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African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta Fall Exhibit (saturdays)
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Fri., Sep. 5 - Sun., Nov. 2
CRITIC’S PICK:
Patacones, Paintbrushes & Power, African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta — An artists’ retreat named Taller Portobelo that took place on Panama’s Caribbean coast between 1995 and 2015 is the subject of this expansive exhibition at ADAMA. Under the auspices of the U.S.-based Creative Currents Artist Collaborative, the annual gathering in the port city of Portobelo connected African American and Afro-Latin artists who lived, worked, and created together.
“Through paintings, photography, mixed media, and cultural storytelling, the exhibition celebrates the enduring influence of these artist communities — spaces where Congo traditions, ancestral memory, and contemporary vision met in bold acts of creativity and collaboration,” curators explain. — Kevin C. Madigan
From the venue:
A multi-disciplinary exploration of Panama–U.S. cross-cultural exchange, Patacones, Paintbrushes, and Power celebrates the transformative collaborations between Taller Portobelo on Panama’s Caribbean coast and the U.S.-based Creative Currents Artist Collaborative. Spanning painting, photography, performance, oral history, and cultural exchange, this exhibition reveals how African American and Afro-Latin artists have fueled activism, identity, and community through shared creative practice.
“In a time of cultural erasure and division, Patacones, Paintbrushes, and Power is both archive and blueprint for liberation,” says co-curator Dr. Renée Alexander Craft, a UNC-Chapel Hill professor and scholar who has spent over two decades researching Portobelo’s vibrant Congo traditions. “It insists on the fullness of Black life—its contradictions, its beauty, its joy, and its enduring capacity to shape the world.”
Curators
Dr. Renée Alexander Craft — Black feminist writer, scholar, and educator whose work centers Portobelo’s Congo community and its rich cultural legacy. Author of When the Devil Knocks and founder of Digital Portobelo.
Tosha Grantham — Arts advisor and founder of Middle Path Creative, with a practice spanning arts advocacy and environmental conservation. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.
Dr. Fahamu Pecou — Internationally recognized interdisciplinary artist and scholar exploring intersections of hip-hop, fine art, and popular culture, and founder of ADAMA.
Featured Artists & VoicesEmpty heading
Dr. Indira Bailey — Presents watercolor scenes of everyday Portobelo, from a young girl waiting outside a corner store to boys playing football on warm pavement. “These paintings celebrate the freedom, joy, and communal spirit of youth… and honor the rhythms, resilience, and beauty of Afro-Congo life”.
Sharon Barnes — Creates abstract works inspired by African Diasporic resistance and resilience. “My residency at Taller Portobelo was one of the most deepening experiences of my artistic life… a profound space for exploring collective truths”.
Sandra Eleta — Renowned Panamanian photographer whose iconic series Portobelo documents the artistry and daily life of the Congo community.
Gustavo “Tavo” Esquina de la Espada — Merges traditional Congo art with digital and pyrographic techniques, exploring ancestral memory and Portobelo’s everyday culture.
Virgilio “Yaneca” Esquina — Founding father of Congo art, whose carved adornments and paintings preserve Cimarrón legacy while embodying over 33 years of global artistic impact.
Elaine Eversley & Renée Alexander Craft — Collaborators on Playing with the Devil, a photo essay capturing the Congo Carnival as a living tradition of performance-as-resistance.
Manuel “Tatu” Golden — Veteran Congo artist whose work and advocacy sustain cultural memory, identity, and resistance.
African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta Fall E... | 09/06/2025 1:00 PM