
Culture Fix: Sarah K. Chenault on Creole Jewelry of Axé Bahia
Several examples of joias de crioula or creole jewelry are featured in the exhibition Axé Bahia: The Power of Art in an Afro-Brazilian Metropolis. Since the 18th century, these chains of gold and charms of silver have adorned African-descendant women—freed and enslaved—in Salvador, Bahia, where they serve as expressions of social and religious freedom in an otherwise colonized existence. Learn more about these special pieces in a gallery talk by Curatorial and Research Assistant Sarah K. Chenault.

Sarah K. Chenault
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About the Exhibition
Axé Bahia: The Power of Art in an Afro-Brazilian Metropolis, explores the distinctive cultural role of the city of Salvador, the coastal capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia and an internationally renowned center of Afro-Brazilian culture. Featuring more than 100 works from the mid-20th century to the present, including a stunning array of sculpture, painting, photography, video, and installation art, the exhibition explores the complexities of race and cultural affiliation in Brazil, and the provocative ways in which artists have experienced and responded creatively to prevailing realities of Afro-Brazilian identity in Bahia.
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