San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art

One of BAIA Foundation’s 2022 initiatives is instituting marketing assistance for African American Museums and Cultural Centers. 

Global preservation of African American art seems to be the common mission of Black museums across the country. The San Diego African American Museum of Fine Arts extends their mission to include bringing awareness and deeper understanding of visual arts in Southern California, and even further to include preserving and displaying African American art in the city of San Diego. SDAAMFA achieves their mission through art exhibitions, public programs, symposia, and education.

In 1992, Shirley Day Williams founded the San Diego African American Art Museum, but her passing grew a slumber over the activities of the museum. In 2014, the museum was revived with an inaugural exhibit after awareness was brought to the value and importance of the museum’s place and purpose. The exhibit, “In Our Lifetime…” honored several people who took part in events during the Civil War. SDAAMFA’s exhibits remain accessible on their website where they continue to keep African American art and culture well-documented.

Their featured exhibit honors Alyce Smith Cooper (Ancestral Storyteller), Nathan East (Bassist, Vocalist and A founding member of the contemporary jazz group, Fourplay), Calvin Manson (Director, Producer, Playwright and Visual Artist), and Andrea Rushing (Visual Artist and Founder of the Andrea Rushing Academy of Fine Arts) in the museum’s 2022 Keepers of the Culture.

SDAAMFA uplifts the youth with a program specifically curated for  12-18 year olds introducing them to the world of art. This program consists of classes that are uniquely structured around the museum’s exhibitions, focusing on artist history, art techniques, and art research. San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art’s multigenerational exchange ensures that all ages are included in the upliftment, inspiration, and cultivation of African American art and history. While the museum perserves the history of African descents, it also uplifts the importance of the future, by providing a “cultural richness with a youthful perspective” to its visitors.

“It is clear that great art is simply that, great art. Where there is a difference is in the stories that are told through art; the lifestyles, the pain, the joy, the love, the struggles as told through the perspective of an African American Artist. These experiences translate into art, which is varied, unique, and undeniably the source of great pride for people of the African Diaspora.” -SDAAMFA

Learn more about the San Diego African American Museum of Art.

THE BLACK ART IN AMERICA (BAIA) FOUNDATION is a 501c3 organization that applies what we’ve learned over our 12 years as a multifaceted arts company to facilitate the growth of artists while cultivating the relationships and opportunities that bring Black artists and communities together. 

We invite you to become a monthly supporter of the BAIA Foundation. Starting at just $3 a month, YOU become a stakeholder and begin to help us transform lives through art. We are growing the BAIA team and will use your contributions to hire more team members for the purpose of creating more educational and marketing resources for schools and universities about african american artists both past and present. Such art initiatives and educational programming like Blacklite with Steve Prince, Relating to Art with Dr. Kelli Morgan, and BAIA BITS would not be possible without the ongoing support of our Patreon members. Please consider becoming a monthly Patreon member today!

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