Afropop holds space for multiplicity, where tradition is reworked, materials carry memory, and artists shape contemporary Arican expression on their own terms.
AOCA | Art of Contemporary Africa Opens in San Francisco with Inaugural Exhibition,
Afropop, a Celebration of African Artists.
Rather than proposing a singular narrative, Afropop embraces multiplicity, much like the continent of Africa.
The exhibition understands “pop” not as superficiality, but as circulation, accessibility, and cultural vitality, highlighting practices that are materially inventive, conceptually rigorous, and visually compelling.
Presenting acclaimed artists such as Ayanda Mabulu, Aza Mansongi, Akilah Watts, Noria Mabasa, Willie Bester, Edozie Anedu, Souleymane Konaté,Mwass Githinji, Clint Strydom, Samuel Allerton, Carol Cauldwell, MédéricTuray, Denis Mubiru, Marcelle Tchopwe, Gavin Rain, André Stead, Mark
Chapman, Pascal Konan, Papytsho Mafolo, Knox Clayton and VusiBeauchamp, among others.
Working across painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and mixed media,
AOCA’s artists span generations and geographies, reflecting the diversity and
complexity of contemporary African artistic practice.
The exhibition foregrounds artistic practices that are grounded in lived experience while actively engaging in global contemporary discourse. With its inaugural exhibition, AOCA asserts Africa not as a peripheral site of artistic production, but as a central and active contributor to global contemporary art.
About Art of Contemporary Africa
Founded by gallerist Craig Mark and artist Clint Strydom in 2026, Art of Contemporary Africa (AOCA) is the first Pan-African art gallery in San Francisco.
A sister gallery to The Melrose Gallery, a leading pan-African contemporary gallery based in Johannesburg, South Africa, AOCA showcases artists from across the African continent, celebrating artists working across painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, and mixed media.
Learn more about AOCA, visit aocaart.com or visit the gallery in-person at the Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco.
