www.amata.org is the online presentation of the background, scope and content displayed in A.M.A.T.A. MUSEUM located on the small Caribbean island of Anguilla (British West Indies) which is focusing on African Tribal Art just for the pleasure of highlighting and enjoying a family collection of items, some of which can indeed be considered as historical, rare and outstanding African Tribal Art objects carrying a lot of memories.
In practice the layout is very familiar as well (maybe one could call it “elegantly casual”) but maybe for this reason even more charming and penetrating visitors minds also thanks to very old original tribal rythms recording with its rumble noises A.M.A.T.A. (acronym for Anguilla Museum of African Tribal Art, but in italian means also “beloved” at the feminine gender) is a fully private family Museum in Anguilla located on the 10 acres land at the tip of Cul de Sac Peninsula where during the last 25 years the same owner also built the Anguilla Yacht Club and the Yacht Club Villas Resort now for sale
The underlying idea ofthis Museum is that what we call art in general is an epiphany of mankind and human life as a whole; as such the African Tribal Art can indeed be regarded as an effective and enlightening shortcut bringing us back upstream to contemplate the ‘’fresco’’ of the dark, primeval roots of mankind, our roots too.
The ones of us who shall have the willingness and capacity to mentally dip for a moment into such evidence, will physically feel in their blood and bones that, believe it or not, that’s where all of us are coming from (a first long walk out of Africa started maybe one hundred thousand years ago…), and that hidden ties to such obscure ancestral roots are still in our DNA and strongly influencing our minds, beliefs and contemporary daily lives.
The ancient indian sanscrit texts warn us that ”Tat tvam asa”, which means <be aware: ”you are that”>, i.e. be humble, look around yourself as well as inside yourself, for the present and for the past, and realize that you are all ‘’that’’ which is surrounding you both from ‘’your’’ outside and ‘’your’’ inside and that all ‘’that’’ is in you, is you.
Beyond the pure pleasure of Art enjoyment, the hope and scope is that we will improve our cultural approach to the present and the future by achieving the intimate awareness that we shall be much more ”modern and consciously civilized” than what we believe we already are, thanks to our recognition of such a conspicuous part of our largely forgotten and common heritage , without cutting off nor ignoring or denying any of such ancestral, natural ties. Maybe that thanks to such fresh intimate awareness, we will become more open, more curious, more understanding and more tolerant towards all the others too, whatever their cultural roots, language, beliefs, sex, color or religion maybe.
This Museum is dedicated to the memory of my father Alfredo Antonio Comparetti (who spent several years in Africa before World War II and who, among many other things, when in Africa managed to put together the great majority of the valuable items now on display) and to the memory of my mother Maria Zaira too, of course, at least for her excellent ability to handle the job of being the wife of such a man during those extremely difficult and dangerous times.
This Museum resembling the two of them a lot (and myself too, I believe) because its intentions are good, its approach is pure and its roots are deep and strong…