As part of our ongoing representation of Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher, and in concert with their non-profit foundation, African Ceremonies, Inc, photokunst helped translate their iconic African Ceremonies: Passages, museum exhibition into an online offering on Google’s Cultural Institute‘s The Art Project website. We were delighted to collaborate with this dynamic new venue to showcase Beckwith’s & Fisher’s photographic legacy. The Google Cultural Institute is dedicated to creating technology that helps the cultural community to bring their art, archives, heritage sites and other material online. The aim is to increase the range and volume of cultural material that is available for people to explore online and in doing so, democratise access to it and preserve it for future generations. To date, more than 6 million viewers have explored the GCI site and its extensive cultural resources.
Beckwith and Fisher photographed sacred ceremonies and traditions little known to the outside world. There are no other artists who have captured so many images of authentic and ancient ritual practices. African Ceremonies: Passages features photographs of the cycle of life in Africa, as well as the spiritual beliefs of its societies. The photographs are grouped throughout the exhibition according to birth and initiation, courtship and marriage, royalty and power, seasonal rites, beliefs and worship, and finally death and passage to the spirit world. African Ceremonies: Passages was curated by the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 2000, presenting iconic images from the Beckwith-Fisher archives, featuring 95 photographs, 7 short videos, with extended captions and informative text.