ISPADA Israeli Planning, Architecture and Development in Africa
The exhibition “Africa – Art and Folklore” was opened in January 1964 at the B’nai B’rith House in Tel Aviv, under the Patronage of Golda Meir, then the Minister of Foreign Affairs. According to the Exhibition Catalogue, it was intended to “demonstrate the many sides of Africa using artifacts representing the way of life, customs and creations of the [African] man in both traditional and contemporary social framework” (Africa –Art and Folklore – Exhibition Catalogue, 1964). The exhibition established a sense of common destiny between Israel and Africa, conjoint with a recognition in the violence of colonialism in Africa, which "mercilessly oppressed its past, its culture and its art, ruined the ancient social structure and replaced it with a shallow reproduction of the Western culture – based on commercial products and images that are strange to the African spirit (Fischer, in Africa – The Art and Folklore - Exhibition Catalogue, 1964). At the same time it positioned the Israeli inspector as a modern western subject exploring foreign cultures. This positionality presented Africa as "terra incognita" – an uncharted territory and anthropological research field of "African" material culture that craves further investigation and study. For indeed, "there are still many unknown regions in Africa to date. However, we know enough about the African's internal world, his way of life, his customs and beliefs, his past, his culture and his art, to have a fairly clear opinion about him" (Fischer, in Africa –Art and Folklore – Exhibition Catalogue, 1964).
