The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), situated in the heart of San Francisco, is dedicated to showcasing art and artists of the African Diaspora. MoAD places the contemporary art and artists of the African Diaspora at the center of the global cultural conversation. It has expanded on the original story of the diaspora to focus on artists from various diasporas, whether they be Afro-Cuban, Afro-Asian, Afro-Caribbean, or African-American.
With a host of new exhibitions rotating through MoAD annually, the museum always presents a new experience, even for frequent visitors. According to Mark Sabb, MoAD's director of marketing and communications, many of the artists whose work is exhibited at the museum are still living, and they often attend previews and special events at the museum. This accessibility to the artists offers an opportunity that is rare in most institutions.
Current Exhibitions
Spectrum: On Color & Contemporary Art
The African Diaspora in Design Part 3 ~ Contemporary Art
This exhibition, curated by Key Jo Lee, MoAD’s inaugural Chief of Curatorial Affairs and Public Programs, features a multigenerational and international group of contemporary Black artists. It illuminates the importance of color to both the form and content of their work. Through a series of thematic couplings and groupings, each visitor can explore how each artist employs color to convey mood, identity, architecture, event, etc.
Participating artists include:
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- Tariku Shiferaw
- Stacey Gillian Abe
- Sheena Rose
- Mildred Thompson
- Barkley Hendricks
- MANYAKU MASHILO
- Delita Martin
- Tawny Chatmon
- Rashid Johnson
- Richard Mayhew
- Gabriel Mills
- Felandus Thames
The exhibition is accompanied by digital and analog educational tools and programs meant to equip audiences with new and/or refined questions and language with which to engage contemporary Black art through color.
MoAD hosted an artist talk in celebration of Spectrum: On Color & Contemporary Art on February 8, 2024. Artists Tawny Chatmon and Delita Martin discussed how artists in this group exhibition use color to guide our perception with MoAD's Chief of Curatorial Affairs and Public Programs Key Jo Lee.
An international panel discussion with Sheena Rose and Manyaku Mashilo, exhibiting artists featured in the exhibition Spectrum: On Color & Contemporary Art was held on November 18th, 2023. This conversation explored how artists in this group exhibition use color to guide our perception and was moderated by San Francisco gallerist Jonathan Carver Moore.
Tsedaye Makonnen
Tsedaye Makonnen is a Washington, D.C.-based Ethiopian American artist. In the seven sculptures featured in this exhibition, she explores the dehumanization of Black women, femme people and their communities, finding connections in form and themes related to the power of motherhood and sisterly solidarity. Makonnen envisioned the central installation in this exhibition, Senait & Nahom | ሰናይት :: እና ::ናሆም | The Peacemaker & The Comforter, while she was an artist in residence for the National Museum of African Art as a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow. The sculptures are in dialogue with artworks from across the Horn of Africa’s history drawn from the museum’s collection, which the artist selected with curator Kevin D.
Unbound: Art, Blackness and the Universe
Unbound: Art, Blackness and the Universe is on view through August 16, 2026.
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Continuum
Continuum is on view until March 1, 2026.
Past Exhibitions
Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa’s Arts, the National Museum of African Art’s most recent, large-scale presentation of its collection, is the first to offer broad thematic connections between artworks across the spectrum of time, place, and medium. The National Museum of African Art worked with the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) and the Benin City National Museum to identify, and ultimately transfer, ownership of 29 objects.
Commissioned from internationally renowned artist Yinka Shonibare MBE, the installation of Wind Sculpture VII at the entrance to our museum promises to mark a new landmark of public art on the National Mall.
Featuring artworks from the museum’s permanent collection, this exhibition proves that water is one of most potent forces on earth. Water is in all of us-to live, we need water to drink. Its currents flow through myths, metaphors, and rituals.
Upcoming Exhibitions
Upcoming exhibitions will be announced later this season.
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Museum Events and Programs
Throughout the year, MoAD is an active community calendar. It is an anchor for celebrations honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. every January and ongoing Black History Month events in February.
MoAD proudly presents Nexus: SF/Bay Area Black Art Week (Oct 1-6, 2024), celebrating Black artists with exhibitions, programs, and unique engagements.
- Afropolitan Ball 2024: MoAD's annual gala celebrating cultural diversity and supporting Black Art & Artists.
- Diaspora Dinner Featuring Dr. Jessica B. Harris: An immersive dining experience celebrating the African diaspora.
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Free Community Day: A celebration of the life and achievements of one of our nation's greatest heroes.
MoAD will temporarily close to the public from March through September 2025 to renovate and upgrade its interior spaces and galleries. During this period, it will continue hosting off-site programs and events in collaboration with local partners. The museum will reopen in October 2025 to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
