CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 3/13/2026

McNally Jackson presents Oluremi C. Onabanjo in conversation with Air Afrique on 'Ideas of Africa'

Friday, March 13, at 7 PM, McNally Jackson Seaport presents MoMA curator Oluremi C. Onabanjo in conversation with the Parisian art collective Air Afrique on the current MoMA exhibition and catalog, Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination. RSVP options here.

Can a photographic portrait inspire political imagination? Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination examines how photographers and their sitters contributed to the proliferation of Pan-African solidarity during the mid-20th century. Embracing the internationalist spirit of the time, photographers working in Central and West African cities created images of everyday citizens, dazzling music scenes, and potent manifestations of youth culture that reflected emerging political realities. In celebration of the exhibition, on view at The Museum of Modern Art through July 25, 2026, and the accompanying publication, join curator Oluremi C. Onabanjo in conversation with the Parisian art collective Air Afrique on the creative potential of the photographic portrait and its political resonance across the globe.

Oluremi C. Onabanjo is The Peter Schub Curator in The Robert B. Menschel Department of Photography at The Museum of Modern Art, and curator of the exhibition Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination.

Air Afrique is a Parisian multidisciplinary creative collective founded in 2021 by Lamine Diaoune, Ahmadou-Bamba Thiam, Jeremy Konko and Djiby Kebe. It draws inspiration from the eponymous pan-African airline (1961–2002) and its heritage of cultural patronage, spanning across cinema production, music and magazine publishing. Their practice includes an annual magazine dedicated to Afro-diasporic arts, conversations and aesthetics, design collaborations (Bottega Veneta, Louis Vuitton, Nike), exhibitions (Metropolitan Museum 2025, MoMA 2026) and a cinema club in Paris.

'Ideas of Africa'
Oluremi C. Onabanjo in conversation with Air Afrique
Friday, March 13 at 7 PM
McNally Jackson Seaport
4 Fulton Street, New York City
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