Voania's productivity is apparent in the sheer number of objects now in museum collections. The earliest accessioned objects include Etienne's nine objects, sent to the Musée du Congo Belge in 1910, and purchase of a work at auction in October 1913 by the Henry Wellcome Collection in London. 3 In 1915, the American Museum of Natural History accessioned six sculptures collected by Herbert Lang during the museum's Congo Mission. The Swedish Ethnographic Museum purchased a piece in 1916. 4 Henri Pareyn donated seven objects to the Musée du Congo Belge in 1917. The Vleeshuis Museum, now known as the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) in Antwerp, purchased five more ceramics in 1920. Collections have steadily continued to accession Voania's works.Early archival records and analyses focus largely on the artist's distinct style, masterful techniques, and creation of works for European clients. For instance, a 1917 Musée du Congo Belge accession report describes one of Voania's ceramics as of "modern manufacture bearing the engraved mark of the native potter, piece is very interesting because of the art of the craftsman. " 5 These notes laud Voania's skillful artistry and, as I will discuss later, complement European attitudes regarding other figurative ceramics from western Congo produced in the early twentieth century. For example, in a 1939 article published by the Comité Provinciale des Amis de l' Art Indigène, the authors regret that the distinguished artist had died before the Comité's projects in Congo began. 6 In an attempt to revive the creation of figurative ceramics, the Comité

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An ephemeral gesture: What better or more poetic way to open a permanent installation of African art? The conceptual complexity of African art cries out for subtle contradictions that engage the public in a dialogue, a reflection upon what has been erased and what remains. In June 2017, Washington, DC-based, Nigerian-born artist Victor Ekpuk will install a 30 x 18 foot site-specific wall drawing in the North Carolina Museum of Art's new African art gallery. The installation will be documented during its creation and a year later when it is wiped off with a sponge and water. No lasting physical object will remain; rather a series of relationships and connections will begin. Ekpuk's work, positioned at a right angle to the 18 x 25 foot El Anatsui work Lines that Link Humanity, will bring together two generations of contemporary African artists. This commission has also been a catalyst for significant outreach and internal education at the NCMA.

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