I enjoyed your video. I am a black man and I too collect African art. I have been collecting for years. I encourage blacks to collect African art. It's a part of our history and culture.

I’ve always wondered this. I would love to see my Brothers and Sisters of African heritage proudly wear and collect their African cultural artefacts.

I'm an African American Female and my home is filled with an extensive African Art Collection from a African Ekoi Ejagham Headcrest, to a Nkisi Nkondi Nail Fetish Statue, and the list goes on. Some of my African Collection was used in rituals while others are decorative. I am a huge lover of African Art which is my favorite even though I collect other art. I totally agree with you that I also wondered the same thing why a lot of "Black People" don't collect African Art while a lot of "Non-Blacks" do. Btw, I love your African Art Collection! Nice video, appreciated it!!!

After watching this video again brother....first off it's very well appreciated and inspiring. I know that you are an author. How come you don't write a book titled " How come Black People don't collect African Art"? You can show Beautiful photographs of your pieces and break down the story of those pieces. This way brother you can teach and inspire the world. If you haven't already thought about it....this would be your gift to humanity.

Such heartfelt musings... My mother was in the Peace Corp in the 80's and revisited many times afterward to bring shea butter, Djembe drums, soap, textiles and furniture stateside from the Ghana and Cameroon areas...she was cured of malaria by a kind familyin the field...a fearless woman now closing in on 90 years of amazing Grace..her stories are wondrous...she is close to finishing her book...her artifacts, masks and helmet masks, so much etc. are an extensive collection...Maybe some day we will meet... Best of everything to you.. P.S. So glad that we (mom, sis and I) have at least some melanated blood in our heritage ...

I speak to our people also. I’ve collected both African and Asian for years and they do seem scared even when they visit. It’s sad. Love your collection. I’ll visit Allen.

Greetings Brother, its great to connect with you, words and collection. You nearly brought tears, it's felt like a total reflection ,for me . Every word ,rings a bell, being from the Gambia, I feel so fortunate, to be a collector, and seller, Of Ancestral Arts, if I had, options, wouldn't sell anything. Lol. You have inspired me to make a move , On projects regarding the matter, of your talk, we actually could do with a few hundred like yourself. Because of the deep program and effect, of why blacks don't collect Ancestral Arts. One of my vision, and mission is to do a documentary, similar to (Hidden colours)

Thank you your displaying your growing collecting and sharing your insights with African antiquity. This another African American who has collected for at least 30 yrs. I am not just collecting art, but I am amassing a cultural history for my children and grand children.

I’ve wondered this myself, but then remembered that the “collecting gene” as a whole is rarely found in black folks (comparatively speaking) my babysitter was black and had a lot of African art (part of my excuse of fascination) but would have never called herself a “collector” as they were from her honeymoon in Africa… she viewed them more like trophies. My black friends “like you said” see it as mostly weird/spooky… just the other day one said of my favorite piece: “You are gonna keep buying crap until you get some damn voodoo-hoodoo hex in here.” 🤣🙄 I’m friends with a Korean family who basically, within reason won’t buy anything not made in Korea…. Seems like all people would be this way to at least some degree, though I’m mostly Scottish but I hate bagpipes and man-skirts. 🤣

My African Art Collection Is Growing

We collect what we value. What we value *is* highly conditioned. Conditions include social factors, familial factors, and identity related factors. In my view, I have been socially conditioned to appreciate American history which often is very euro-centric. In terms of my familial influences, my parents - both black - were raised in Chicago with both of their parents sharing very little history of their time before Chicago in the South (Holy Spring, Mississippi). Some historians have argued, a lot of older black American's have post traumatic stress syndrome, thus they share very little about their oral-history as it relates to slavery. A culture of silence is there. That same culture of silence has caused an erasure of African American history. Period. So, my family has not done much work to explore our history PAST Chicago. As a millennials, who welcomes therapy, I have just begun to unravel why so much is lost within the African American Community. My identity is being shaped by my pursuit for knowledge - and more largely truth. This brings me to an answer to your question: African Americans largely have been conditioned to not think about the VALUE of African Art.

Thank you for this video , this is real , keep it going.

Thank you for sharing. I have been collecting tribal art from all over the world for 7 years now and it all started with an African face mask collection.

I don’t think anyone should be alarmed or concerned, I think it simply boils down to preference. If they like it, they’ll buy and collect it. If they don’t they simply don’t.

I have piece from choke tribe. I think is quite unique

We africans dont dissociate Art from life, the original artifacts are sacred and have their prt to play in ordinary occurences, Most of them have links wirh places and time,,,

Very heartfelt video.

👍Good topic. I think it’s such a personal thing. It’s something a person has to really “connect” with and “appreciate”. [Personally, I like collecting money] 😂 and I like collecting money from the different countries I visit. 👍😃

I think the simple fact of the matter, at least with how i see it, most people do not collect art period. I dont mean this in a rude or disrespectful way, but to project a bit here, i would imagine a lot of people view it as a bit of a rich persons hobby to collect art and many people cannot be bothered to do that. The only reason i ever took interest in my origins was because a friend of mine took interest in his own and it made me curious about mine. Originally starting out as an interest in my country of origin, it eventually became an interest in the continent in general and all the countries and cultures within it. Yet despite all this, i do not collect african art (unless you consider saving images of art a 'collection' but i do not). I cant be bothered to collect art period. I generally observe images online of different architectures, cultures and traditional art of different cultures. This has made me appreciate africas sculpting and ironworking art quite a bit, whether the peice itself be particularly abstract and unique or a striking and accurate piece of art based on reality. Another way we could look at it is those of us that grow up in the western world grow up with a bias towards western preferences and western art. So anything that deviates from that can be really weird or even seen as inferior or ugly. If youre exclusively referring to black people who *are* art collectors that do not collect african art, then id kind of get what youre saying, but the way I see it, generally speaking, most people dont really collect art the way you do. Its a niche hobby and id argue it to a degree requires an interest in ones own roots and history which truthfully a lot of people lack that level of curiosity.

Black people do collect black art. African art may depend on their travels. There is a difference

African art is so beautiful and it never goes out of style. Trends come and go so fast and cost too much. Thats why i love buying the african pieces. I can keep it forever

Beautiful collection! I’m 67 years old woman from Eastern Europe and always I loved african art. I din’t know that afro-americans don’t like it

I love African art and so love collecting masks and sculptures!

I'm more concerned with black people collecting African American art, and the development of a viable black arts market!! As for collecting African Art, it requires a bit of an art education and exposure to develop an appreciation, and subsequent interest in its acquisition. When I was selling my art as a vendor, it was a challenge to sell one of my works for five dollars, and if they did, I considered it a triumph, and took the occasion to tell them what they were buying, in terms of materials, medium, etc., to give them a better appreciation of what they spent their hard-earned money on. Hopefully, in time, that small monetary exchange would inspire them into collecting African American art, and perhaps later, African art.

Thanks for sharing. I’m on a journey to learn who I am as a Am African in diaspora in America. I’m sure African art will be an interest of mine in the future. Right now I’m learning spirituality and principles but I understand it’s all tied together art. I have a liberal arts degree as a minor and some of the pieces I see famous artist like Picasso paint look a lot like pieces created back in Kemet. I guess he was inspired. I bet if he could disclose his muse people would be surprised. Thanks again and your collection is beautiful. I aspire to such a collection and hope to visit your store. Take care

Many of us do collect, I do have a collection not as extensive as yours but wasn’t able financially to collect until late in my career and retirement. I incorporated my pieces beautifully into my home decor. I have no behind the glass pieces. Many black people cant African art though we really appreciate it.

Im mexican living in mexico, since i was a kid i loved folk art that people sells in the streets here so when i was 13 started collecting decorative mexican masks, then started to only collect real dance masks and now 20 years later i have a nice collection of mexican , african and oceanic tribal art, the thing is we mexicans have the same problem, here most of people undersee our own art, dont appreciate or see it as weird spooky things (masks) so i know exactly the feeling you have with the black people dont appreciating african art, whatever as my grandpa said .. for tastes exist colors¡¡ para gustos hay colores¡¡ it means everyone can have different hobbyes and like or not somenthing and its ok, so its strage that people who "should" like their own culture does not but anyways thats just as it is

Darryl, I appreciate your sharing. I, too, LOVE BAULE art and have collected for some time now. You have a wonderful collection and it's beautifully presented. As an ADOS, American Descendant of Slavery, I've heard preachers rail against it, call it devil worship and a number of African Americans are afraid of it, just as you've described. African Art is nonetheless, beautiful and is quintessential MODERN ART before there was the term "Modern Art"...

I collect the African sculptures I've been doing this since the 90s and I display on my wall I love them it just draws it to me

Baule,Akan terra cotta/Benin bronzes are my interest

I've been collecting for quite a while. Namchi, Baale, Punu etc. We are out there.

You got very nice collection my collection is smaller than yours

Collecting African art!!!, I think this is the best way to go and African art will always define it's self even when in the hands of the so called white man!!

I own 7 mask not sure where they originated from bought them years ago online. Some I've refurbished and I'm glad you made this video. I didn't feel bad about the refurbishing because I'm black.

Did you ever tell her you were offended by what she said?

Meet some folks that practice IFA....we collect African art.

Where does one begin to seek out African art?

You need a good curator behind you if you are really serious about collecting African art, your collection contains mainly items produced for the decoration market.

Could it be that African art is so expensive ?

GREETINGS! I HAVE A COLLECTION FOR SALE. ARE YOU STILL COLLECTING?

I do I have a great collection of African masks

My name is Claude Lockhart Clark I am traditional African Woodcarver for 50 years. I keep a low profile that is why you have never heard of me. I have been a student in African and Oceanic images sense 1957. I was 12 years old then. I was forced into my studies by the assassination of Emmett Till who was assassinated August of 1955 in Money Mississippi. I was 10 years old and Emmett Till was 14. My family moved to California from Talladega Alabama during that same month of that same year. From that time on I have been trapped in a twilight zone recapturing a stolen legacy which was taken from me during the middle passage 6 generations ago. From that period, I have never forgotten who I am and the reason for me being here. The family that brought me this far along the way are my witness. I will leave with several of my cyber links and if you are interested, we can talk. Mr. McCullough you are not alone; there are more of us out here. Don't believe everything you are taught, hear, or read. We can be taught ignorance. Ignorance is not just the absence of knowledge. The wrong knowledge can be ignorance as well. My father taught me to think much, read more and speak less. I write, my mother taught me that. Honoring The Ancestors citylights.com/art-pictorial/4724/ Edo (Benin Nigeria) www.earthmetropolis.com/Earth/benin.html#COURT Thanks for showing items from your collection. I will be looking forward to see more.

Hello,we have thus in common/let’s connect please!!