Pan-Africanism in Contemporary Art: A Review of Recent Exhibitions
This article explores recent showcases focusing on Pan-Africanism and art from the Black diaspora, heavily shaped by curator Okwui Enwezor. His influential 2001 exhibition 'The Short Century' at Villa Stuck and Documenta11 laid the groundwork for studies on African liberation. The Art Institute of Chicago is set to present 'Project a Black Planet' from December 15, 2024, to March 30, 2025, curated by Antawan I. Byrd and others, featuring around 350 pieces centered on themes such as Garveyism. Simultaneously, LACMA will unveil 'Imagining Black Diasporas' from December 2024 to August 2025, curated by Dhyandra Lawson. Additional exhibitions include 'Ideas of Africa' at MoMA (December 2025–July 2026) and 'Flight into Egypt' at the Met (November 2024–February 2025). The article also highlights Cameron Rowland's 'Replacement' (2025).
Key facts
- Okwui Enwezor's 'The Short Century' opened in 2001 at Villa Stuck, Munich, and traveled to MCA Chicago and MoMA PS1.
- Documenta11, directed by Enwezor, was held from 2001 to 2002 across four continents.
- 'Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica' was at the Art Institute of Chicago from December 15, 2024 to March 30, 2025.
- The exhibition featured nearly 350 objects and was curated by Antawan I. Byrd, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Adom Getachew, and Matthew S. Witkovsky.
- 'Imagining Black Diasporas: 21st-Century Art and Poetics' was at LACMA from December 2024 to August 2025, curated by Dhyandra Lawson.
- 'Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination' at MoMA runs from December 2025 to July 2026, curated by Oluremi C. Onabanjo.
- 'Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now' was at the Met from November 2024 to February 2025, curated by Akili Tommasino.
- Cameron Rowland's 'Replacement' was removed from Palais de Tokyo in October 2025.
Entities
Artists
- Okwui Enwezor
- Kerry James Marshall
- Wangechi Mutu
- Agnaldo Manoel dos Santos
- Hale Woodruff
- Awol Erizku
- David Hammons
- Chris Ofili
- Edith Dekyndt
- Lubaina Himid
- Yto Barrada
- Mwangi Hutter
- James van Der Zee
- Tavares Strachan
- Wifredo Lam
- Abdias do Nascimento
- Ingrid Pollard
- Nicholas Hlobo
- Glenn Ligon
- Jason Moran
- Sanford Biggers
- Adam Pendleton
- Tariku Shiferaw
- Nick Cave
- cameron clayborn
- Yinka Shonibare
- Susana Pilar Delahante Matienzo
- Sandra Brewster
- Lorna Simpson
- Nona Faustine
- Cameron Rowland
- Édouard Glissant
- Frantz Fanon
- V.Y. Mudimbe
- Marcus Garvey
- Aimé Césaire
- Paulette Nardal
- Jeanne Nardal
- Léopold Sédar Senghor
- Léon Damas
- Henry Williams
- Nelson Mandela
- Kojo Tovalou-Houénou
- George Marke
- Roy Ayers
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Rodney King
Institutions
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Villa Stuck
- Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
- MoMA PS1
- Documenta
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Museum of Modern Art
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Palais de Tokyo
- Universal Negro Improvement Association
- Venice Biennale
- Instituto de Pesquisas e Estudos Afro-Brasileiros (IPEAFRO)
- Front National de Libération de la Martinique (FNLM)
- Mouvement Indépendantiste Martiniquais (MIM)
- Mouvement des Démocrates et des Écologistes pour une Martinique Souveraine (MODEMAS)
Locations
- Munich
- Germany
- Chicago
- United States
- New York
- Kassel
- Vienna
- Berlin
- New Delhi
- India
- St. Lucia
- Lagos
- Nigeria
- Manchester
- England
- Paris
- France
- Martinique
- Brazil
- Cuba
- Dakar
- Senegal
- Gorée Island
- Harlem
- Dahomey
- Benin
- South Africa
- Bandung
- Indonesia