Nguni: Migrant Nations of Southeast Africa

Nguni: Migrant Nations of Southeast Africa is the first exhibition to explore the art traditions that emerged from a pivotal yet often overlooked chapter in African history—the Nguni diaspora of the early 19th century, a far-reaching movement that disrupted societies across a vast swath of the subcontinent and continues to resonate today.

Between roughly 1810 to 1840, the area east of the Drakensberg escarpment, corresponding with the present-day province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, was reshaped by intensive warfare and rapid state formation. As the Zulu kingdom consolidated power, many Nguni communities were displaced, migrating across southeastern Africa and establishing new societies as far north as present-day Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Anchored in the lives of four pivotal Nguni rulers—Shaka, Zwangendaba, Mzilikazi, and Langalibalele I—the exhibition connects historical objects to vital oral traditions. Drawn from major collections in South Africa, Europe, and the United States, these works include shields, spears, and axes; vessels of wood, fiber, and ceramic; and exquisite jewelry in bone, brass, and beadwork.

Bringing the 19th century into dialogue with the present are specially commissioned works by photographer Jabulani Dhlamini and graphic designer Nontsikelelo Mutiti as well as filmmakers Nomawonga Khumalo and and Siyabonga Mkholo. In addition to Khumalo and Mkholo’s film isilulu, which plays continuously in the gallery space, the Gallery also presents a screening program in association with the exhibition that includes Thuthuka Sibisi’s film Sonder and the first United States presentation of the television series SHAKA ILEMBE.