African Art in The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing Residents

Mukwende is an archaeologist and lecturer in Archaeology and Heritage Management at Great Zimbabwe University in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. Before joining Great Zimbabwe University in 2023, Tawanda worked for the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) as an archaeologist and heritage manager at the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, Khami and later Great Zimbabwe World Heritage Sites. Through his professional and academic pursuits, Tawanda devotes his efforts to researching and uplifting the history of pre-colonial states and urban systems in Africa. We look forward to welcoming Tawanda in September 2024. These African art residencies build on decades of academic fellowships at The Met for a distinguished international cohort of Africanists, working directly alongside the African Art collection.

Lema is an archaeologist and the newly-appointed Head of Research, Curation and Conservation at the National Museum of Tanzania. Previously, he was the Senior Researcher, Curator and Head of Ethnography Department at the Village Museum in Dar es Salaam, an open-air museum featuring vernacular architecture from across Tanzania. His projects, research, and programs at the Village Museum included an array of festivals and collaborations with community members to preserve and sustain Tanzanian artistic, architectural, and intangible heritage. At The Met, he has participated in African Art and Education initiatives on audience engagement, focusing on questions of how to include community voices into museum practices. He will assume his new role at the National Museum upon his return to Tanzania at the end of June.

Yousif is an archaeologist based in Khartoum, Sudan, and since 2017, has directed the National Museum of Khartoum’s documentation section. During his residency, he worked alongside The Met’s African Art team, as well as colleagues in Medieval Art and Egyptian Art, to study The Met’s collections of African art from across departments and to share his expertise in the material culture and history of Sudan. This exchange has and will continue to enrich Museum-wide conversations and content development on Sudanese art history and Sudan’s historical and geostrategic significance as a crossroads and hub for exchange between Egypt, the Red Sea, and central and southern Africa.

Eileen Musundi has been Head of Exhibitions, Directorate of Antiquities, Sites and Monuments at the National Museums of Kenya since 2017 and has also worked as an exhibition designer and developer since 2006. During her tenure at the National Museums of Kenya, she has curated and been the lead designer for both permanent galleries and temporary exhibitions. Musundi assisted with the “Museum in Change” project, which involved redesigning and reinstalling sections of the Nairobi National Museum’s permanent collections between 2004 and 2008. More recently, Musundi was the lead designer of the exhibitions Kanga Stories (2011); Currencies, Trade and Exchange (2016); and Omieri: Rebirth of a Legend (2018). Musundi is currently the “principal investigator” for an exhibition, Kenya-Oman, and is involved in the design and planning of two new national museums in Kenya—a museum dedicated to historical figures in Kenyan history, and Kenya’s first national gallery of art.

Chizoba Joy is a Principal Curator at the National Museum, Lagos, where she has worked for more than 11 years. Chizoba Joy holds a master’s degree in history and diplomacy from Lagos State University and an undergraduate degree in political science from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria. During her tenure at the National Museum, Lagos, Chizoba Joy has been involved in many aspects of museum operations, including administration, research, and public-facing programming. Her primary responsibilities as Principal Curator include object-based research, documentation, and collections management.