April 16 - June 18, 2022
From HMAAC:
“The Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is delighted to present Hakeem Adewumi’s “Bastard of the Diaspora,” Curated by Guest Curator Lise Ragbir. The exhibition is from April 16, 2022 through June 15, 2022, with an opening reception from 5 – 7PM on Saturday, April 16. The exhibition title hints at the artist’s exploration to find and establish his place within the African Diaspora—a lifelong search for Adewumi, a Nigerian-American photographer. On that journey, Adewumi balances who he is, with who he is expected to be. Born in the U.S. to an American mother and Nigerian father, the artist was largely influenced by Black American culture. According to Adewumi, “My Nigerian heritage was something left for everyone else to define for me. I had no understanding of what it meant to “be” Nigerian. So I had to take the space on the margin to claim that identity for myself.”
Adewumi’s search for identity is presented through a series of life-size self- portraits, in which the artist prompts viewers to consider the ways in which the
notion of voyage—a nuanced and complex experience to be taken across time and space – shapes identity. Specifically queer identity. Adewumi asks viewers to bring what it means to be seen, to the conversation, and for him and others, what it means to be queer. Curator Ragbir states, “This idea of voyage, evident in the body of work Adewumi will present at the Houston Museum of African American Culture, sets the tone for the narratives, and trajectories, to be found in Bastard of the Diaspora. With a steeped understanding of the field and history of image-making, Adewumi’s narratives deftly reference the past, while beautifully reclaiming it. Informed by his own movements across the African Diaspora—Atlantic-crossings, Mason-Dixon line crossings—the artist references colonial pasts while drawing viewers into imagined futures.” HMAAC CEO John Guess, Jr., states, “This exhibition is an important one for HMAAC. The museum has always addressed Black Queerness in film and
programming, but never fully on our walls. We are thrilled that Hakeem and Lise allow us to message the universality HMAAC represents as a museum owned by all of us in a thoughtful and engaging way.” Bastard of the Diaspora is generously sponsored by the Houston Endowment, HEB, and the Board of Directors of the Houston Museum of African American Culture. ABOUT THE HOUSTON MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE The mission of HMAAC is to collect, conserve, explore, interpret, and exhibit the material and intellectual culture of Africans and African Americans in Houston, the state of Texas, the southwest and the African Diaspora for current and future generations. In fulfilling its mission, HMAAC seeks to invite and engage visitors of
every race and background and to inspire children of all ages through discovery- driven learning. HMAAC is to be a museum for all people. While our focus is the
African American experience, our story informs and includes not only people of color, but people of all colors. As a result, the stories and exhibitions that HMAAC will bring to Texas are about the indisputable fact that while our experience is a unique one, it has been impacted by and has impacted numerous races, genders and ethnicities. The museum continues to be a space where a multicultural conversation on race geared toward a common future takes place.”
Reception: April 16, 2022 | 5–7 pm
Houston Museum of African American Culture
4807 Caroline St.
Houston, TX
(713) 353-1578
Get directions