For your followers and anyone in the Washington DC area I wanted to call attention to this exhibit at the Museum of African Art connected to the Smithsonian! The Smithsonian recently has been under a lot of pressure and this exhibit barely managed to open and is not being advertised. It’s a phenomenal exploration of Black queer art and it deserves to be celebrated and seen by as many people as possible!
https://africa.si.edu/exhibitions/here-pride-and-belonging-african-art
https://africa.si.edu/exhibitions/here-pride-and-belonging-african-art
"We are here.
Artists’ voices are central to this exhibition, which is based on years of close collaboration and dialogue with African visual art practitioners who claim belonging in the LGBTQ+ community, however they define those terms. They are united by a simple, shared declaration: We are here and always have been and will be.
The exhibition is part of a larger research initiative, the Here Project, that seeks to document these voices. The artists in the Project practice across the entirety of the African continent and its global diaspora, using their work to speak their truths. Inviting us into their worlds, they share complex stories of openly claiming their identities, their histories, and their place. While their experiences are unique to them, they address issues that unite us all: the importance of family, of spirit, of standing up for oneself and others, of imagining the future, of making intimate connections, of finding belonging, of embracing potential, and above all, of experiencing joy."
Naturally the Trump Administration hates everything to do with Education, Blackness, and Queerness- a combined history and experience? Not shocked even a bit that they aren't being allowed to advertise it, in exchange for existing. 🙄 But that's where we come in, folks! Let's get this one platformed 👍🏾 If you live in the DC area and can support, they'd really appreciate it!
