Esta dissertação constitui-se da pesquisa e do estudo bibliográfico sobre cultura material e arte africana tradicional, aqui entendida como a arte de origem anterior ao período da colonização européia, antes do século XIX, mas também a produzida durante este período, especificamente a arte da África central. Nossa pesquisa reflete o fato de haver no Brasil uma omissão considerável de fontes bibliográficas e de informações específicas sobre arte e cultura material africana em língua portuguesa, sobretudo de natureza didático-pedagógica. Visamos também a Lei 10639/2003, que torna obrigatório o ensino de História da África e Cultura Afro-brasileira no âmbito da Educação Básica, e em especial nas áreas de Educação Artística, Literatura e História do Brasil / The main subject of this work is equally the research and the bibliographical study about material culture and traditional African art, here understood as the art previous to the period of the European colonization, before the 19th century, but also that produced during this period, specifically the art of Central Africa. Our research reflects the fact that in Brazil there is a considerable lack of bibliographical sources and specific information on art and African material culture in Portuguese language, mainly of didactic and pedagogic nature. We also aim at the governmental resolution that assures the teaching of African History and Afro- Brazilian Culture in the sphere of basic education, especially in the areas of Art Education, Literature and Brazilian History

Esta dissertação constitui-se da pesquisa e do estudo bibliográfico sobre cultura material e arte africana tradicional, aqui entendida como a arte de origem anterior ao período da colonização européia, antes do século XIX, mas também a produzida durante este período, especificamente a arte da África central. Nossa pesquisa reflete o fato de haver no Brasil uma omissão considerável de fontes bibliográficas e de informações específicas sobre arte e cultura material africana em língua portuguesa, sobretudo de natureza didático-pedagógica. Visamos também a Lei 10639/2003, que torna obrigatório o ensino de História da África e Cultura Afro-brasileira no âmbito da Educação Básica, e em especial nas áreas de Educação Artística, Literatura e História do Brasil / The main subject of this work is equally the research and the bibliographical study about material culture and traditional African art, here understood as the art previous to the period of the European colonization, before the 19th century, but also that produced during this period, specifically the art of Central Africa. Our research reflects the fact that in Brazil there is a considerable lack of bibliographical sources and specific information on art and African material culture in Portuguese language, mainly of didactic and pedagogic nature. We also aim at the governmental resolution that assures the teaching of African History and Afro- Brazilian Culture in the sphere of basic education, especially in the areas of Art Education, Literature and Brazilian History

Past, Present, Future is an immersive and interactive art installation that seeks to put displaced Congolese and African artwork - commonly displayed in world museums - into their original cultural context. The exhibit's immersive experience sheds light on the colonial exploitation of African peoples and their lifestyles: specifically the expropriation of lived African spiritual and artistic expressions. These artifacts - sometimes stolen outright, sometimes obtained through imbalanced terms of trade, and sometimes obtained by fair bargain - often appear in exhibits as disembodied objects devoid of explanation or reinterpreted through the conceptions of the exploiters. This phenomenon has historically supported the consciousness of colonialism and now of post- and neo-colonialism, maintaining its propagation through museums, schools, and other institutions worldwide. The exhibition is composed of a virtual environment in addition to projection mapping. The visual, aural, and interactive elements engage with and challenge the viewer's culturally conditioned ways of thought regarding artwork "consumption." This thesis, building on the exhibition, examines the possibilities of employing evolving technology and coding toward the long-term task of "softly" repatriating displaced artifacts while starting a conversation about physical repatriation and providing a model that Congolese scholars and artists can use to preserve and reclaim their cultural heritage. / Master of Fine Arts / Pieces of art from Congo and much of Africa are often perceived in the Western world as exotic objects to be looked at and photographed. To the Congolese people, those objects are an essential part of their ongoing life. It goes without saying that they are central to the collective spirit, sense of the world, cultural identity, and ancestral history. Past, Present, Future is an immersive art installation that takes displaced works from Congo and other settings in Africa and restores their living context through a Congolese artist's lens. This paper examines the process by which they were extracted from their home and found their way onto Western institutions, what they were and what was lost, and how through contemporary technology-integrated creative expression, they may be made whole for the enrichment of those from whom they came, their current hosts, and people everywhere.