Don’t tell the Orange Man, but every time he condemns something he doesn’t understand and/or dislikes, it automatically has us checking out what’s the latest subject of his ire. In this case, it’s the Smithsonian Museum that he says has to place notices outside to caution visitors about exhibits that his administration views as “inaccurate”.   We should explain it’s not because he is so very old that he actually was around when this history was created; it’s simply down to his sheer racism and acute historical denialism.  Actually, the last laugh will be on us ,when we discover how history will choose to remember how he has so single-handedly wreaked havoc throughout the globe.

Meanwhile, in this particular instance, he has inadvertently drawn attention to a rather wonderful exhibition inside the subterranean galleries of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, where an enchanting world of queer discovery awaits — at least until August 23.  Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art, a collection of nearly 60 artworks exploring “how LGBTQ+ artists from Africa and its diaspora are part of a larger, joyful story of African art history.”

Co-curated by the museum’s Kevin D. Dumouchelle and independent writer and curator Serubiri Moses, the exhibition opened relatively quietly this past January. A fascinating survey comprising painting, photography, sculpture, collage, installation, and video and digital art, Here marks history for the museum, founded in 1964, as its first such exhibition dedicated to LGBTQ African artists.

Don’t tell The Orange Man, but Dumouchelle has said that this is really one of the first major exhibitions to approach the subject at all. 

Here is based on years of close collaboration and dialogue with these artists and their communities. Through their art, they invite us into their worlds, and share complex stories of openly claiming their identities, their histories, and their place. Here is in the largest exhibition on this subject to date, with nearly 60 artworks, demonstrating how they are a part of a larger story of African art history.

The exhibition is part of a larger research initiative, the Here Project, that seeks to document these voices. The artists in the Project practice across the entirety of the African continent and its global diaspora, using their work to speak their truths. Inviting us into their worlds, they share complex stories of openly claiming their identities, their histories, and their place. While their experiences are unique to them, they address issues that unite us all: the importance of family, of spirit, of standing up for oneself and others, of imagining the future, of making intimate connections, of finding belonging, of embracing potential, and above all, of experiencing joy.