What does it mean to make a continent? Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design approached this question through the works of over 120 artists and designers. This exhibition was developed by Vitra Design Museum in Germany and made its US appearance at the High Museum. The show's curators selected an estimated 280 works, including photography, film, sculpture, fashion, apps, and infographics, to highlight the energetic creativity behind Africa's growing economies and technological innovations. Their goal of dispelling stereotypes by multiplying available stories, however, was impeded by the exhibition's very structure and language.
The title Making Africa prompts serious questions. Who is doing the making and for whom is Africa being made? The show's tone, set by the opening wall text, suggested an optimistic narrative in which the artists are working toward making a technologically, socially, and politically progressive Africa for themselves as well as for a global audience. The...