There is perhaps no time like the present for an exhibition of Ghanaian artist Paa Joe's miniature but mighty replica fortresses, and it was during nationwide protests regarding racial equity and social justice that I visited Paa Joe: Gates of No Return. Coordinating curator Katherine Jentleson, Merrie and Dan Boone Curator of Folk and Self-Taught Art, significantly expanded on what was originally a smaller show curated by Valérie Rousseau of the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM). During its closure due to the COVID-19 crisis from March until August 2020, Jentleson and the High's Interpretation team also created a robust digital and online experience.
Paa Joe: Gates of No Return featured seven large-scale sculptural representations of castles and forts, built and used between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, which now dot the coast of present-day Ghana. Each was crafted and painted by artist Joseph Tetteh Ashong, also known as “Paa Joe,”...