This summer, the Musée du Quai Branly presents an important exhibition on the artistic traditions of Central Africa, namely those of Gabon, the People's Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Leading visitors on an initiatory voyage through the forests of the north to the savannas of the south, the show reveals the links that exist between the works produced by various Bantu-speaking cultures in the areas bordering the majestic Congo River. Out of the great variety of masks and sculptures created by the Fang, Hemba, Kwele, and Kota, Fleuve Congo distills a selection of major Central African masterpieces, clarified in their design, structure, and the artistic bonds which unite them.

Marking the fiftieth anniversary of independence in seventeen African countries, Brussels' Palace of Fine Arts and the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Tervuren have organized a multidisciplinary festival entitled L'Afrique visionnaire, one of the major highlights of which is GEO-graphics, an exhibition invoking a dialogue between traditional and contemporary African art. Alongside an impressive group of some 220 tribal works, the show features a selection of pieces illustrating the current face of African art, including photographs of African urban landscapes composed by architect David Adjaye.

Palais des Beaux-Arts
23 Rue Ravenstein
1000 Brussels
Tel: +32 02 507 82 00

Known for exhibiting slightly more esoteric Oceanic objects since opening his gallery, Voyageurs & Curieux, in 2001, Jean Edouard Carlier has chosen this year to present an exhibition highlighting the great statuary traditions of New Guinea. Featuring nearly 120 objects, most of which are new to the market, the show does not aim to offer an exhaustive representation of New Guinea art, but rather focuses on a refined selection of works chosen for their antiquity and expressive force.

Beginning June 10, Judith Schoffel and Christine Valluet invite us to discover an area of the tribal world which they hold dear: that of Southeast Asia. Encompassing traditional works from Naga populations of the Assam Valley in northern India, tribes of the Philippine Islands, and craftsmen of the vast Indonesian Archipelago, the week-long exhibition presents a deep look at the artistic richness of the Southeast Asian zone. An illustrated catalogue accompanies the installation.

Koller Auktionen and Galerie Walu will present a sale of fine African art and artifacts in Zürich on June 28. Featuring approximately 130 lots, the auction will offer a range of masks, statuary, carvings, and ornaments from a number of cultures in West and Central Africa.

Koller Auktionen
Hardturmstrasse 102
CH-8031 Zürich
Tel: +41 44 445 63 63

Until August 29, the Museum of Archaeology and History at Le Mans presents Masques d'Afrique, an exhibition of eighty African masks drawn from several private collections. Originating from Central Africa, Guinea-Bissau, and Tanzania, the ensemble includes a number of masks that have never before been put on public display. Conceived by connoisseur and dealer Marceau River, the exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue.

Musée d'Archéologie et d'Histoire
Rue Claude Blondeau
Carré Plantagenêt
72039 Le Mans

From April 14 to July 26, the Musée du Quai Branly celebrates the ten-year anniversary of the Musée du Louvre's Pavillon des Sessions. For the occasion, journalist and writer Jean-Pierre Elkabbach has been invited to retrace the history of this famous showcase of tribal art. The retrospective illustrates the evolution of the Western view of world sculpture and the development of proper recognition for so-called "primitive" art traditions for which the creation of the Pavillon des Sessions represents a special milestone. In four sequences, the installation offers visitors a chance to revisit an event of international significance––the entry of non-European arts into the heart of Western museographic history––made possible by the cooperation of the then-future President of France, Jacques Chirac, and a major specialist in non-European art, Jacques Kerchache.

This exhibition reveals a face of India seldom seen: the India of autochthonous populations and "folk" communities, known collectively as Adivasi. These peoples have traditionally been creators of astonishing plastic works, as utilitarian as they are sacred, which stand quite apart from the mainstream standards and perceptions of Indian art. For the first time in France, the Musée du Quai Branly presents a beautiful ensemble of objects representing these South Asian art traditions, from the quotidian to the religious, opening a new window onto a significant segment of contemporary Indian art still lamentably overlooked.

Huichol Art and Culture: Balancing the World presents an important collection of Huichol objects dating from the beginning of the twentieth century. Assembled by Dr. Robert Mowry Zingg (1900–1957) on behalf of Santa Fe's Laboratory of Anthropology, these works represent excellent examples of artistic culture from populations in the Mexican West that strove to preserve their traditional lifeways and pre-Hispanic beliefs.

This exhibition illustrates the evolution during the twentieth century of the kachina doll, perhaps the most characteristic art form of the American Southwest. Presenting examples seldom displayed and drawing upon six different collections, the installation invites audiences to explore the stylistic changes which reshaped these iconic figurines over the years and to recognize the work of specific master sculptors.