AfriCOBRA: Messages to the People

Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami
November 27, 2018 – March 24, 2019
Curator: Jeffreen M. Hayes, Ph.D.

 

This exhibition marked the 50th anniversary of AfriCOBRA—the Black artist collective that defined the visual aesthetic of the Black Arts Movement. As the lead designer, I created the visual identity for AfriCOBRA: Messages to the People, including the exhibition logo, custom typography, wall graphics, and supporting materials.

 

Designing for this exhibition was a full-circle moment in my practice. As a Howard University Fine Arts graduate, I studied the work of AfriCOBRA’s founding members—Jeff Donaldson, Jae Jarrell, Wadsworth Jarrell, Barbara Jones-Hogu, and Gerald Williams—with reverence. This project allowed me to honor their legacy with intention and care.

 

My first task was to reimagine the original 1970 logo from Ten in Search of a Nation, preserving its visual rhythm while modernizing its form for contemporary use. I took cues from the collective’s bold, hand-drawn energy, translating that spirit into a refreshed mark that could serve both the exhibition and its accompanying catalog. The living artists each expressed their appreciation for the new design, affirming that it resonated with the movement’s roots.

 

Building on this foundation, I created the exhibition logo using mirrored patterns and shapes drawn from Wadsworth Jarrell’s 1974 work Prophecy. These forms radiate outward from the AfriCOBRA mark in waves—symbolizing the collective’s enduring influence on Black art and artists. Curator Jeffreen M. Hayes was so moved by the design that she installed it as a large-scale mural within the exhibition itself.

 

This project stands as one of the most meaningful of my career—not only because of its historical and cultural weight, but because it allowed me to contribute to the preservation and re-presentation of a legacy that helped shape my own creative path.