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Widline Cadet's 'Currents 40' Opens at Milwaukee Art Museum

exhibition · 2026-05-08

Widline Cadet, a Haitian artist, will present her inaugural solo museum exhibition in the U.S., titled 'Currents 40', at the Milwaukee Art Museum's Herzfeld Centre for Photography and Media Arts from May 8 to August 9, 2026. The exhibition highlights her ten-year endeavor 'Seremoni Disparisyon' (Ritual [Dis]Appearance), which transforms missing family photographs into a vibrant archive. Cadet's multifaceted work, which includes photography, video, installation, and staged environments, delves into themes of migration, ritual, language, and identity within the Black diaspora. In a conversation with Suzette Bell-Roberts, she reflects on how the project has influenced her understanding of photography and memory. Curated by Kristen Gaylord and designed by David Russick, the exhibition emphasizes the role of everyday objects in historical preservation.

Key facts

  • Widline Cadet's first solo museum exhibition in the United States, 'Currents 40', is on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
  • The exhibition is held at the Herzfeld Centre for Photography and Media Arts from 8 May until 9 August 2026.
  • The exhibition brings together Cadet's decade-long project 'Seremoni Disparisyon' (Ritual [Dis]Appearance).
  • Cadet's work spans photography, video, installation, and staged environments.
  • The project began with the absence of family photographs and has evolved into a living archive.
  • Cadet discusses themes of migration, ritual, language, and belonging in the Black diaspora.
  • The exhibition is curated by Kristen Gaylord with exhibition design by David Russick.
  • Cadet's family currently has three generations living in the U.S., with language differences between generations.

Entities

Artists

  • Widline Cadet
  • Kristen Gaylord
  • Erin Shirreff
  • Julia Margaret Cameron
  • Karl Struss
  • Stephanie Syjuco
  • Camille Utterback
  • Christina Fernandez
  • An-My Lê
  • Calida Rawles
  • Mickalene Thomas

Institutions

  • Milwaukee Art Museum
  • Herzfeld Centre for Photography and Media Arts
  • Herzfeld Center for Photography and Media Arts
  • Syracuse University
  • City College of New York
  • Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
  • Lighthouse Works
  • The Studio Museum in Harlem
  • Fine Arts Work Center
  • Whitney Museum of American Art
  • Museum of Contemporary Photography
  • Huis Marseille
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
  • Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)
  • Princeton University Art Museum
  • National Gallery of Art
  • Amon Carter Museum of American Art
  • Museum of Modern Art
  • Institute of Fine Arts at NYU
  • Black Mountains Studio
  • For The Birds Trapped In Airports
  • Aperture Magazine
  • FOAM
  • The New Yorker
  • TIME Magazine
  • The New York Times Magazine
  • Financial Times
  • Wallpaper*
  • Frieze Los Angeles

Locations

  • Milwaukee
  • United States
  • Haiti
  • Pétion-Ville
  • New York City
  • Los Angeles
  • California
  • Fort Worth
  • Syracuse
  • New York
  • Washington Heights
  • Florida

Sources