Museum of the African Diaspora

The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) is a contemporary art museum in San Francisco, California. MoAD holds exhibitions and presents artists exclusively of the African diaspora, one of only a few museums of its kind in the United States. Located at 685 Mission St. and occupying the first three floors of the St. Regis Museum Tower in the Yerba Buena Arts District, MoAD is a nonprofit organization as well as a Smithsonian Affiliate. Prior to 2014, MoAD educated visitors on the history, culture, and art of the African diaspora through permanent and rotating exhibitions. After a six-month refurbishment in 2014 to expand the gallery spaces, the museum reopened and transitioned into presenting exclusively fine arts exhibitions. MoAD does not have a permanent collection and instead works directly with artists or independent curators when developing exhibitions.

Mission MoAD "celebrates Black cultures, ignites challenging conversations, and inspires learning through the global lens of the African Diaspora."

History MoAD was developed as part of a public/private partnership led by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. In 1999, the City of San Francisco created a mandate to include an African-American cultural presence in the last vacant parcel of Yerba Buena Gardens. San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown appointed a steering committee to determine the mission and scope of a cultural facility within the complex.

The African American Cultural Institute grew out of a research and development process that began in 2002. The new museum was renamed the Museum of the African Diaspora to reflect a broadened scope and mission, and incorporated as a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. The space was designed by the Freelon Group within the St. Regis Museum Tower, a 42-story skyscraper that apart from the museum consists of luxury condominiums and a five-star hotel. MoAD opened its doors in 2005.

Linda Harrison was appointed as the executive director of MoAD in November 2013. In June 2014, MoAD underwent a six-month renovation that created more gallery space and refreshed the museum's overall look. By October 2014, MoAD was named an official Smithsonian Affiliate. Harrison left MoAD in 2018 to head the Newark Museum in New Jersey.

Monetta White, who has been involved with MoAD since its inception in 2005, was appointed as executive director in December 2019.

The Original Museum of the African Diaspora Before 2014, when the MoAD revised its mission to center on contemporary art, the museum introduced visitors to the original African diaspora—the original movement of Homo sapiens (from the earliest human remains found in Africa)—to eventually all inhabited regions. The museum asks visitors "when did you first realize you are African?" The museum espouses the scientifically accepted idea of panethnicity, wherein all humans have a common African origin.

Emerging Artists Program The Emerging Artists Program at the Museum of the African Diaspora was launched concurrently with the celebration of the institution's 10th anniversary, and receives support from the Institute of Museum and Library services. Tim Roseborough and Cheryl Derricotte, 2015–2016; Nyame Brown, Helina Metaferia, Lili Bernard, and Angie Keller, 2016–2017.

Past exhibitions

ExhibitionDateLet Your Motto Be ResistanceApril 4, 2009 – June 14, 2009The Art of Richard MayhewOctober 10, 2009 – March 7, 2010African ContinuumApril 20, 2010 – September 26, 2010Art/Object: Re-Contextualizing African ArtOctober 7, 2010 – January 17, 2011Textual Rhythms: Constructing the Jazz Tradition, Contemporary African American QuiltsJanuary 27, 2011 – April 24, 2011From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare BeardenMay 6, 2011 – July 3, 2011Soulful Stitching: Patchwork Quilts by African (Siddis) in IndiaJuly 15, 2011 – September 25, 2011Collected: Stories of Acquisition and ReclamationOctober 7, 2011 – March 4, 2012Choose Paint! Choose Abstraction!: Celebrating Bay Area Abstract ArtistsMarch 22, 2012 – September 23, 2012Tuareg and Anima: Photographs of GRACE by Elisabeth SundayOctober 5, 2012 – January 21, 2013Desert Jewels: North African Jewelry and Photography from the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès CollectionOctober 5, 2012 – January 21, 2013The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Where Art History IntersectFebruary 8, 2013 – May 19, 2013J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere: Sartorial Moments and the Nearness of YesterdayJune 20, 2013 – November 24, 2013Crosscurrents: Africa and Black Diasporas in Dialogue, 1960-1980December 5, 2013 – April 13, 2014Drapetomanía: Grupo Antillano and the Art of Afro-CubaDecember 1, 2014 – January 4, 2015The Art of Elizabeth CatlettJanuary 16, 2015 – April 5, 2105Lave Thomas: BeyondDecember 3, 2014 – April 5, 2015Marie Johnson Calloway: Legacy of ColorFebruary 4, 2015 – April 12, 2015Portraits and Other Likenesses from SFMOMAMay 8, 2015 – October 11, 2015Four Themes: Emerging Artist: Time RoseboroughNovember 11, 2015 – January 18, 2016Ghosts/Ships: Emerging Artists: Cheryl Patrice DerricotteJanuary 27, 2016 – April 3, 2016Alison Saar: BearingNovember 11, 2015 – April 3, 2016Who Among Us...The Art of Kenyatta A.C.HinkleNovember 11, 2015 – April 3, 2016Finding the I in Diaspora: From the MoAD ArchivesNovember 11, 2015 – April 3, 2016The Grace Jones ProjectApril 27, 2016 – September 18, 2016Dandy Lion: (Re)Articulating Black Masculine IdentityApril 27, 2016 – September 18, 2016Bayview Portraits by Byron MalikOctober 16, 2016 – November 3, 2016Finding the 'I' in Diaspora Bayview Popup: From the MoAD archivesJuly 15, 2016 – November 3, 2016MoAD Emerging Artists Presents Nyame Brown: Classroom in NevérÿonOctober 26, 2016 – January 16, 2017MoAD Emerging Artists Presents Helina Metafaria: Home FreeJanuary 25, 2017 – April 2, 2017Urban AfricaOctober 26, 2016 – April 2, 2017Where is HereOctober 26, 2016 – April 2, 2017A Matter of Fact: Toyin Ojih OdutolaOctober 26, 2016 – April 2, 2017MoAD Emerging Artists presents Lili Bernard: Antebellum AppropriationsApril 26, 2017 – June 25, 2017MoAD Emerging Artists presents Angie Keller: The Gladioli of El CarmenJuly 5, 2017 – August 27, 2017Todd Gray: My life in the Bush with MJ and IggyApril 26, 2017 – August 27, 2017The Ease of FictionApril 26, 2017 – August 27, 2017Love or Confusion: Jimi Hendrix in 1967April 26, 2017 – August 27, 2017MoAD Emerging Artists presents Ebitenyefa Baralaye: Many RoomsSeptember 20, 2017 – November 26, 2017MoAD Emerging Artists presents Simone Bailey: Let There Be DarknessDecember 6, 2017 – March 4, 2018Otra Mas': 40 Years of Carnaval in San FrancsicoSeptember 20, 2017 – March 4, 2018En Mas': Carnival and Performance Art of the CaribbeanSeptember 20, 2017 – March 4, 2018MoAD Emerging Artists presents Andrew Wilson: Equivalencies: Abandoned BodiesMarch 28, 2018 – June 3, 2018MoAD Emerging Artists presents summer mason: GeminiJune 20, 2018 – August 26, 2018Digitalia: Art & the Economy of IdeasMarch 28, 2018 – August 26, 2018After the Thrill is Gone: Fashion, Politics and Culture in Contemporary South African ArtMarch 28, 2018 – August 26, 2018MoAD Emerging Artists presents Indira Allegra: B O D Y W A R PSeptember 19, 2018 – November 4, 2018MoAD Emerging Artists presents 5/5 Collective: black now(here)November 11, 2018 – December 15, 2018I TOLD YOU WHO AM I: Shushan TesfuzigtaSeptember 19, 2018 – December 16, 2018Second Look, Twice: Selections from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family FoundationSeptember 19, 2018 – December 16, 2018Ficre Ghebreyesus: City with a River Running ThroughSeptember 19, 2018 – December 16, 2018Sadie Barnette: Phone HomeJanuary 16, 2019 – April 14, 2019Black Refractions: Highlight from the Studio Museum in HarlemJanuary 16, 2019 – April 14, 2019Rodney Ewing: Longitude + LatitudeMay 8, 2019 – June 23, 2019Sydney Cain: RefutationsOctober 20, 2021 - December 19, 2021Billie Zangewa: Thread for a Web BegunOctober 20, 2021 - February 27, 2022Amoako Boafo: Soul of Black FolksOctober 20, 2021 - February 27, 2022Beyond the Sky Film exhibitionOctober 20, 2021 - February 27, 2022Cynthia Aurora Brannvall: The Threads That BindMarch 31, 2022 - June 12, 2022Elegies - Still Lifes in Contemporary ArtMarch 31, 2022 - August 21, 2022Richard-Jonathan Nelson: Interlacing distributed intelligence/ noir careJune 22, 2022 - September 18, 2022Sam Vernon: Impasse of DesiresMarch 31, 2022 - September 18, 2022David Huffman: Terra IncognitaMarch 31, 2022 - September 18, 2022Trina Michelle Robinson: Excavation: Past, Present and FutureOctober 5, 2022 - December 11, 2022

Museum of the African Diaspora

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