About the Lending Collection
When first introduced to America, African art was primarily exhibited in curiosity cabinets by natural history museums. Rejected by the art world, such artifacts were considered crude and only valued for their unusual and exotic nature. Since these cultural items failed to adhere to classic Greek aesthetics, they were outcast as merely 'primitive' crafts. Later in the 20th century, African art was placed in a new perspective during the Avant-Garde movement. Since then, these extraordinary works have continued to influence the aesthetics of Western society.
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Brian Nickl, NAF Founder and Exhibit Director
Over the past 30 years, Brian Nickl's passion for the cultural arts developed as a student and collector in Kansas City, Missouri. After obtaining a fine arts degree from the University of Central Missouri, Nickl continued his curatorial studies by traveling and assisting museums throughout the US, Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean. From an anthropologist's perspective, he values the ritual and utilitarian use of the objects and how they served a function within indigenous society. As an artist, Nickl collects tribal art for its expressive power, form, and visual aesthetic. Fascinated by the elegant and abstract features of traditional ethnographic sculpture, he established the Nickl Art Foundation (NAF) and amassed a broad collection of African, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian materials, concentrating on the cultures of Western and Central Africa. Through research, associations with art dealers, private collectors, and museum groups, Nickl developed a keen eye for acquiring quality artworks ideal for the learning experience. The partnership assembled its first large-scale exhibit in 2008 and continues to operate as a nonprofit institution, lending to museums and universities nationwide. The organization's mission is to help educate and foster the appreciation of Africa's diverse ethnicities and cultural arts.
Brian Nickl and ethnographic art specialist John Buxton evaluate a magnificent Gelede mask while filming the 2013 Antiques Roadshow.
Perceptions of African artworks are still being altered as we understand and accumulate more information about their true meanings. Currently, new efforts are being made regarding how museums label and display these materials. Many of these objects were intended to be played, worn, or danced, and why our exhibiting methods depart from the usual static environment. Our goal is to change the perception of ethnographic art within museum settings, so audiences can truly appreciate them. By integrating their purpose with historical meaning, spectators gather a greater understanding of these art forms while providing a meaningful connection to the observer's everyday life.
