the Museum of the African Diaspora welcomed two new exciting exhibitions this spring that will be on view until September.



The Museum of the African Diaspora recently opened two new captivating exhibitions. !!!!! by painter Rachel Jones and Unruly Navigations, which includes 10 different artists and over 20 works. Both exhibitions opened at MoAD on March 27 and will run through September 1, 2024


!!!!! by Rachel Jones

Curated by Erin Jenoa Gilbert !!!!! is a new exhibition by acclaimed artist Rachel Jones. The large-scale paintings are one linen, painted with oil pastels. Jones draws inspiration from cartoons, which heavily influenced the title of the exhibition. The abstract mouths of the exhibitions are painted with vibrant colors, and the brush strokes are energetic and varied. Jones stated an interest in “using motifs and color as a way to communicate ideas about the interiority of Black bodies and their lived experience,” according to MoAD. The mouths reference both the literal and symbolic entry to one’s interior. The large-scale pieces were first displayed together in MoAD, and Jones had to paint each piece in two panels due to her small studio space.

Unruly Navigations



Unruly Navigations explores the disorderly and defiant movements that define diaspora. The exhibition spans across mediums, with 10 different artists presenting a total of 22 works. The powerful artworks “augment and deepen, and at times completely refute, conventional accounts of diasporic experience which have historically misrepresented, mischaracterized, and misplaced stories from the perspective of the enslaved, the forcibly displaced or otherwise disenfranchised” stated curator Key Jo Lee.

Artists featured in Unruly Navigations:

Nafis M. White
Nadine Natalie Hall
M. Scott Johnson
Samuel Levi Jones
Winfred Rembert
Myrlande Constant
Vanessa German
Morel Doucet
Oluseye
Anina Major

Both exhibitions will be on display until September 1 at the Museum of the African Diaspora. Tickets for adults only cost $15, and the museum is open Wednesday through Sunday.