The Museum for African Art is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibition "The Beautiful Time in Lubumbashi: Photography by Sammy Baloji." The exhibition will be on view from March 26-April 28 at the Sidney Mishkin Gallery, Baruch College, 135 East 22nd Street (at Lexington Avenue) in New York. An opening reception will take place on Thursday, March 25 from 6-8 p.m., free and open to the public. Regular gallery hours are: Monday - Friday, Noon to 5 p.m., and Thursday, Noon to 7 p.m.

Sammy Baloji (b. 1978), a photographer and video artist from Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, combines archival images of copper mine workers and colonial administrators with photographs of contemporary Lubumbashi. "The Beautiful Time" presents Baloji's large-scale photomontages and landscape photography. Like many people in the Congo today, Baloji aims to understand and reconnect two strikingly different eras.

Sammy Baloji's photography has been shown in France, Belgium, Mali, South Africa, and Canada. In 2009 he was featured at the Montreal Month of Photography, was a finalist for the French Pictet award, and received a Prince Claus award.

"The Beautiful Time" is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with
an essay by exhibition curator Bogumil Jewsiewicki, professor of history
at Université Laval, Québec. Published by the Museum for African Art, the 48-page catalogue is available for purchase at www.africanart.org.