ADAMA Brings Transformative Afro-Panamanian & African American Art Exchange to Atlanta
An immersive season of art, dialogue, and performance spanning exhibitions, salons, and collective storytelling.
ATLANTA, GA, August 19, 2025 — This fall, the African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta (ADAMA) presents Patacones, Paintbrushes, and Power (Sept. 5 – Nov. 2, 2025), a groundbreaking exhibition celebrating the decades-long collaborations between Panama’s Taller Portobelo and the U.S.-based Creative Currents Artist Collaborative.
Through painting, photography, performance, oral history, and cultural exchange, Patacones, Paintbrushes, and Power reveals how Afro-Panamanian and African American 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, professor at UNC–Chapel Hill and leading scholar of Portobelo’s Congo traditions. “It insists on the fullness of Black life—its contradictions, its beauty, its joy, and its enduring capacity to shape the world.”
Exhibition Details
Patacones, Paintbrushes, and Power
Sept. 5 – Nov. 2, 2025 | African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta
352 University Ave. SW, Atlanta GA 30310
Opening Reception: Friday, Sept. 5, 7:00 PM
Curators
Dr. Renée Alexander Craft — Black feminist writer, scholar, and educator; author of When the Devil Knocks and founder of Digital Portobelo.
Tosha Grantham — Arts advisor and founder of Middle Path Creative, bridging arts advocacy and environmental conservation.
Dr. Fahamu Pecou — Internationally recognized interdisciplinary artist, scholar, and Founder of ADAMA.
Featured Artists & Voices
Dr. Indira Bailey — Watercolor portraits of Portobelo’s everyday life, honoring the rhythms and resilience of Afro-Congo communities.
Sharon Barnes — Abstract works exploring Diasporic resistance and resilience, inspired by her residency at Taller Portobelo.
Sandra Eleta — Renowned Panamanian photographer documenting the artistry and daily life of the Congo community.
Gustavo “Tavo” Esquina de la Espada — Merges traditional Congo art with digital and pyrographic methods to explore ancestral memory.
Virgilio “Yaneca” Esquina — Founding father of Congo art, preserving Cimarrón legacy for over 30 years.
Elaine Eversley & Renée Alexander Craft — Playing with the Devil, a photo essay on Congo Carnival as living performance-as-resistance.
Manuel “Tatu” Golden — Veteran Congo artist whose practice sustains cultural memory and identity.
Programs & Events
Opening Reception — Sept. 5, 7:30 PM
Arts Salon with Taller Portobelo Artists — Sept. 7
Restorying Diaspora through Art and Oral History — Oct. 19
Ekphrastic Poetry Performance & Salon — Oct. 9 (UNC) & Nov. 1 (ADAMA)
Why It Matters
This exhibition is more than an art show—it is a testament to the enduring bonds of the African Diaspora and the ways art crosses borders to build collective futures. As artist Ariel “Pajarito” Jiménez reflects, “I see myself in my works… My mission is to plant seeds so children can harvest them.”
About the Organizers
About ADAMA
The African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta (ADAMA) amplifies the creativity and innovation of the global African Diaspora through exhibitions, performances, and dialogue. We recognize the boundlessness of Diaspora cultural expression and invite audiences to discover why Every Where We Go, There We Are. Learn more at www.adamatl.org.
About Creative Currents Artist Collaborative
Founded in the U.S. by Taller Portobelo alumnae, Creative Currents connects African American and Afro-Latin artists through residencies, exhibitions, and dialogue—celebrating shared histories and transnational creativity.
About Taller Portobelo
Located on Panama’s Caribbean coast, Taller Portobelo is a center of Afro-Panamanian creativity. Rooted in Congo traditions, it bridges ancestral memory and contemporary expression through art, performance, and cultural exchange.
For more information, contact: Martina Lindo: events@adamatl.org