Painting Ethiopia: The Life and Work of Qes Adamu Tesfaw

Thru March 5

At the age of 70, Ethiopian artist Qes Adamu Tesfaw is regarded by many as Ethiopia’s finest living artist, whose striking narrative depictions offer vignettes of the richness and variety of religious and secular life in Ethiopia, as well as scenes of important historical events that have given the country its identity. [more]

Slavery: Inhuman History

January 24 - April 30

The exhibition will include Slavery in New York, the most ambitious exhibition ever assembled on slavery in New York, organized by the New-York Historical Society. Also included are documents, in some cases the first public viewing, on the impact of slavery in the Bay Area. Based on the original Slavery in New York exhibition, the traveling exhibition features nine heavily illustrated panels highlighting the history of slavery in New York and the story of the fight for freedom. [more]

Slavery in 19th Century California

Saturday, January 27

This program looks at slavery in 19th Century California through the experience of Adam Willis, resident of Solano County whose manumission paper from 1855 is on display as part of the Slavery: Inhuman History exhibition. [more]

Francis Bok - Escape From Slavery

Saturday, February 10

Francis Bok is a Dinka tribesman, former Sudanese slave turned abolitionist. He was captured and enslaved during an Arab militia raid on the village of Nymlal in Southern Sudan on May 15, 1986 and enslaved at age seven. Bok lived in bondage for 10 years before his escape and journey to America. Join us as he reads from his book, Escape From Slavery. [more]

Roundtable Discussion with Bay Area Veterans of the Southern Civil Rights Movement

Sunday, February 11

Bay Area Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement will host an interactive and multi-media discussion that illustrates the power of ordinary people working together to effect social justice. The veterans will address some of the issues they confronted in the South during the 1960s as young volunteers and organizers working with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). [more]

Target Community Day at MoAD

Saturday, February 17

Target Community Day at the Museum of the African Diaspora is a day full of hands-on activities and performances for children of all ages that highlights the Diaspora tradition of Carnival and Mardi Gras. Local artists and musicians will lead activities in which children and adults can make Mardi Gras Masks, listen to storytellers and musical performances, as well as get their face painted and eat Carnival treats. [more]

Quincy Troupe - The Architecture of Language

Monday, February 18

Join Quincy Troupe as he reads from his recent book of poetry, The Architecture of Language. [more]

Bitter Fruit: A staged reading

Directed by Peter Coyote. Written by Imani Harrington.

Saturday, February 24
Bitter Fruit is a dramatic and contemporary play that addresses the relationship a family has to the spirit world as governed by the memory of slavery. Bitter Fruit depicts a family in crises that has long depended on following the wishes of their ancestors. When an extended family member returns from a mental institution discovers she can't shake the memories of the past, the play leaves us witnessing how she must fight in order to stay sane and spiritually alive. [more]

Artist's Talk with Wosene Kosrof

Words: From Spoken to Seen – Paintings and the Painting Process

Sunday, February 25

Wosene Worke Kosrof, a leading Ethiopian-born painter and internationally recognized contemporary artist, is best known for his rendering of the symbols of Amharic calligraphy, a major modern language of Ethiopia.  In his presentation, Wosene will show and discuss slides from his current series Words: From Spoken to Seen.  He will explain his painting process, influenced by jazz rhythms, counterpoints, and improvisations, and through which Wosene reworks his culturally specific vocabulary to become “international in its outlook, reflecting the complex realities of contemporary artistic practice in a global society.”  (Christa Clarke, Curator, Newark Museum, NJ). [more]

MoAD Auxiliary Group

Remember Global Groove, one of MoAD's exciting Grand Opening events? Join others who are interested in Global Groove II and MoAD's new auxilary group, The MoAD Vanguard! More information  |  Join email list