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Afro-Atlantic Histories

Past Exhibition

April 10 – July 17, 2022
West Building, Main Floor, Galleries 72–79

For centuries, artists have told and retold the complex histories of the African Diaspora. Explore this enduring legacy in the exhibition Afro-Atlantic Histories, which takes an in-depth look at the historical experiences and cultural formations of Black and African people since the 17th century. More than 130 powerful works of art, including paintings, sculpture, photographs, and time-based media by artists from Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean, bring these narratives to life.

This exhibition was initially presented as Histórias Afro-Atlânticas in 2018 by the Museu de Arte de São Paulo and the Instituto Tomie Ohtake in Brazil.

Selected Works

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Organization
This exhibition is co-organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Museu de Arte de Sāo Paulo in collaboration with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

The US tour is curated by Kanitra Fletcher, associate curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic art at the National Gallery of Art. At the Museu de Arte de São Paulo and at the Instituto Tomie Ohtake, the exhibition was curated by Adriano Pedrosa, artistic director, MASP; Ayrson Heráclito, guest curator; Hélio Menezes, guest curator; Lilia Moritz Schwarcz, adjunct curator of histories, MASP; and Tomás Toledo, chief curator, MASP. At the National Gallery, the curatorial team also includes Molly Donovan, curator of contemporary art, and Steven Nelson, dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts.

Other venues
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 24, 2021–January 17, 2022
Los Angeles County Museum of Art , December 11, 2022–April 30, 2023
Dallas Museum of Art, October 22, 2023–February 11, 2024

Sponsors
Major support for this exhibition is provided by the Ford Foundation.

Additional funding is provided by the Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art and the Annenberg Fund for the International Exchange of Art.

Passes
Admission is always free and passes are not required

Banner detail: Zanele Muholi, Ntozakhe II, (Parktown), 2016, photographic wall mural from digital file, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund, 2021.88.1, © Zanele Muholi. Courtesy of the artist, Yancey Richardson, New York, and Stevenson Cape Town/Johannesburg