Afrika-Haus Freiberg

The Afrika-Haus Freiberg is a museum of modern African art at Freiberg am Neckar in Germany.ConceptThe Afrika house contains a huge number of modern African works of art from 1920 onwards. All the geographic regions are represented, as well as a great range of directions in art. The architectural design of the gardens is modelled on the Umuzi, the Ndebele Kraal.The exhibition shows the influence of old African cultural customs on modern art. In addition, it demonstrates how African art is linked to the cults of animism, ancestor worship and fertility, along with mythical ideas involving magic, mask cults, sorcery and ghosts.According to Arthur Benseler, founder of the museum, the Afrikahaus provides a place for personal exchange between African artists, thereby supporting intercultural communication and helping to avoid the mistaken cultural ideas of apartheid, replacing these through new artistic dimensions.Outdoor Sculptures and PaintingsAt the entrance to the garden visitors are welcomed by two extraordinarily tall, thin Massai statues made of mahagony, which lead the visitors to colorful sculptures of concrete and cement. These concrete statues are part of the Cult of the dead, which is still practised today in western Africa. Traditionally a part of the second funeral ceremonies, they are also occasionally used for advertising purposes. In addition, there are a number of colorful statues, which represent the Voodoo Pantheon of the deities Legba and Zangbeto, accompanied by two lions and judging over a sinner. Originally this group, created by artist Cyprien Tokoudagba (Benin), was part of the exhibition Magiciens de la terre in the Centre Pompidou (Paris) in 1989.