Couldn’t score tickets to the wildly popular National Museum of African American History & Culture? Come here instead. I found the similarly named but continentally distinct National Museum of African Art to be well worth visiting. The architecture of this space is immaculate. The newly updated and smartly curated exhibits inside are endlessly intriguing. On a tight schedule? It’s relatively easy to make your way through the museum in two hours or less. I would advise anyone visiting the Smithsonian not to pass by this museum.

This museum does much to celebrate and elevate the diversity of Africa. Half underground, half above ground, this is a treasure trove. We happened to arrive just as a free art class was starting at the museum. The art class was led by a local artist and was derived to find inspiration in the Heroes exhibit which talked about the principles of African heroism and profiled the human, the historic, and the mythical as heroes in African society. In many cases, the point was the collective heroism that African nations and cultures draw upon and how that is infused in to Black culture more generally. The class was beautiful and left us with principles and an encouragement of seeing differently and drawing through art. During our time there we also enjoyed time in the permanent collection where we found that the museum has now taken on the principle of returning art that was gained through plunder and where they can verify that origin story. It is always the right time to make things right and I gained a great deal of respect for that action. I hope it's one that continues, even if it compromises the museum's collections. Perhaps the highlight was Ike Ude's portraits of Nollywood stars and the way in which they examined their celebrity, the industry, their various traits and the glamour of the business. It truly felt like a celebration of the one of the biggest film industry in the world, which is now raising the bar and quality of other African countries. I could have spent a few more hours here, but moved on (in service to the art) in the Hirshorn. Can't wait to check out what is next.

Absolutely breathtaking exhibits and very beautiful museum. I really enjoy my visit and was in awe of the creativity and diversity throughout the museum. It was not crowded at all, so I was able to find parking right across the street and take my time in each exhibit. I look forward to coming back in the future.

This is one of the Smithsonian's smaller collections, but the variety of styles media is impressive. It's nice to have a Smithsonian museum with this breadth that doesn't take all day to properly explore. This is a fine introduction to African art for those of us not already well versed in the topic.