Photo by Scott Shaw 
Photo by Robert Muller 
Fri, 08/02/2019 to Sun, 12/01/2019
Cleveland Museum of Art – Ames Family Atrium
The first commissioned artwork for the Ames Family Atrium, Ámà: The Gathering Place by Emeka Ogboh (Nigerian, b. 1977)
In the Igbo ámà, music is performed both for entertainment and sacred ceremonies. At the CMA, new recordings of a choir singing Igbo folk songs fill the atrium. These 12 songs address universal human concerns such as relationships, triumphs, hope, beauty, and adversities. The songs are transmitted through multichannel speakers that Ogboh has arranged to create three distinct areas of sound—one in a circle of speakers in the atrium’s center, one beneath the large tree sculpture, and one among the bamboo trees. The music travels unpredictably from one zone to another; for a continuous listening experience, visitors are invited to physically follow the music.
Sound Engineering and Sound Design by Justin Geller