African Arts is a quarterly journal devoted to the plastic and graphic arts of Africa, broadly defined to encompass sculpture in wood, metal, ceramic, ivory, and stone, and less familiar work in fiber, hide, mud, and other materials. Included in the mandate are architecture, arts of personal adornment, contemporary fine and popular arts, and arts of the African diaspora. In addition the journal encourages dialogue on other forms of African expressive culture: film, theater, dance, and music.

The African Studies Center at UCLA was established in 1959 to further stimulate the growing national interest in the region and to develop outreach, academic, and research programs on Africa. Increased national demand for new language and area skills soon led to its designation as a National Resource Center for African Studies. In 1989, the Center was renamed to honor its founder James S. Coleman, whose pioneering scholarship marks him as one of the architects of African Area Studies in the United States. The Center is a broadly based academic support and research program.