Final week of 'AFRICAS' exhibitions features photography lecture and Closing Celebration

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The "AFRICAS" exhibitions at George Eastman House are not exiting quietly, but rather with much fanfare in their final days, including a lecture by featured photographer Phyllis Galembo on Thursday, Sept. 25 and an "AFRICAS" Closing Celebration on Sunday, Sept. 28.

Phyllis Galembo Lecture - 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25
Artist Phyllis Galembo's work is featured in the Eastman House exhibition West African Masquerade, on view through Sept. 28. During her lecture, titled "Magic of the Masquerade," Galembo will share experiences crossing culÂtural boundaries to document ceremonial costumes in Africa, North and South America, and the Caribbean. In her work she explores ways costumes magically transform their wearers, creating new personae of great cultural significance. Her large-scale work allows for the careful study of the craftsmanship and creativity behind each participant's garments. This lecture is part of the Wish You Were Here travel photography lecture series, which brings world-renowned photographers and photographic experts to the Dryden Theatre to discuss their work. Included with museum admission. Wish You Were Here is generously supported by museum member Thomas N. Tischer.

"AFRICAS" Closing Celebration - 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28
The activities on the final day of the "AFRICAS" exhibitions, which are all included with museum admission, are:

• 2 p.m.—Ba Bes dancers: This duo will perform African hip hop plus dance styles from West Africa.
• 2 to 4 p.m.—George Eastman's Africa: Guided tours will be offered on the second floor of the house, where visitors can view artifacts from Eastman's trips to Africa in 1926 and 1928, including photo albums and his hunting and camping equipment.
• 3 p.m.—Tour of the "AFRICAS" galleries with Dr. Alison Nordström, Eastman House curator of photographs.
• 1 to 5 p.m.—Ongoing screenings of the documentary Curse of the Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil the Niger Delta, featuring National Geographic photographs by Ed Kashi.
• 1 to 5 p.m.—Craft projects in the theme of West African Masquerade

In addition to West African Masquerade, also part of the "AFRICAS" series of exhibitions is Africas: Photographs from the Eastman House Collection. This slice of the museum's collection presents work by journalists, tourists, artists, and ethnographers, including photographs by Mary Ellen Mark, Arnold Newman, Margaret Bourke-White, and Nickolas Muray.

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