Open Small Center business hours. Exhibition on view from October 14 to December 13, 2019. 

Looters is an exhibition in which contemporary art and design practices are deployed to critically examine images of global exchange and imperial relations in the late-Atlantic period, the late-17th century through circa 1900. Organized by art historian Adrian Anagnost and artist Manol Gueorguiev, along with artist Abdi Farah, the exhibition draws on archival images in European maps, prints, drawings, and photographs depicting West African architecture from the Kingdoms of Ouidah, Dahomey, and Benin (across the present-day Republic of Benin and Nigeria). Gueorguiev, a photographer and sculptor, re-photographed and transformed map details and print images into 35mm slides, and created sculptures on which the images are projected. Painter Abdi Farah created window prints based on details from these same maps, prints, and photographs, which include Dutch travel compilations, French marine cartography, British colonial officials' accounts, and French anthropology volumes.

On Friday, November 15th, Looters will hold an exhibition reception from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. 

On Wednesday, November 13th, the exhibition will have extended hours 4:00 to 7:00 PM prior to the Ashé Cultural Arts Center’s Exploring the Diaspora: The Benin Republic, 6:30 to 8:30 PM, Wednesday, November 13th. 

Looters will also feature a children’s art activity inspired by Dahomey carved wood designs on Saturday, November 16th, from 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM. 

Looters is funded in part by the Platforms Fund, a collaborative re-granting effort of Antenna and Ashé Cultural Arts Center with support by the Andy Warhol Foundation, and hosted by The Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design. Special thanks to Francine Stock of the Newcomb Art Department at Tulane University.