The Art Collection
Embassy of The United States of America Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
The Tree of Life - by G. Matambwe
The ancient Baobab tree on the new United States Embassy grounds, and the indigenous Tanzanian wood carvings are the inspiration for the art collection assembled for the new American Embassy. The Tree of Life carving by Tanzanian sculptor G. Matambwe is the centerpiece of the collection. This larger than life, inverted ebony tree depicts the variety and interdependence of the occupations and cultures of Tanzania, and by extension, the interdependence of peoples and nations.
The tree theme continues with exceptional photographs by American artists Ansel Adams and Christopher Burkett, with the triple monoprints of Jane Bunker, and with the elegant palm tree prints in the Agency for International Development (AID) offices.
The art selected offers comparisons of American and Tanzanian landscapes and lifestyles, from coastal views to plains and mountains. Patchwork textiles by an African Ewe weaver and by an American weaver, Dena Crane use the same medium, patches of African textiles, to achieve very different expressions.
The Embassy's open atrium and grand staircase are the setting for the newly carved, Zanzibar style door, commissioned from Tanzanian sculptor Monir Salim Omar. It is echoed in the AID lobby by a collection of five antique center posts from old local doors.
The common experience of people and the coming together of cultures define this American Embassy collection.
Artists
American artists including painters, photographers, printmakers, textile artists:
- Ansel Adams
- Wendy Stone
- Christopher Burkett
- Bryn Craig
- Anthony Holdsworth
- Judith Rothchild
- Ivan Barnett
- Jane Bunker
- Gustave Bauman
- Harold Altman
- J.T. Bowen
- Vladan Stiha
- Larry Fodor
- Richard Perri
- Edward Gordon
- Aline Feldman
- Dena Crane
- Andrea Trivelli
- Haskell Coffin
- Scott Christensen
- David Smith-Harrison
- James Sessions
- Peggy Olsen
- Georgia O'Keefe
Tanzanian & African Artists
- David Marrian
- Boniface Shimaneru
- G. Matambwe
- Anselm Croze
- Munir Salim Omar
- Raza Mohammed
- Ewe & Kuba weavers
Donors
- Friends of Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE)
- Artworks by Dale Chihuly, Richard Diebenkorn and Elyn Zimmerman
- The art collection was commissioned by the Overseas Buildings Operations, Interiors and Furnishings Division. The art collection was curated by Dale Egee, Egee Art Consultancy.