Calendar of Events
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1
Wed. Oct 1 | 6PM – 8PM
Opening Reception and Artist Talk (artist TBD) in Conversation with MoAD Chief of Curatorial & Public Programs, Key Jo Lee
Event Type: Artist Talk
Museum of the African Diaspora 685 Mission Street, San Francisco
More Info
UNBOUND: Art, Blackness, and the Universe is a groundbreaking exhibition curated by MoAD’s Chief of Curatorial Affairs, Key Jo Lee. Drawing from her essay “Gesturing Towards Infinitude,” Lee explores the conceptual parallels between astrophysical blackness and racial, social, and philosophical Blackness. The exhibition features a diverse group of contemporary African Diasporic artists, including Lorna Simpson and Kerry James Marshall, examining Blackness as a liberatory force.
Opening Reception and Artist Talk (artist TBD) in Conversation with MoAD Chief of Curatorial & Public Programs, Key Jo Lee
Event Type: Artist Talk
Museum of the African Diaspora 685 Mission Street, San Francisco
More Info
UNBOUND: Art, Blackness, and the Universe is a groundbreaking exhibition curated by MoAD’s Chief of Curatorial Affairs, Key Jo Lee. Drawing from her essay “Gesturing Towards Infinitude,” Lee explores the conceptual parallels between astrophysical blackness and racial, social, and philosophical Blackness. The exhibition features a diverse group of contemporary African Diasporic artists, including Lorna Simpson and Kerry James Marshall, examining Blackness as a liberatory force.
THURSDAY, OCT. 2
Thu. Oct 2 | 6PM – 8PM
Artist Talk with Auudi Dorsey, MoAD Chief of Curatorial & Public Programs, Key Jo Lee & Moderated by Mattie Loyce
Event Type: Artist Talk
Jonathan Carver Moore Gallery 966 Market Street, San Francisco
More Info/RSVP
Join us on Wednesday, October 2 from 6–8 PM for an evening of art, dialogue, and community with New Orleans–based artist Auudi Dorsey, in conversation with Key Jo Lee, Chief of Curatorial Affairs and Public Programs at Museum of the African Diaspora. The conversation will be moderated by interdisciplinary artist, curator, and community advocate Mattie Loyce. Presented in partnership with San Francisco–based gallery Jonathan Carver Moore and timed to coincide with Nexus: SF/Bay Area Black Art Week, this panel explores the intersection of place, memory, and cultural inheritance in Dorsey’s work.Fresh off a new body of work created as part of Moore’s artist-in-residence program, Dorsey reflects on the influence of New Orleans, ancestral memory, and the celebration of everyday Black life. His paintings honor the past while imagining expansive futures—centering joy, ritual, and the beauty of Black Southern life.
Artist Talk with Auudi Dorsey, MoAD Chief of Curatorial & Public Programs, Key Jo Lee & Moderated by Mattie Loyce
Event Type: Artist Talk
Jonathan Carver Moore Gallery 966 Market Street, San Francisco
More Info/RSVP
Join us on Wednesday, October 2 from 6–8 PM for an evening of art, dialogue, and community with New Orleans–based artist Auudi Dorsey, in conversation with Key Jo Lee, Chief of Curatorial Affairs and Public Programs at Museum of the African Diaspora. The conversation will be moderated by interdisciplinary artist, curator, and community advocate Mattie Loyce. Presented in partnership with San Francisco–based gallery Jonathan Carver Moore and timed to coincide with Nexus: SF/Bay Area Black Art Week, this panel explores the intersection of place, memory, and cultural inheritance in Dorsey’s work.Fresh off a new body of work created as part of Moore’s artist-in-residence program, Dorsey reflects on the influence of New Orleans, ancestral memory, and the celebration of everyday Black life. His paintings honor the past while imagining expansive futures—centering joy, ritual, and the beauty of Black Southern life.
Thu. Oct 2 | 8PM – 11:30PM
Nexus Launch Party
Event Type: Event
Location to be announced
SATURDAY, OCT. 4
Sat. Oct. 4th | 11am - 5pm
Artist in Residence Najee Tobin
Event Type: Open Studio
2055 Bryant Street, San Francisco
About the artist & More info
Artist in Residence Najee Tobin
Event Type: Open Studio
2055 Bryant Street, San Francisco
About the artist & More info
Sat. Oct. 4th | 1pm to 5pm
Ramekon O’Arwisters
Event Type: Open Studio
2830 20th Street, San Francisco
About the artist & More info
Ramekon O’Arwisters
Event Type: Open Studio
2830 20th Street, San Francisco
About the artist & More info
Sat. Oct 4th | 6PM – 11:30PM
Afropolitan Ball: Celebrating MoAd’s 20th Anniversary
Event Type: Event
San Francisco Ferry Building
More Info/TicketsAn unforgettable evening celebrating the Museum of the African Diaspora’s 20th Anniversary at this signature gala—the Afropolitan Ball!
This year’s celebration will be held at the illustrious San Francisco Ferry Building, where MoAD marks two decades of impact on art, culture, and community.
Afropolitan Ball: Celebrating MoAd’s 20th Anniversary
Event Type: Event
San Francisco Ferry Building
More Info/TicketsAn unforgettable evening celebrating the Museum of the African Diaspora’s 20th Anniversary at this signature gala—the Afropolitan Ball!
This year’s celebration will be held at the illustrious San Francisco Ferry Building, where MoAD marks two decades of impact on art, culture, and community.
SUNDAY, OCT. 5
Sun. Oct. 5th | 11am - 5pm
Artist in Residence Najee Tobin
Event Type: Open Studio
2055 Bryant Street, San Francisco
About the artist & More info
Artist in Residence Najee Tobin
Event Type: Open Studio
2055 Bryant Street, San Francisco
About the artist & More info
Sun. Oct. 5th | 1pm to 5pm
Ramekon O’Arwisters
Event Type: Open Studio
2830 20th Street, San Francisco
About the artist & More info
Ramekon O’Arwisters
Event Type: Open Studio
2830 20th Street, San Francisco
About the artist & More info
Exhibitions On View
UNBOUND: Art, Blackness, and the Universe
Wed. Oct 1st – Sun. Oct 5th (hours vary)
Museum Hours: Tues – Sun, 10am to 5pm – Closes on August 3rd, 2026
Museum of the African Diaspora 685 Mission St. San Francisco
More info
UNBOUND: Art, Blackness, and the Universe is a groundbreaking exhibition curated by MoAD’s Chief of Curatorial Affairs, Key Jo Lee. Drawing from her essay “Gesturing Towards Infinitude,” Lee explores the conceptual parallels between astrophysical blackness and racial, social, and philosophical Blackness. The exhibition features a diverse group of contemporary African Diasporic artists, including Lorna Simpson and Kerry James Marshall, examining Blackness as a liberatory force. (Artists TBA)
Wed. Oct 1st – Sun. Oct 5th (hours vary)
Museum Hours: Tues – Sun, 10am to 5pm – Closes on August 3rd, 2026
Museum of the African Diaspora 685 Mission St. San Francisco
More info
UNBOUND: Art, Blackness, and the Universe is a groundbreaking exhibition curated by MoAD’s Chief of Curatorial Affairs, Key Jo Lee. Drawing from her essay “Gesturing Towards Infinitude,” Lee explores the conceptual parallels between astrophysical blackness and racial, social, and philosophical Blackness. The exhibition features a diverse group of contemporary African Diasporic artists, including Lorna Simpson and Kerry James Marshall, examining Blackness as a liberatory force. (Artists TBA)
Black Gold: Stories Untold
Thurs – Mon | 10am to 5pm | Closes on November 2, 2025
For-Site Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture 2 Marina Blvd, Bldg C, San Francisco
More Info
FOR-SITE’s highly anticipated exhibition Black Gold: Stories Untold invites 17 contemporary artists and collectives to reflect on the resilience, struggles, and triumphs of African Americans who lived in California from the Gold Rush to the Reconstruction period following the Civil War (c. 1849–1877).
Artists: Akea Brionne, Demetri Broxton, Adrian L. Burrell, the artists of Creativity Explored, Adam Davis, Cheryl Derricotte, Carla Edwards, Mildred Howard, Isaac Julien, Tiff Massey, Umar Rashid, Trina Michelle Robinson, Alison Saar, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Bryan Keith Thomas, Cosmo Whyte, and Hank Willis Thomas.
Thurs – Mon | 10am to 5pm | Closes on November 2, 2025
For-Site Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture 2 Marina Blvd, Bldg C, San Francisco
More Info
FOR-SITE’s highly anticipated exhibition Black Gold: Stories Untold invites 17 contemporary artists and collectives to reflect on the resilience, struggles, and triumphs of African Americans who lived in California from the Gold Rush to the Reconstruction period following the Civil War (c. 1849–1877).
Artists: Akea Brionne, Demetri Broxton, Adrian L. Burrell, the artists of Creativity Explored, Adam Davis, Cheryl Derricotte, Carla Edwards, Mildred Howard, Isaac Julien, Tiff Massey, Umar Rashid, Trina Michelle Robinson, Alison Saar, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Bryan Keith Thomas, Cosmo Whyte, and Hank Willis Thomas.
Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California
Wed – Sun | 11am to 7pm | Closes on November 30, 2025
BAMPFA 2155 Center Street, Berkeley
More Info
Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California traces the flow and flourishing of quilts in the context of the Second Great Migration. It is the first group exhibition of artworks drawn from the African American quilt collection at BAMPFA consisting of one hundred artworks representing nearly eighty individuals—many of them women with ties to the Bay Area. The exhibition invites audiences into a conversation around the quilts’ joyful power as objects of African American cultural heritage and artworks within expansive histories of art in the United States.
Wed – Sun | 11am to 7pm | Closes on November 30, 2025
BAMPFA 2155 Center Street, Berkeley
More Info
Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California traces the flow and flourishing of quilts in the context of the Second Great Migration. It is the first group exhibition of artworks drawn from the African American quilt collection at BAMPFA consisting of one hundred artworks representing nearly eighty individuals—many of them women with ties to the Bay Area. The exhibition invites audiences into a conversation around the quilts’ joyful power as objects of African American cultural heritage and artworks within expansive histories of art in the United States.
Public Art On View
Dr. Maya Angelou Monument “Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman” by Lava Thomas
San Francisco Public Library 100 Larkin Street
More info
San Francisco Public Library 100 Larkin Street
More info