Exhibition Design for African Art Nok, Niger
status: Direct commission, Built
location: Palacio de Santa Cruz, Valladolid, Spain
function: permanent public exhibition
office: I. Represa & Henka Arquitectos, architects
photography: Henka Arquitectos
office: I. Represa & Henka Arquitectos, architects
photography: Henka Arquitectos
completed in 2007
An outstanding collection
'The collection of sculptures made of terracotta belonging to the Arellano Alonso Foundation is one of the most outstanding compilations in Europe, because of the volume and the relevance of the cultures it includes'.
The showcases in stainless steel have been especially designed for each pieces of the permanent exhibition in two floors.
First the visitor is walking along a imaginary forest where the impressive sculptures of terracota from Nok culture, between 5th and 2nd century before Christ and known as the very first black culture from Africa, are highlighted on a midnight blue background.
Made in dark cast bronze from closer tribes located in the basins of the Niger and Congo rivers and their tributaries, Tanzania and Ethiopia, the smaller pieces as tools, sculptures and money are displayed in a linear way under a double height white open space wrapped by natural light coming from the roof.
