Review: Dynasty and Divinity at IMA

Review: Dynasty and Divinity at IMA

The first work of art you encounter upon entering this exhibition of historic works by Yoruba people in what is now Nigeria and the Republic of Benin is, perhaps, the most memorable: a seated figure with one leg propped up, the other folded under, projecting a serene dignity reminiscent of the Buddhist divinity Kwan Yin. What makes this figure extraordinary is its creator's mastery of copper alloy and the way the metal has been modeled to create the soft illusion of flesh. You want to touch this piece, but there's also a temptation to sit and try to get on its contemplative wavelength.
Dynasty and Divinity consists of over 100 pieces of sculpture done in copper alloy, terra-cotta and stone that, for the most part, were created in the West African Kingdom of Ife (pronounced EE-fay) between the 12th and 15th centuries. Those seeking the full historic-anthropological experience will find plenty to read here. But others, whose bent is more sensual than scholarly, can delight in the wonderfully finished, elegant heads of royal personages, most often done in copper alloy; the terra-cotta models of animals and monsters, and primordial forms carved from granite. The show will be a revelation for anyone who thinks that people like the Yoruba somehow lacked the intention or taste for a sophisticated art of self-aggrandizement.

In 1910, a German explorer discovered a copper sculpture of a Yoruba head and was so amazed by its craft that he convinced himself he was looking at a bust of the Greek god Poseidon and that he'd discovered an artifact from the lost civilization of Atlantis. Makes you wonder what the world would be like with a little less imperial imagination and more respect for the real lives of people on the ground. The exhibition runs through January 15, 2012.

Medicinal Plants Conservation Project

Medicinal Plants Conservation Project

The Medicinal Plants Conservation Project was launched in January 2003 and it is jointly undertaken by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA). It is a national project that aims at examining and eliminating the root causes to the loss in biodiversity and addressing the threats to the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants in Egypt through a number of interventions, while at the same time empowering the Bedouin community to use and manage its resources in a sustainable manner.

The approach aims at successfully reaching the following outcomes:

Outcome 1 –

aims at conserving the MAP species within the ecosystem (in situ) through the development of sustainable management practices, including the protection of hotspots and individual plants or populations wherever it is not possible to utilise the resources sustainably. Ex situ conservation measures will be applied when the threat to a species is considered severe and warrant such measures. The main thrust of these interventions will be to address the issues of tenure of, and access to, the MAP resources and ensure that benefits are returned to those closest to the resource and who are bearing the costs of conservation management.

Outcome 2 –

aims at promoting the economic values of MAPs to provide the motivation for conservation management. This intervention will seek to develop national and international markets and add value to the wild and cultivated MAPs with the aim of capturing a significant and equitable proportion of those values locally. This Outcome can be characterised as providing the motivational force to drive the systemic approach of Outcome 1.

Outcome 3 –

deals with developing interventions designed to deflect pressure from the in situ MAP resources by promoting alternative livelihoods and resource replacement. It is recognised that the approach employed in Outcome 1 and 3 may conflict and this Outcome is likely to have greatest effect when it addresses threats indirectly related to the MAPs medicinal values, such as the provision of gas as a means to reduce fuel wood collection. This Outcome can be characterised as a resource replacement and alternative livelihoods approach.

Outcome 4 –

aims at capturing the experience from the project and developing an appropriate local and national enabling environment by incorporating lessons learned and facilitating the development of a national policy and legislative framework that protects those that are dependent upon the resource for their livelihoods, their indigenous knowledge and intellectual property. This Outcome can be characterised as an enabling or regulatory approach.

Outcome 5 –

aims at providing the vehicle for the project to develop Outcomes 1 to 4 and arrive at the Objective. The purpose of this Outcome is to constantly challenge assumptions, monitor risks and ensure that when assumptions do not hold true and risks materialize the Project is able to respond rapidly based upon evidence and analysis. This Outcome can be characterized as an adaptive management approach.

African art discussion with African Encounters