MoCADA Museum

MoCADA Museum Exploring the arts, education, and social justice through the lens of Africa & the Diaspora.
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The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) is committed to creating a greater awareness and appreciation of the relevance of the African Diaspora as it relates to contemporary urban issues through innovative exhibitions, public programs and educational interactive tours.

📣🎉 It's official. KREOL FEST (KRÉOL FEST) has finally entered the chat!We're just 7 days away from the 3rd annual 3-day ...
10/02/2026

📣🎉 It's official. KREOL FEST (KRÉOL FEST) has finally entered the chat!

We're just 7 days away from the 3rd annual 3-day artistic and cultural celebration dedicated to the vibrancy of Creole cultures around the world.

The brainchild of curator and musician Natie (Natie), the festival is bringing together artists and audiences to explore the intersections of heritage, identity, and creativity within the Creole world through live performance, food, language, and visual arts.

The theme --‘Lo Sakré --“The sacred is not a boundary, but a deep union between the living and the invisible.”

This year’s edition of the intergenerational program focuses on how artists engage the sacred as an active force that connects memory to the present moment and supports collective ways of imagining the future.

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Schedule:

Friday:
Opening ceremony with open jam session and comedy + Bites by Kit’n’Kin

Saturday:
Conference on “what does creole mean?’ – marketplace – live performances: words from Jamaica to grooves of New Orleans

Sunday:
Conference on the connections between Haitian and Black American history – workshops – live performances bringing together Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico

WHAT: Kreol Fest 2026: Lo Sakre (3-day festival)
DATE/TIME: Friday, October 9 – 11, 2026
LOCATION: See the full schedule for details.

RSVP via the link in bio to register for specific free events, or get a three-day pass to skip the line. (Events are hosted at MoCADA and Haiti Cultural Exchange) First come, first serve.
 
❤️🖤💚

MoCADA is honored to have curated the first art piece created by an African artist to be on view at Gracie Mansion! The ...
10/01/2026

MoCADA is honored to have curated the first art piece created by an African artist to be on view at Gracie Mansion!

The art work, which was curated by MoCADA's Executive Director and Chief Curator, Amy Andrieux (Amy Andrieux)., is entitled "Voices of Peace" by Ugandan artist Sanaa "The Bead King" Gateja (Sanaa Gateja). It's a beautiful tapestry made of hand-rolled beads, which was on view at Gracie Mansion from September 2-30. Originally, this piece was first curated for BAM DanceAfrica (BAM) earlier this year in May.

Big love to Karen, Emma (Gracie), Noah, Katie, Emma (Karma), the Mayor's Office, Gracie Mansion Conservancy Gracie Mansion Conservancy, and Karma Gallery (KARMA) for helping to make this happen.

Diaspora to the world! ❤️🖤💚

09/30/2026

🌟 Art Smith (1917–1982) was a highly acclaimed jewelry pioneering artist whose extraordinary avant-garde creations pushed the limits of modernism from 1946 to the early 70s. As Smith’s artistry grew, so did his association with some of this country’s most prominent Black artists including James Baldwin, composer and pianist Billy Strayhorn, Lena Horne (who wore his jewelry), and Harry Belafonte. He has been called a star of the modernist jewelry movement.

To celebrate his contributions, legacy + the launch of "Bodyworks: The Jewelry of Art Smith", the definitive book on his artistic practice, the Authors Joanne Hyppolite, curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and jewelry historian Toni Greenbaum will share stories and new research that illuminate Smith’s remarkable life, artistic vision, and enduring influence. Sebastian Grant, curator, art historian, and professor at Parsons School of Design in New York City, will moderate the conversation.

Join us!

WHAT: "Bodyworks: The Jewelry of Art Smith" Book Reading + Conversation + Signing

DATE/TIME: Thursday, October 8, 2026 @ 6:30pm (doors open), 7:00pm (event start) - 9pm

LOCATION: MoCADA Culture Lab II, 10 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, 11217

RSVP: https://forms.gle/U6jBqFBHZGmUR4yA8 l❤️🖤💚📿

🎬: "Afro-Carribean Soul in Modernist Jewelry: Art Smith's Cultural Blueprint" present in 2021 by PBS series 'Craft in America.'

📣 It's fashion week in NYC...and guess who's joining us?! Celebrated American fashion and accessory designers Dee and Ri...
09/18/2026

📣 It's fashion week in NYC...and guess who's joining us?! Celebrated American fashion and accessory designers Dee and Ricky, the modern blueprint for style and innovation.

From their colorful Lego brooches to bold Casio G-watches, the twins are most famous for their one-of-a-kind collaborations that blend playful streetwear aesthetics with bold high fashion. To date, they've partnered with brands including Marc Jacobs, Casio, Pony, Puma, Joy Rich, Heineken, and expanded their portfolio to transform spaces, like restaurants and hotels, through their striking and vibrant design. 

Join Dee and Ricky as they look back at the early years of their career, while walking us through how they built their brand and reinvented themselves time and time again.

It's a free fashion meets lifestyle branding skill share designed for creatives. Plus, you'll get to build your own LEGO heart inspired by Dee and Ricky's iconic brooch.

See you soon!

WHAT:  The Art of Collaboration with Dee & Ricky: A Brand building skillshare

DATE/TIME: Thursday, September 24, 2026 @ 7:00pm - 9:00pm

LOCATION: MoCADA Culture Lab II, 10 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, 11217

Limited seats are available. RSVP to reserve your spot.

 Link in bio! ❤️💛🖤💚💙

This is made possible thanks to generous support from NYC Department of Cultural Affairs ().

09/03/2026

🎬📢 Join us Friday, September 4 for a special, free community screening of "True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power,"  a powerful documentary by Michèle Stephenson on Montréal’s Civil Rights Movement.

Through never-before-seen archives and the voices of those who lived through the tumultuous period of 1960s Montreal, "True North" explores pivotal events that shaped the global movement for Black liberation by centering the Congress of Black Writers and the Sir George Williams Affair.

"True North" interweaves accounts of a little-known historical chapter in the Black Power movement that impacted the struggle for Black liberation across the globe and resonates with today’s movements for change.

WHAT: Film Screening: “True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power”

DATE/TIME: Friday, September 4, 2026 @ 6:30pm – 9:30pm

LOCATION: MoCADA Culture Lab II, 10 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, 11217

The film will be followed by a Q&A with the director. Limited seats are available. RSVP to reserve your spot. Link in bio. ❤️🖤💚✊🏾

09/02/2026

We are heartbroken to learn that the incomparable Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson has passed. As we reflect on her legacy and iconic voice, we couldn't help but return to her 1997 classic, "You Move Me," from the 'Love Jones' soundtrack.

Here's Ms. Wilson performing the song on April 30, 2017, which was recorded live in Havana, Cuba for the annual International Jazz Day celebration.

Rest in paradise, Cassandra Wilson. Our prayers and love go out to her loved ones. ❤️🖤💚💐🕊️

📹: "You Move Me” featuring Cassandra Wilson (vocals), Harold López-Nussa (piano), Jorge Reyes (acoustic bass), Carl Allen (drums), Marc Antoine (guitar), and Yaroldy Abreu (congas), recorded live in Havana.

This work, entitled "Bokoko" (Culture) by Congolese artist Esther Mido (Esther Mido) uses traditional symbols such as be...
08/29/2026

This work, entitled "Bokoko" (Culture) by Congolese artist Esther Mido (Esther Mido) uses traditional symbols such as beads and textiles to validate African beauty. The subject, a young Congolese woman, is torn about her identity. She is African — as represented through her Congolese passport and the traditional mask — while also hiding from her identity. The artist calls on the young woman to recognize her worth and beauty from within her own traditions.

🎨: "Bokoko" by Esther Mido, 2024. Acrylic on canvas, 50 × 41 7/10 inches

See this work in person, which is currently on view within the "Pitch Black: Haiti and Congo Revisited" exhibition at MoCADA until October 11.

Many thanks to Article 15 Gallery in Washington, DC for making this work available to MoCADA!

❤️🖤💚

Unfortunately due to rain, we are postponing today's event! Join us on the new date and time on September 26! Link to RS...
08/22/2026

Unfortunately due to rain, we are postponing today's event!

Join us on the new date and time on September 26! Link to RSVP in bio.

08/19/2026

Join us Saturday, August 22 for a conversation with Franck F. Deceus (Francks F Deceus) on home, reconciling the emotional and social effects of immigration, and what it means to be Haitian artist right now. He will be joined by RÊgine M. Roumain, the Executive Director of Haiti Cultural Exchange (Haiti Cultural Exchange).

This event will be followed by a walking tour to Haiti Cultural Exchange to learn more about their forthcoming exhibition in collaboration with the Archive of Alan Lomax (1915-2002). A pioneering ethnomusicologist, Lomax, at at the urging of heralded African American anthropologist and author Zora Neale Hurston,  traveled to Haiti to record the nation’s music and rituals on behalf of the US Library of Congress.

WHAT: Artist Talk: Francks Deceus + Haitian Art Walking Tour
WHEN: Saturday, August 22 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
WHERE: MoCADA Ubuntu Botanical Garden, 48 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, 11217

* In case of rain, the event will originate at MoCADA Cultural Lab II Cafe at 10 Lafayette Avenue, 2nd floor.

RSVP link in bio. ❤️🖤💚🇭🇹🎨

🎬:
This is made possible thanks to generous support from NYC Department of Cultural Affairs () CDF Fund.

🎬📢 It’s Black August, so we’re uplifting films rooted in the Black radical tradition all month long.Join us Sunday, Augu...
08/12/2026

🎬📢 It’s Black August, so we’re uplifting films rooted in the Black radical tradition all month long.

Join us Sunday, August 16 for a special, free community screening of True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power,  a powerful documentary by Michèle Stephenson on Montréal’s Civil Rights Movement.

Through never-before-seen archives and the voices of those who lived through the tumultuous period of 1960s Montreal, True North explores pivotal events that shaped the global movement for Black liberation by centering the Congress of Black Writers and the Sir George Williams Affair.

True North interweaves accounts of a little-known historical chapter in the Black Power movement that impacted the struggle for Black liberation across the globe and resonates with today’s movements for change.

WHAT: Film Screening: “True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power”
DATE/TIME: Sunday, August 16, 2026 @ 4pm – 7pm
LOCATION: MoCADA Culture Lab II, 10 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, 11217

The film will be followed by a Q&A with the director. Limited seats are available. RSVP to reserve your spot. Link in bio.

❤️🖤💚✊🏾

Address

10 Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
11217

Telephone

+17182300492

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