African Art, Education and Cultural Understanding
Capital's Schumacher Gallery is now home to a 502-piece collection of African art, thanks to a gift from Donald Schreiber and Bonnie Fox, two Central Ohioans who value the gallery's role as an educational resource for Capital students and the greater community.
Selected pieces from the Schreiber-Fox Collection of African Art will be unveiled Friday, Jan. 12, and added to its permanent collection at the close of the exhibition on Saturday, Feb. 17.
The collection bolsters the Schumacher's growing reputation in and beyond Central Ohio for ethnic art, a distinction gallery director Cassandra Tellier takes great pride in.
"We have consciously developed collecting areas that serve a purpose within the community, and the areas that are growing the fastest and used the most are our ethnic art collections. These are collections that people come specifically to Capital to see," Tellier said.
The gallery's Inuit collection is among the nation's largest outside of New York and Chicago. Permanent collections of ethnic art at the gallery also include Oceanic, Mezzo-American and Native American art. View all of the gallery's permanent collections.
Everyday Beauty
For Schreiber, African art represents many facets of the communities that created the objects. The art was created not only for art's sake, but for use in everyday functions, religious ceremonies and social life.
Through decades of travel, Schreiber and Fox concentrated their collecting in the following areas: objects used in daily life (bowls, utensils, cups and boxes), ceremonial masks and headdresses, figures, shields, grainery and other doors, stools and chairs, spears and headrests.
Materials used in creating the pieces consist primarily of wood, bronze, raffia and beads. The collection represents the work of many cultural groups from mostly Sub-Saharan Africa and shows a variety of styles found in the art of Africa.
Collective Knowledge
Schreiber began his adventure in collecting African art nearly 25 years ago. In his many travels, he was drawn to museums, galleries, artists and private collections displaying art forms that were three-dimensional, seemingly primitive and simplistic in form.
After marrying Fox in 1995, the two began to earnestly add pieces to their collection. They sought additional knowledge of the complexities of African art, including the study of how the art validates political authority, serves as protection from the spirit world, assists with spirit communication, and transmits cultural values and beliefs.
Schreiber and Fox continued to study, with great fascination, how the objects produced in African communities both "reveal" uses and significance of specific African cultures, and often "conceal" important local secret meanings and contexts.
A Higher Calling
Linking their collection with an institution of higher learning was of great importance to Schreiber and Fox. Through continuing study and educational use of the works in the collection, they hope that individuals can begin to appreciate the differences and similarities of cultures and peoples, leading to greater understanding and harmony in this world.
Schreiber and Fox donated their collection of African art to Capital University because of the excellent vision the university and Tellier share for extending this important collection to the Central Ohio community. This venue will allow endless educational opportunities.
"The Schumacher Gallery's first obligation is to educate our students and also the greater community," explained interim President Denvy Bowman who along with Tellier, toured the gallery with Schreiber and Fox as they considered various universities nationwide for their collection's permanent home. "Dr. Schreiber and Dr. Fox share our vision and commitment to education, and we're thrilled that they agree their collection belongs at Capital."