The Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art, in Washington, DC, specializes in sub-Saharan Africa visual art, crafts, and photography, helping to foster a full and artistic appreciation of artists such as Ghanaian artist El Anatsui or researcher-photographer Eliot Elisofon, with his Photographic Archives. The African modern and contemporary art involves books, ceramics, drawings, collages, multimedia, paintings, prints and sculptures, with many works found in museum collections as they are unsigned works of art.
Considered a replica of the essence of the African civilization, African art is considered one of humanity's greatest achievements that has fused the imagination with its creators' beliefs and social purpose, obtaining the highest levels of perfection from the artist. Considered a tradition-based art form, this style of art work reflects change in the African culture which causes new sources and ideas.
With a huge collection of work from the ancient to the contemporary era, there is also a daily routine of children's workshops, lectures for academics and adults, and films for the public who wants to do more than simply browse through. And for those who cannot make up their mind, a wide assortment of ceramics, textiles, furniture, tools, masks, figures and musical instruments can be enjoyed with the most diverse expressions of African Art found in the world.
The artists of today are well represented in the National Museum of African Art, highlighted in a wide variety of different medias--painting, printmaking, sculpture, and mixed medias. Global art is approached, in addition to local trends which transform artistic traditions into a form of art which transfers over to the idioms of modern civilization.
