Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas January 4, 2009

Beautiful and seductive, protective yet dangerous, the African water deity Mami Wata is often portrayed as a mermaid, a snake charmer, or a combination of both. Traditional and now contemporary art has been created to celebrate Mami Wata and this exhibition explores five hundred years of the visual culture and history devoted other, inspired by her and created in honor of the essential sacred nature of water.