Exploring Black Diasporas Through Art and Poetry

©lacma

The exhibition Imagining Black Diasporas: 21st-Century Art and Poetics at LACMA offers a groundbreaking look at the evolving narratives of Black identity, creativity, and heritage. Featuring nearly 70 works by artists across Africa, Europe, and the Americas, the exhibition expands the traditional focus of Pan-African art beyond the Black Atlantic to include voices from the Pacific Rim.

Organized around four themes—speech and silence, movement and transformation, imagination, and representation—the exhibition highlights how Black artists navigate history, displacement, and self-reinvention. Accompanied by a catalogue featuring original poetry, this project underscores the role of artistic expression in shaping diasporic identity.

By centering the creative power of the diaspora, Imagining Black Diasporas transforms displacement into a source of innovation, proving that heritage is not just about roots but also about movement, adaptation, and boundless artistic vision.