Lunchtime Lecture - Karen Getty

Karen Getty is the coordinator of the African galleries at the VMFA. She has a deep understanding of African history and diversity, and uses her knowledge to coordinate the VMFA's African galleries and ensure they are representative of Africa's culture and art. Additionally, she trains tour guides and others to give them a stronger understanding of African art and terms. Lots of traditional/historical African art is not meant to be in a gallery, but used or worn. Lots of it is representative of different aspects of art, such as birth or death. I thought the consideration of African culture in the organization of the gallery was particularly interesting. The curators based the gallery off of the "dikenga," a diamond shape representing the life cycle that is significant to the Congo people. I would like to know what drew Getty to working in the African galleries, as opposed to a different exhibit. I'm excited to see the textile work when we go to the VMFA, and to look for the diamond shape in the galleries.