The Otherworld is Home Public Programs Announced for Fall

Photo from Haggerty Museum of Art.

MILWAUKEE — This Fall the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University will host three exhibitions and a full slate of free programs titled The Otherworld is Home. Inspired by the Yorùbá proverb, “Life is a journey, the otherworld is home” (Ayé l’àjò, ọ̀run n’ilé), the Fall season invites a journey across multiple centuries and continents through works from fifteenth-century Mali to newly created pieces by contemporary artists. Gallery talks, Community Day activities, and more will explore themes of shared human experiences, personal reclamation, cultural identity, spiritual passage, and connection across Africa’s many diasporas. Free and open to the public, The Otherworld is Home opens on August 28, 2026.

African Art: Ancient Roots, Enduring Values features over 40 classical and neoclassical works, highlighting how African artists use traditional craftsmanship to connect the tangible and spiritual worlds. Iké Udé: Sartorial Anarchy showcases how Nigerian-born, New York-based artist Iké Udé blends diverse historical garments to celebrate African beauty and challenge siloed cultural identities. Thresholds brings together four contemporary multimedia artists whose works dialog with the Haggerty Museum of Art’s African collection to explore and reclaim the resilience of Black cultural memory.

The Exhibitions

Featuring over 40 rarely exhibited works from the Haggerty Museum of Art’s collection, African Art: Ancient Roots, Enduring Values explores how classical African art bridges the visible world and the invisible spiritual realm. Through forms like masks and divination tools, these objects were intended to inspire society, deepen devotion, and navigate the space between earthly and otherworldly realms.

The exhibition includes classical works alongside neoclassical pieces created by late 20th and 21st century artists for local and global audiences. Together, these works highlight the extraordinary skill, creative innovation, and rigorous apprenticeships that have sustained Africa’s dynamic artistic traditions past and present. See full exhibition description here.

African Art: Ancient Roots, Enduring Values was curated by Dr. Henry John Drewal, Evjue-Bascom Professor Emeritus, Departments of Art History and African American Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dr. Drewal specializes in the arts of the Yorùbá-speaking peoples of West Africa and the African Diaspora.

Support for this exhibition is generously provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.

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In Iké Udé: Sartorial Anarchy, the Nigerian-born artist Iké Udé merges clothing and objects across diverse eras and cultures to challenge fixed notions of identity. Serving as designer, painter, and model, Udé transforms himself into multifaceted personas that bridge irreconcilable cultural differences through harmonious, elegant self-portraits.

More than a study of fashion, Udé’s work aims to “beautify Africa for the world, one portrait at a time.” Drawing visual inspiration from masters like Vermeer and Jacob Lawrence, his portraits radiate confidence, color, and texture. Udé’s self-portraits invite viewers to reflect on the complex relationship between our inner and outer selves. See full exhibition description here.

Iké Udé: Sartorial Anarchy was curated by Lynne Shumow, Curator for Academic Engagement, Haggerty Museum of Art.

Support for this exhibition is generously provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. and the Emmett J. Doerr Endowment Fund.

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Thresholds features contemporary artists Aisha Tandiwe Bell, Portia Cobb, Stephen Hamilton, and Daniel Minter in a dynamic “call and response” with African works from the Haggerty Museum of Art’s collection. Working across media, these artists bridge the seen and unseen, present and ancestral, to explore the resilience of Black cultural memory.

Bell explores plural diasporic identities, while Cobb documents Gullah Geechee oral histories to resist “forced forgetting.” Hamilton uses traditional Nigerian textile and carving techniques grounded in Yorùbá thought, and Minter assembles found materials through Black Atlantic spiritual traditions to channel ancestral strength.

Together, their works engage the Haggerty’s collection in a participatory exchange, treating history as a living archive actively embodied, critically reflected upon, and renewed in the present. See full exhibition description here.

Organized in partnership with the Indigo Arts Alliance, an artist residency and incubator in Portland, ME committed to the artistic development of Black and Brown Artists.

Support for this exhibition is generously provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. and the Martha and Ray Smith, Jr. Endowment Fund.

Public Programs

The Haggerty Museum of Art’s exhibitions and programs are free, open to the public, and take place on Marquette University’s campus unless otherwise noted. Additional program details and registration information on the Museum’s Events page.

Fall 2026 Public Program Highlights include:

Fall 2026 Discussion and Exhibition Preview

Wednesday, September 9, 2026, 6 to 8 p.m.

Preview our new Fall exhibitions and hear from scholar of African and African diaspora arts Dr. Henry John Drewal in conversation with artist and educator Daniel Minter accompanied by exhibiting artists Aisha Tandiwe Bell, Stephen Hamilton, and Portia Cobb.

Fall 2026 Opening Reception

Thursday, September 10, 2026, 6 to 7 p.m.

Celebrate the opening of The Otherworld is Home, three interconnected exhibitions exploring themes of personal reclamation, cultural identity, spiritual passage, and connection across Africa’s many diasporas.

Lunchtime Gallery talk by Prof. Felicia Caponigri: Iké Udé: Sartorial Anarchy

Tuesday, September 22, 2026, noon

Please join us for a lunchtime gallery talk in the current exhibition Iké Udé: Sartorial Anarchy with Prof. Felicia Caponigri. A member of Marquette Law faculty, she will connect themes from her own research on fashion, color, and trademark law with the complex photographic work of Iké Udé and his vocabulary of fashion and self-representation.

The Comings and Goings of Days by Catey Ott Thompson
Saturday, September 26, 2026, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

The Comings and Goings of Days is a deeply personal multimedia performance by Catey Ott Thompson that chronicles her year-long recovery from a devastating knee injury. Through two experimental films and a live dance solo, the work explores healing, identity, resilience, and the rediscovery of self.

Theotokos Lecture: The Virgin Mary as a Shared Figure? A Christian-Muslim Dialogue

Tuesday, October 27, 2026, 5 to 7 p.m.

Please join us for a lecture considering where, when, and how Mary has been used to connect or divide Christians and Muslims. The talk will be led by Dr. Rita George-Tvrtković, Dean and Professor of Theology at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake, followed by a response from Marquette professor Dr. Irfan Omar, and further dialogue with the audience.

Lunchtime Talk by Rita George Tvrtkovic, PhD: Our Lady of Victory or Our Lady of Beauty? Christian Marian Art for/against Muslims

Wednesday, October 28, 2026, noon

Please join us for a Lunchtime Talk by Dr. Rita George-Tvrtković, Dean and Professor of Theology at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake. This presentation will contrast two sets of Christian Marian images that relate to Islam: those that show Mary against Muslims (“Our Lady of Victory”), versus more positive images with the potential to bring Christians and Muslims together.

Living Archives: An African Community Day

Saturday, November 14, 2026, noon to 4 p.m.

Living Archives invites visitors to experience the living traditions of the African diaspora through food, storytelling, dance, conversation, and art. Presented in conjunction with the Haggerty Museum of Art’s Fall 2026 exhibition theme The Otherworld is Home, these experiences explore how cultural memory is preserved, shared, and renewed across generations, transforming the museum into a vibrant space for community connection and exchange.

Gallery Talk by Dr. Joseph Ogbonnaya

November 18, 2026, noon

Join us for a gallery talk with Dr. Joseph Ogbonnaya, Associate Professor of Theology at Marquette University and author of African Perspectives on Culture and World Christianity. Dr. Ogbonnaya will discuss the vital role of culture in Iké Udé’s work and its universal significance.

On Display Global 2026

Thursday, December 3, 2026, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Join us for On Display Global 2026, a meditative living sculpture court created by Heidi Latsky Dance and directed by Catey Ott Thompson in honor of the UN’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Additional free public programs continue with lunchtime talks, artist conversations, engaging lectures, and more. All events, festivities, and educational programs are listed with details and registration information on the Museum’s Events page.

About

The Haggerty Museum of Art is located on the campus of Marquette University, adjacent to downtown Milwaukee in the heart of the Near West Side. FREE and open to the public Monday through Saturday, the Haggerty is one of the most accessible arts venues in the city.

The Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University is a place where art and ideas come alive—free of charge and open to all. Through innovative exhibitions, arts education experiences, and thought-provoking public programs, the museum invites both the university campus and the broader Milwaukee community to discover, question, and connect.

Working with regional and national artists, collaborating with distinguished faculty across all disciplines, partnering with community organizations, and advancing collections inquiry, the Haggerty Museum is a vital forum for dialogue—to spark reflection, inspire action, and encourage positive change for the greater good.

Banner images: (left) Atelier of Agbonbiofe Adesina, Èkìtì-Yorùbá, Nigeria, Mother and Child Figure, 20th century, wood, pigment, 17 7/8 x 3 3/4 x 6 1/4 in., gift of Mr. Joseph P. Antonow, 84.34.10, Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University; (center) Iké Udé, Nigerian/American, b. 1964, Sartorial Anarchy #26, 2013, inkjet print, 45 3/4 x 36 1/2 in., courtesy of Leila Heller Gallery; (right) Aisha Tandiwe Bell, American, b. 1974, Gold and Shadow, 2020, acrylic, metal leaf, stoneware, cobalt oxide, and glaze on wood, 40 x 30 x 7 in., courtesy of the artist.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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