About the Exhibition

Blackness in the Diaspora

Seeing the movie Black Orpheus when I was 10 exposed me to the interconnectedness of Africans in the diaspora. I saw myself in the Black faces of the characters on the screen. Blackness became expansive and not limited to the Black American experience. The movie moved me as a Black child in a way that changed my life forever. It ignited in me a longing to connect with my “distant cousins,” to understand their experience so I could understand mine. 

Blackness is not a monolith, but there are connections that Black people around the world share. In this exhibit, you will view a small part of my experience with that connection. These images span the last nine years in Vienna, Peru, Mexico, Cuba, and the United States of America.