(New York, April 10, 2025)– A series of new films inspired by Africa’s diverse cultural landmarks, filmed and directed by award-winning Ethiopian-American social documentary and multimedia visual artist Sosena Solomon and created in collaboration with World Monuments Fund (WMF), will be featured throughout The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries in The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, which will reopen on May 31; the content will also be featured online. A program at The Met on Friday, April 25, will look at how the integration of this content within the Museum space serves to broaden the cultural frame of reference for visitors. New Galleries/Fresh Perspectives—A Conversation About Presenting Africa’s Cultural Landmarks will explore the reenvisioning of The Met’s African art galleries and consider how this new vision can help develop new layers of Museum content that expand the understanding of the continent’s immense cultural diversity.
The films offer a springboard for deeper immersion in cultural landscapes and historic sites in sub-Saharan Africa—many of which are not easily accessible to most visitors—and are a major component of the expanded contextualization of The Met’s galleries celebrating the achievements of artists working on the continent. The films will be available online beginning May 31, and they will also be featured in several public programs this spring, to be followed by a series of screenings where the filming took place.
“These films deepen our engagement with Africa and are an invitation for immersion beyond the Museum’s walls,” said Alisa LaGamma, Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer Curator for the Arts of Sub-Saharan Africa, Curator in Charge of The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. “With the opportunity to develop fresh content for the Africa galleries, it was time to move beyond decontextualized artifacts from an abstract, distant, and remote Africa. These portraits of culturally significant centers introduce complex regional histories, inspire wonder for unfamiliar frames of reference, reveal new understanding of what constitutes a hallowed landmark, and take us beyond conventional assumptions.”
Approximately two years of filming—in 2022 through 2024—took place in Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe; Providence Island, Liberia; Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia; Asante Traditional Buildings, Ghana; Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, Madagascar; Tombs of Buganda Kings at Wamala and Kasubi, Uganda; Rock-Hewn Churches of Tigray, Ethiopia; Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, Nigeria; Historic Towns of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara, Tanzania; Benin City Earthworks and Urban Planning, Nigeria; Bronze Casters of Igun Street, Benin City, Nigeria; Sikien of Koutammakou, Republic of Benin and Togo; and Tsodilo Hills, Botswana. Each of the films explores a range of topics, including a site’s architectural significance, the preservation measures developed, and the challenges posed by their conservation. The films create important bridges between the galleries and the local authorities who reflect upon the importance of the sites and their continued relevance. Short versions of three of the films will be featured in the galleries—Historic Towns of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara, Tanzania; Bronze Casters of Igun Street, Benin City, Nigeria; and Tsodilo Hills, Botswana—and all will be available in their entirety online as well as accessible in the galleries using a QR code.
“This project has been a deeply personal journey of reconnection—using film to capture the living essence of Africa’s cultural landmarks and the communities that sustain them,” said Sosena Solomon. “Contributing to The Met’s reenvisioning of its African art galleries has been an honor, allowing me to amplify African voices often left out of global narratives. This work deepens my connection to my heritage and underscores the urgent need to preserve these rich, diverse traditions. It’s not just about documenting the past—it’s about ensuring these legacies endure and that the strength and resilience of these communities are recognized and celebrated worldwide.”
Stephen Battle, Senior Regional Director, Africa, World Monuments Fund, said, “World Monuments Fund has been working with partners across Africa for more than 60 years, starting with our earliest project at the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in the 1960s. Partnering with The Met on this project allowed us to help bring the voices of local stewards into the spotlight—people who have long been the caretakers of these extraordinary places. We helped identify the sites, coordinate access, and build trust with the communities featured in the films. Too often, these communities are left out of how their heritage is presented. This project created space for them to speak about their own history, in their own words.”
In addition to being shown in the galleries and online, the films will be featured in panels and screenings in New York City this spring. As mentioned above, on Friday, April 25, at 6 p.m., “New Galleries/Fresh Perspectives—A Conversation About Presenting Africa’s Cultural Landmarks” will feature a panel of experts, including Sosena Solomon, filmmaker, lecturer, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania; Helene Cooper, correspondent, The New York Times; Phillip Segadika, Chief Curator for Archaeology and Monuments, Botswana National Museum; Alisa LaGamma, Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer Curator for the Arts of Sub-Saharan Africa, Curator in Charge of The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, The Met; and moderator Anakwa Dwamena, journalist. On Thursday, May 29, at 6 p.m., the films will be premiered during the 32nd edition of the New York Africa Film Festival at Brooklyn Academy of Music. Nine of the films will be screened and presented with a panel discussion featuring Solomon along with editor Lucas Groth, Audio Visual Specialist (Videography) in The Met’s Digital Department; and Stephen Battle Senior Regional Director, Africa, WMF. As part of the Opening Festival celebration for The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing on Saturday, May 31, all 12 films will be shown at the Museum, along with a discussion with many of the regional experts interviewed in the films together with Sosena Solomon and Stephen Battle Senior Regional Director, Africa, WMF. There will also be a series of screenings in Africa, further details will be announced.
In 2022, Solomon received a yearlong research position in The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing to research and design content about major cultural landmarks and heritage sites across Africa. Solomon worked alongside The Met’s curatorial team and drew upon archives at WMF headquarters in New York City. She then embarked on filming at historic sites in situ, documenting efforts by local communities to maintain these living traditions.
Overview of Films:
Tsodilo Hills, Botswana
Running time: 15 minutes; in-gallery film running time: 3 minutes
Join a San guide to explore Tsodilo Hills, learn about the stewardship and deep cultural connections to the site, and hear about the significance of this precious resource.
Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
Running time: 7 minutes
Meet the masonry team responsible for maintaining the Great Zimbabwe complex and hear from archaeologists committed to preserving this monumental site that is a both a landmark and a remarkable feat of engineering relating to a major African civilization.
Providence Island, Liberia
Running time: 6 minutes
In 1822, 25,000 formerly enslaved and freeborn Black people arrived at Providence Island from the United States as settlers welcomed by the region’s existing residents. In more recent history, social tensions dating to that beginning led to a devastating civil war and neglect of this important cultural heritage site. Understanding the significance of this site may play a role in furthering national reconciliation reflected in efforts now underway to preserve Providence Island as an urban park.
Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia
Running time: 7 minutes
As part of the churches’ customized preservation strategy—given that only priests are allowed access to their innermost sanctuaries—priests have been trained in conservation techniques to prevent irreversible loss. Meet the guardians who are tasked with Lalibela’s protection and explore the symbolism and significance of these sacred structures.
Asante Traditional Buildings, Ghana
Running time: 7 minutes
Originally constructed from mud with thatched roofing composed of palm fronds, the walls of these structures are vulnerable to rain and heat, leading to preservation challenges. Over time, more durable cost-effective modern concrete and metal replaced traditional methods for periodic rebuilding of these perishable structures. Meet the caretakers who are reviving historical craftsmanship techniques in an effort to rebuild and preserve these sacred buildings.
Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, Madagascar
Running time: 8 minutes
During the 18th century, Ambohimanga became Madagascar’s spiritual capital and to this day is a pilgrimage site where Malagasy come to seek blessings of their ancestors and bathe in the sacred spring. During the early colonial period, French occupiers emptied the Ambohimanga’s royal sepulchers. Following Madagascar's independence, the royal remains were returned to the site, where they continue to be venerated today. Hear local historians reflect upon the enduring cultural importance of this site.
Tombs of Buganda Kings at Wamala and Kasubi, Uganda
Running time: 11 minutes
Step inside the tombs and discover the structural elements crafted by the work of Buganda clans, each represented within the building. The organic materials require continual conservation and rebuilding by generations dedicated to maintaining these sacred sites. Situated in modern-day Kampala, urbanization has made sourcing the reeds and grasses essential for construction increasingly challenging. Learn how efforts to rebuild the Kasubi Kings Tombs after a devastating fire in 2010 were supported by studying archival documentation and an earlier restoration of a precursor at Wamala.
Rock-Hewn Churches of Tigray, Ethiopia
Running time: 9 minutes
The churches of Ethiopia’s Northern Highlands are sanctuaries carved into sandstone cliffs and built in inaccessible locations for protection from regional conflicts that occurred between the 13th and 16th centuries. Today, this sacred landscape of some 120 rock-hewn churches, and the paintings and artifacts preserved within their walls, are vulnerable to permanent damage. Climb the steep paths and sheer cliffs with local priests to hear about the preservation of these remarkable structures.
Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, Nigeria
Running time: 12 minutes
Visit the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, a vibrant center of Yorùbá spirituality and creative expression in southwestern Nigeria, and meet the artists responsible for transferring their traditions to a new generation dedicated to preserving the site’s artistic heritage.
Historic Towns of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara, Tanzania
Running time: 10 minutes; in-gallery film running time: 5 minutes
Along the coast of present-day Tanzania, the ancient port cities of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara thrived as cultural and economic centers during the 14th and 15th centuries. Explore the globally connected sites of historic mosques and palaces that arose in these Indian Ocean island settlements and learn about initiatives to preserve them for future generations.
Benin City Earthworks and Urban Planning, Nigeria
Running time: 9 minutes
Between the 7th and 14th centuries, defensive earthworks delineating the oba or king’s royal precinct, and comprising extensive lengths of ramparts and moats, were constructed around Benin City’s perimeter. Originally reaching heights of more than 18 meters and extending 1,200 kilometers, these impressive structures are the second longest man-made structure in the world, after China's Great Wall. Over time, portions of the walls have been dismantled for urban development, sections of the moats have become overgrown, and knowledge of the site's significance has diminished. Join the archeologists working to advance study of these remarkable feats of urban planning who are advocating for their preservation.
Bronze Casters of Igun Street, Benin City, Nigeria
Running time: 3 minutes; in-gallery film running time: 3 minutes
Meet the specialized artists who continue the tradition of lost-wax casting in an array of royal and commercial works. To this day, Igun Street in Benin City remains renowned as the mercantile center for the Igun Eronmwon (brass-casting) guild.
Sikien of Koutammakou, Republic of Benin and Togo
Running time: 9 minutes
On either side of the borders of Togo and the Republic of Benin, small houses dot the savannah landscape. Composed of organic materials, these takienta (plural sikien) houses have been built by the Batammariba people since their settlement there in the 17th or 18th century. The owners of these domestic dwellings reflect on their lifespan in which decay and ruin are cyclical, requiring rebirth and rebuilding. That practice of renewal has become endangered as younger generations are leaving the area, requiring conservation efforts with local artisans working to preserve the vibrant architectural legacy of these houses.
Program Details:
What: “New Galleries/Fresh Perspectives—A Conversation About Presenting Africa’s Cultural Landmarks.”
Where: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
When: Friday, April 25, 6 p.m.
Registration link
What: New York Africa Film Festival at BAM: Africa’s Cultural Landmarks
Where: Brooklyn Academy of Music
When: Thursday, May 29, 6 p.m.
What: Opening Festival Screening
Where: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gallery 199
When: Saturday, May 31, during Museum hours
What: Sosena Solomon in Conversation with Stephen Battle, Senior Regional Director, Africa, WMF, and regional experts from the films
Where: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education
When: Saturday, May 31, 3 p.m.
About Sosena Solomon
Sosena Solomon is an Ethiopian-American social documentary film and multimedia visual artist whose work explores cross-sections of various subcultures and communities in flux to carefully tease out cultural nuances and capture personal narratives through arresting visual storytelling.
Solomon has worked for many years in the commercial and nonprofit sectors as a director and cinematographer on a range of short film projects, including Dreaming of Jerusalem, a Discovery-plus original documentary about the Ethiopian Jewish community in Gondar, and MERKATO, filmed on location in one of Africa’s largest open-air markets and exhibited internationally as an audio, visual, and sensory installation. She has exhibited work at the Sundance Film Festival, Cinema Africa, Tribeca Film Festival, and DOC NYC.
She earned her BA in Television Production from Temple University and her MFA in Social Documentary film from the School of Visual Arts. During her fellowship at the Center for Experimental Ethnography at the University of Pennsylvania, she developed and taught the Documentary Ethnography for Museums and Exhibitions course. She is currently lecturing at the University of Pennsylvania and teaches at the Community College of Philadelphia, furthering her commitment to educating and mentoring the next generation of filmmakers and visual storytellers.
About the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
The Met’s Michael C. Rockefeller Wing—40,000 square feet on the Museum’s south side—includes the three distinct collections of the arts of Africa, the ancient Americas, and Oceania, displaying them as discrete elements in an overarching wing that is in dialogue with the Museum’s collection as a whole.
As early as 1893, Mexican stone sculpture and Peruvian ceramics were gifts to The Met from diplomats and artists, including one of the Museum’s founders, the American painter Frederic Church. During the 1950s and 1960s, the American statesman and philanthropist Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller assembled a fine-arts survey of non-Western art traditions that included the ancient Americas as well as areas of the world not represented in the Museum’s collection, notably African and Oceanic art. In 1969, it was announced that Rockefeller’s collection would be transferred to The Met as a new department and wing. Opened to the public in 1982, the addition was named after Nelson Rockefeller’s son, Michael C. Rockefeller, who was greatly inspired by the cultures and art of the Pacific and pursued new avenues of inquiry into artistic practice during his travels there. Among the wing’s signature works are the striking Asmat sculptures he researched and collected in southwest New Guinea.
Adjacent to the Arts of Africa galleries, the new galleries for Oceanic art will include signature monumental works from New Guinea as well as a suite of more intimate spaces dedicated to island cultures. Stone and metalwork from the ancient Americas will be concentrated in galleries where filtered daylight from Central Park will enter through a custom-designed, state-of-the-art sloped glass wall on the Museum’s south facade. A new gallery devoted to light-sensitive, ancient American textiles will present a 2,000-year history of exceptional achievements in tapestry and other fiber arts. The reenvisioning of each of these suites of galleries builds on international planning workshops and consultation with dozens of local and international leaders in the arts and humanities.
Recorded interviews with an interdisciplinary cohort of experts and well-known thought leaders and personalities will be featured in audio guides, podcasts, and new digital content.
For more information about the new Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, please visit The Met’s website.
About World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund (WMF) is the leading independent organization devoted to safeguarding the world’s most treasured places to enrich lives and build mutual understanding. For 60 years, working at more than 700 sites in 112 countries, its highly skilled experts have applied proven and effective techniques to the preservation of important architectural and cultural heritage sites around the globe. Through the World Monuments Watch—a biennial, nomination-based program—WMF uses cultural heritage conservation to empower communities and improve human well-being. In partnership with local communities, funders, and governments, WMF seeks to inspire an enduring commitment to stewardship for future generations. Headquartered in New York City, the organization has offices and affiliates worldwide.
Visit www.wmf.org for more information, or connect with us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
Credits
This series was produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in collaboration with World Monuments Fund (WMF). It was funded by The Metropolitan Museum’s Michael C. Rockefeller Wing Capital Project. Support for WMF’s contribution was provided by Mr. and Mrs. Peter Kimmelman.