Dumouchelle agreed: “Koyo’s vision for the exhibition is beautifully thoughtful,” he said. “This idea of bringing voices to the table that have not previously had an opportunity, doing curatorial work that challenges our preconceived notions of boundaries between disciplines and sub-disciplines and sub-regions — that spirit, I hope, you will see animating the forum.”

Beyond the opening of “Here,” the museum’s work continues with the Here Project, which aims to “give a platform to artists from these communities to tell their stories and represent their own experiences,” Dumouchelle says. Eventually, it will live as a book, with public programming presented alongside the exhibition. Dumouchelle’s research started with 15 artists...the project now includes more than 70.

“The fundamental thesis of the show is really quite basic … We are here, we exist and we have always existed, and ... we will continue to exist. That’s the message that the artists really wanted us to convey, above all else,” Dumouchelle says. “I think if we can provide a little space ourselves for that experience, for people to feel welcomed and to feel safe and seen and represented in that way, then that would be an incredible, incredible thing, too.”

“There’s an extent to which bringing an object into a museum is validating it, and saying: ‘This has merit. This is something that should be thought about and considered, in its own time and decades and possibly centuries afterward,’” he said. “...It’s a deliberative process of trying to think about the artists that will stand up over time and the stories that are relevant today but will also be important and relevant to talk about in the generations to follow.”

“African masks as we have come to know them and expect to see them in Western context are really just a fragment of a lost performance of works that were once contemporary but are now frozen in time,” explains exhibition curator, Kevin Dumouchelle.

"I want the audience to really understand African masquerade as this font of incredible creativity,” says Dumouchelle. “It is a dynamic and exciting artistic platform that changes every time it's performed and is a part of a rich longstanding tradition of artists engaging with and trying to change the world.” He adds, “Leaving this show, I hope that our visitors are able to look a little more critically at both contemporary and historical art."

The larger truths Dumouchelle cites are various. Racism, corruption and homophobia are addressed by contemporary artists -- issues, he suggests that "aren't always on the surface in public discourse today," but can be confronted "through the language of art in a way that is perhaps a bit more truthful."