Doran Ross was special—a person whose heart, spirit, biting sense of satire and humor, and love for life—touched countless souls. His departure leaves a massive void in the world of African arts, the museums devoted to presenting them, and my own life. It was an honor to be invited to curate the exhibition Beads, Body, and Soul: Art and Light in the Yorùbá Universe. When we first began to discuss the scope of the project, Doran envisioned something grand and deep as well as challenging so we had lots of conversations and debates about what to include and how to organize the presentation. He readily agreed to include the Yorùbá diaspora so I invited John Mason (founder of the Yorùbá Theological Archministry in Brooklyn, NY) to curate that part of the exhibition.
Doran loved to invent exhibition titles and this project was no exception. I remember most vividly our friendly,...