JoeSam. Text Messages, Spectrum: On Color & Contemporary Art + MoAD Fall Exhibitions | Museum of the African Diaspora | Sept 27–Mar 3, 2024

JoeSam. Text Messages, Spectrum: On Color & Contemporary Art + MoAD Fall Exhibitions

April 5–August 20, 2023
Multimedia Exhibition
JoeSam. Text Messages Curated by Erin Jenoa Gilbert
Spectrum: On Color & Contemporary Art Curated by Key Jo Lee
Salimatu Amabebe: SON Curated by Salimatu Amabebe and Key Jo Lee
The Only Door I Can Open: Women Exposing Prison Through Art and Poetry Curated by Tomiekia Johnson and Chantell-Jeannette Black
Image: JoeSam. One Quarter Self Portrait, 1991. MoAD (street view), San Francisco.

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Overview

MoAD’s Fall exhibition game is STRONG! Their latest shows include: JoeSam: Text Messages; Spectrum: On Color & Contemporary Art; Salimatu Amabebe: SON; and The Only Door I Can Open: Women Exposing Prison Through Art and Poetry.

JoeSam. Text Messages

JoeSam. Text Messages, curated by Erin Jenoa Gilbert, features 14 multimedia works by artist JoeSam. JoeSam. is part of the Hunter’s Point Shipyard Artists, the largest art collective in the country, which is housed in a former San Francisco Navy base, founded by the late artist, Jacques Terzian.

JoeSam. was born in 1938 in Harlem, where he was raised as well. After receiving degrees in sociology and psychology, he spent the first leg of his career as an educator, leading programs supporting juvenile youth. In 1985, he retired from education to become a fulltime artist, after receiving a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

JoeSam.’s assemblage works amalgamate paint, collage, and found objects to convey a political and sociological Black narrative. The pieces selected for Text Messages all have elements of text incorporated into the works—one of my favorite artistic flourishes. (HUGE Ed Ruscha fan over here.) Terrific powerful show.
🗓 JoeSam. Text Messages runs until March 3, 2023.

Spectrum: On Color & Contemporary Art

Spectrum: On Color & Contemporary Art is Key Jo Lee’s, (new Chief of Curatorial Affairs), inaugural show at MoAD. It features the following artists, with an emphasis on the role of color in their work: Barkley Hendricks, Delita Martin, Felandus Thames, Gabriel Mills, Isaac Julien, Jason Moran, Manyaku Mashilo, Mildred Thompson, Rashid Johnson, Richard Mayhew, Sheena Rose, Stacey Gillian Abe, Tariku Shiferaw, Tawny Chatmon, Tony Cokes.

Spectrum is a gorgeous exhibition with some of the most aesthetic works I’ve seen in a group show in a long time. Below are a few of my favorites.

🗓 Spectrum: On Color & Contemporary Art  runs until March 3, 2023.

The Only Door I Can Open: Women Exposing Prison Through Art and Poetry

The Only Door I Can Open: Women Exposing Prison Through Art and Poetry is a FREE virtual exhibition on MoAD’s website, featuring 20 works by the following 9 artists from the largest women’s prison in California, the Central California Women’s Facility at Chowchilla (CCWF): Anna Ruiz, Chantell-Jeannette Black, Crystal St. Mary, Elizabeth Lozano, Lovely Ocean Williams, Sarah Montoya, Sydney Whalen, Tomiekia Johnson, Vegas Bray (see artist statements on exhibition page).

It features poetry and visual artworks, including a zine, based on the premise: “How is your bed an antidote?” The works are AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON THE MUSEUM’S WEBSITE, with 80% of the proceeds going directly to the artist. The exhibition is curated by CCWF artists Tomiekia Johnson and Chantell-Jeannette Black in association with Empowerment Avenue, a non-profit supporting incarcerated artists and writers.

 TIP: I highly recommend watching MoAD’s panel discussion on the show (also on their website) to learn more about the incredible people making positive changes in the prison system. Was eye opening and extremely moving.

🗓 The Only Door I Can Open: Women Exposing Prison Through Art and Poetry runs until March 3, 2023.

Salimatu Amabebe: SON

SON by Salimatu Amabebe is part of MoAD’s Emerging Artists program and is Amabebe’s first solo show. Amabebe is also a chef celebrated for the vegan pop-up, Black Feast. The show is curated by Amabebe and Key Jo Lee, and explores themes of mirroring and transformation through choreography, color, and sculpture. The discovery of VHS home videos of the 3-year-old artist dancing with his late father inspired the crimson video sequence. Amabebe’s sculptures made from resin-coated textiles are delicate, yet strong and distinctly graceful, a proud echo of his recent gender top affirmation surgery.

🗓 Salimatu Amabebe: SON runs until December 10, 2023.

*FREE EVENT on December 1, 2023 from 8–11 p.m. Amabebe is co-hosting Orquídeas Café Porno (a pop-up dessert and drink event) at 500 Capp Street with artist Marcel Pardo Ariza. All donations will benefit sex workers in the Mission District. Reserve tickets online.

💌 Did you see the shows? What did you think? Let us know in the comments (in the Reviews section located on the second tab at the top of the page).

QUICK GUIDE: Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD)

⭐ EXHIBITIONS: JoeSam. Text Messages; Spectrum: On Color & Contemporary Art; MoAD Teens: Old Roots, New Leaves; *FREE ONLINE The Only Door I Can Open: Women Exposing Prison Through Art and Poetry; (CLOSE MARCH 3, 2023); Salimatu Amabebe: SON (CLOSES DEC 10, 2023)
⭐ MUSEUM HOURS: Open Wednesday–Saturday 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m.–5 p.m. CLOSED MONDAY & TUESDAY.
⭐ ADMISSION: General Admission Adults $12; Seniors, Students, Educators $6; Ages 12 & Under FREE. Membership starts at $75 Individual; $55 Educators/Students/Seniors
⭐ DISCOUNTS: Admission is FREE through the following programs: Free THRIVE Second Saturdays via Kaiser Permanente; Museums For All. FREE (up to 4 tickets) for SNAP recipients (show EBT card/ID). Tickets available at the museum’s welcome desk.
⭐ EVENTS: FREE on Wed 11/1, 4–5:30 p.m. Book Release and Celebration for BSI Magazine, Issue 1, a publication by student authors in the 826 Valencia’s Black Students Initiative; Sat, 11/4, 2–3:30 p.m. (NO MORE) Adjustments Reading at Lorraine Hansberry Theater ($12 Gen, $6 Seniors/Students, Free for MoAD Members/LHT Subscribers); Sat, 11/18, 12–1 p.m. (Zoom) Panel Discussion Spectrum: On Color & Contemporary Art with Sheena Rose, Manyaku Mashilo, and Jonathan Carver Moore (pay what you can).

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