Barnabas Ticha Muvhuti, Nancy and Robert J. Carney Postdoctoral Associate in Art History, delivered an insightful lightning talk this afternoon where he discussed his research on African sculptor Job Kekana while studying at the University of Cape Town. His research for the ARAK Collection led him to hit the ground on a road trip across five countries profiling contemporary artists and cultural workers across Namibia, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, and Zambia with his journey culminating in the publication of his first book at the end of last year, “Chronicles of the Road: Five Nations, Five Artists.” (HBKU Press, 2024)
Barnabas recently conducted an interview with the online news magazine “The Conversation” entitled “Five artists, five nations: taking to the road to find southern Africa’s hidden stories” where he detailed his cross-country road trip visiting artists' studios and speaking to everyone he came across on his trek from fellow bus passengers to those at the market, soaking up the environment and sites at each stop. Read the full interview here.
Joining Rice in Fall 2024 after receiving his PhD at Rhodes University, Barnabas is currently teaching “HART 309: Contemporary Art of Africa” this semester. He is a cultural worker and an art historian with research interests in the early modern art workshops of Southern Africa. His current research traces the artistic lineages emerging out of the region’s early modern schools. He writes on contemporary art practices in Africa, as well as the current migration trends in Southern Africa. He has worked in a few academic and cultural institutions including the University of Cape Town (UCT)’s Centre for Curating the Archive, and the Zeitz MOCAA Museum. In Fall 2025, he will be leading the course “HART 211: African Modernism.”
The School of Humanities Lightning Talks are held every semester with presentations from new faculty and postdocs on their latest research and creative projects as a way to introduce them to the Rice community.
