Public Programs Calendar

Summer in the City: Meet MoAD, is a one-of-a-kind music and dance series designed to support the MoAD mission to connect “all people through the celebration and exploration of the art, culture and history of the African Diaspora.” Five musical evenings will welcome to the museum neighbors and community members from the greater Bay Area.

Cuban music and dance is the emphasis for this program of Thursday evening 6-8 pm salons, during which visitors can take dance lessons, enjoy live music, and celebrate summer. The Fito Reinoso Band is featured July 23, young Dos 4 y Los Mios on July 30, Bay Area beloved salsa band Rumbaché performs August 13, and internationally known Jesús Díaz and Yosvany Terry close the program August 27 and September 10 respectively.

This five-part series gathers some of the world’s best performing groups, which embody the four themes of MoAD: origins, movement, adaptation, and transformation.

$10 Admission

Keita: The Heritage of the Griot

Synopsis: Overlapping narratives intertwine the classic Sundjata epic with a modern day tale about clashing educational methods.

Le Malentendu Colonial (Colonial Misunderstanding)

Synopsis: Examines the insidious psychological, emotional, etc. effects of colonial education in Cameroon.

Afrique, Je Te Plumerai (Africa, I Will Fleece You)

Synopsis: A present to past examination of the cultural genocide imposed by colonization in Cameroon.

Show times for the main screen are 11:45 am, 1:30 pm, and 4:00 pm

Join Sebastian Belaustegui for an informal conversation and presentation of his documentary photography of the indigenous roots of Latin American culture, through images of carnivals, rituals, traditional music and dance, as well as portraits and scenes of everyday life. Belaustegui describes his purpose as “Through the creative means of documentary photography, I hope to provide these cultures with a platform for their own life testimony and a way for them to share the richness of their diversity with each other and the broader world.”

About the photographer

Sebastian “Suki” Beláustegui is a photographer who for the past 18 years has embarked on a mission to document the indigenous cultures that still survive in Latin America. His book, "Guardians of Time: Portrait of the Spirit of Latin America," is a testament to his experiences in 10 countries while living with 25 indigenous communities. His work has been published in magazines such as National Geographic, Newsweek and the Los Angeles Times, and he has held numerous exhibitions of his work in museums and art galleries throughout the continent.

Free with Museum Admission

Woubi Cheri

Synopsis: Examines the social stigma and internal logic surrounding LGBT community in Ivory Coast.

Witches In Exile

Synopsis: A look at “witches’ camps” in rural Ghana and the reaction to this institution from within and without the camps.

Si-Gueriki (The Queen Mother)

Synopsis: A son of the Benin royal family, living abroad in Europe returns home with the intention of filming his father’s biography, but instead turns his film’s attention toward his mother.

Show times for the main screen are 11:45 am, 1:30 pm, and 4:00 pm

Shake off the workday; get warmed up for the weekend at MoAD! Dance, mingle, and celebrate summer with live Cuban music and dancing. Thursdays, 6-8 pm, July 23 and 30, August 13 and 27, September 10. Fourth in a 5 part series: Jesús Díaz.

Cuban born percussionist Jesús Díaz has assembled an incomparable group of accomplished artists whose talents combine Funk, Jazz, Rumba, Son, and varied Afro-Cuban elements within the syncopation of modern expressions in Cuban dance music. The drive of the music is a direct function of remaining engaged with the dancers. Sharing the stage with renowned Cuban artists such as Issac Delgado and Manolin, Jesús Diaz shows timba is alive and well in the U.S.

The evening includes a salsa lesson, DJ Waltdigz spinning, and no host bar.

Presented by: MoAD and Oyé Productions.

$10 Donation (includes salsa lesson)