Hilary Hungerford found that a Kansas City art exhibit devoted to Africa did not represent the cultural development in the continent — and now she’s showing why the exhibit is outdated.

Hungerford, a Denver graduate student, researched the stereotypes reinforced by a permanent collection of African art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo. She’ll present her conclusions at an African studies conference at the University of Kansas this weekend.

The University will play host to the 13th annual Mid-American Alliance for African Studies (MAAAS) conference Friday through Sunday. Students and faculty from universities across the Midwest and several African countries will present research papers relating to the theme of the conference, “Africa in Motion.”

Hungerford said the theme referred to the motion of people in Africa, including migrations, politics and beliefs that form societies.

Hungerford researched the African collection at the Nelson-Atkins museum and compared it to race relations and perceptions in the United States. She said the exhibit consisted mostly of older art and didn’t include modern pieces that better reflect the current situation in Africa.

“Ethno art exhibits reinforce the idea of Africa as primitive things that feature the past of Africa we aren’t really learning about Afirca today,” Hungerford said. “It just reinforces stereotypes of primitive Africa; that there are no cities, there are no people learning in universities.”

Garth Meyers, director of the University African Studies Center and president of the conference, said the keynote speaker, Derick Moyo, deputy chief of Mission of the South African, would be a highlight of the conference. He also said Brian Daldorph, associate English professor at the University, would read a poem Friday night.

Angela Gray, Sioux City, Iowa, graduate student, said she had been to several MAAAS conferences. She said she had presented several papers in the past.

“It’s a really good experience for graduate students to start because it’s regional, not national. It’s a little more low key, and it gets you used to conferences.” Gray said. “Now I’ve done national conferences as well, but it keeps you connected to people nearby that study what you study.”

This weekend Gray will present research on refugee camps hosted in Zambia, specifically one in Ukwimi. She said she would talk about the creation, construction and evolution of the camp and the subsequent reactions after the camp closed.

The first MAAAS conference was held at the University in 1995. Since then the University has hosted the conference every four years. Thirty-five presenters will participate in the conference.

— Edited by Amelia Freidline