Bindougosso district, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Photo by Lisa Homann
Chief Ekpenyong Bassey Nsa (Nigeria), “Afia Awan Masquerade Ensemble” (2022), polyester fabric, raffia, and leather, life-size. Collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art
Sheky “Goldenfinger” Fofanah parading with his Mami Wata devil during the Massaboni Ordehlay procession (December 26, 2022), Lunsar, Sierra Leone. Photo by Amanda M. Maples
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