Art And Memory

How Art Becomes a Living History Book

While stories in some cultures are preserved on paper, in others, they live on in the minds and hearts of the people. In African cultures, these unwritten tales are an integral part of everyday life, passed down through generations without ever being written down.


African oral literature encompasses these spoken traditions—stories, myths, proverbs, and songs—preserved and passed on through word of mouth. It is a dynamic form of storytelling where memory, performance, and community converge, ensuring that African peoples' wisdom, values, and history are never forgotten, even without the aid of written records.


Art as a Living History Book: African Oral Traditions and Visual Narratives invites you on an enriching journey into the heart of African culture. You will explore how oral traditions are spoken, etched, carved, sung, and woven into the very fabric of African life.


Discover how African art, as a living history book, plays a crucial role in preserving both personal and collective memory.

Art, at its essence, is a conduit for human creativity and expression. It effectively conveys ideas, beliefs, and emotions through visual, auditory, and tactile forms, playing a pivotal role in African culture.


Art is about moulding reality, mirroring truth, and creating worlds. In many African communities, it goes beyond mere adornment to become a living testament of ancestral wisdom and communal values.


Discover how art, as a profound storyteller, serves as a living record of history.

<div class="editor-content"><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 1.25rem; color: rgb(63, 83, 110)">While stories in some cultures are preserved on paper, in others, they live on in the minds and hearts of the people. In African cultures, these unwritten tales are an integral part of everyday life, passed down through generations without ever being written down. </span></p><br><p style="text-align: center"><strong><span style="font-size: 1.25rem; color: rgb(63, 83, 110)">African oral literature</span></strong><span style="font-size: 1.25rem; color: rgb(63, 83, 110)"> encompasses these spoken traditions—stories, myths, proverbs, and songs—preserved and passed on through word of mouth. It is a dynamic form of storytelling where memory, performance, and community converge, ensuring that African peoples' wisdom, values, and history are never forgotten, even without the aid of written records.</span></p><br><p style="text-align: center"><em><span style="font-size: 1.25rem; color: rgb(63, 83, 110)">Art as a Living History Book: African Oral Traditions and Visual Narratives</span></em><span style="font-size: 1.25rem; color: rgb(63, 83, 110)"> invites you on an enriching journey into the heart of African culture. You will explore how oral traditions are spoken, etched, carved, sung, and woven into the very fabric of African life.</span></p><br><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 1.25rem; color: rgb(63, 83, 110)">Discover how African art, as a living history book, plays a crucial role in preserving both personal and collective memory.</span></p></div>,
<div class="editor-content"><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 1.25rem; color: rgb(63, 83, 110)">Art, at its essence, is a conduit for human creativity and expression. It effectively conveys ideas, beliefs, and emotions through visual, auditory, and tactile forms, playing a pivotal role in African culture. </span></p><p style="text-align: center"><br><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 1.25rem; color: rgb(63, 83, 110)">Art is about moulding reality, mirroring truth, and creating worlds. In many African communities, it goes beyond mere adornment to become a living testament of ancestral wisdom and communal values.</span></p><br><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 1.25rem; color: rgb(63, 83, 110)">Discover how art, as a profound storyteller, serves as a living record of history. </span><br></p></div>,

Oral Literature

Throughout history, humans have told each other stories—tales of divine creatures, gods and kings, myths and legends—stories of our past and who we are now.


These tales are passed down orally from generation to generation. They might change length or form with each telling, but they always retain the flavour from which they sprung.


Explore African traditional oral storytelling and the influences that have shaped it.

Myths And Music

Africa is music, and its musical instruments have existed for centuries. In many African traditions, tales of legends, gods, and goddesses are shared, accompanied by the sounds of various musical instruments, each with it's unique charm.


 Discover the captivating myths and the spellbinding melodies of traditional instruments from Africa.

Art And Memory

How Art Preserves Lineage and Memory


Explore how African oral stories are reflected in visual arts, ensuring the preservation of cultural knowledge through myths, music, sculptures, architecture, and fabric.


Discover the role of oral literature and visual arts in storytelling, focusing on how these practices encode history and serve as vessels of cultural memory and identity.

The Role of Art Today

The Role of Art Today: Reinterpreting African History in Modern Times


Explore how contemporary African artists, visionaries and communities reinterpret traditional forms to tell new stories while preserving the core function of art as a living history book.

<div class="editor-content"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><span style="font-size: 1.125rem; color: #3F536E">Africa's oral tradition</span></strong></p></div>

Africa's oral tradition

Celebrate Africa's oral traditional

storytelling through evocative compositions.

<div class="editor-content"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><span style="font-size: 1.125rem; color: #3F536E">Once Upon A time</span></strong></p></div>

Once Upon A time

Explore African Oral literature through the childhood experiences of a young boy named Molamin in The Gambia.

<div class="editor-content"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><span style="font-size: 1.125rem; color: #3F536E">Myths And Music</span></strong></p></div>

Myths And Music

Explore African traditional oral storytelling and the influences that have shaped it.