“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."