• MoMA opens Pan-African portrait photography exhibition on December 14
• Show explores mid-20th century African identity and political solidarity
• Features works by Keita, Sidibe, Brathwaite, Fosso, and others

An exhibition examining how portrait photography shaped the rise of Pan-African consciousness will open at New York’s Museum of Modern Art on December 14. Titled Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination, the exhibition will run through July 25, 2026.

The seven-month exhibition is curated by Oluremi C. Onabanjo, with assistance from Chiara M. Mannarino. Onabanjo is the 2025 recipient of the Vilcek Prize for Curatorial Excellence.

“I am deeply committed to understanding how specific encounters can shape perceptions that resonate on an international scale,” Onabanjo said.

The exhibition centers on the question: “How did photographic portraits fuel ideas of Pan-African subjectivity and solidarity in the mid-20th century?”

It features works by photographers from Central and West Africa, including Jean Depara of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Seydou Keita and Malick Sidibe of Mali, and Sanle Sory of Burkina Faso. Their portraits depict daily life, musical scenes and urban youth in Africa from the 1950s to the 1970s, reflecting the political transformations of the era.

The exhibition highlights a pivotal period of decolonization in Africa alongside the parallel civil rights movement in the United States.

Works by James Barnor and Kwame Brathwaite, pioneers who framed Africa as a political project, feature prominently. Their photographs are shown alongside those of Samuel Fosso, Silvia Rosi and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, underscoring the enduring relevance of these themes. The exhibition examines how photographic portraiture can combine art and political engagement on a global scale.

The exhibition is supported by the Jon Stryker Endowment Fund. Major funding is provided by The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art, donors including Denise Littlefield Sobel, Jerry Speyer and Katherine Farley, and The Black Arts Council. Additional support is provided by The Anne Levy Foundation.

Ubrick F. Quenum