On October 17, 2026, “Art in the Wake III: Resistance, Liberation, and Reclamation” will bring together an intergenerational group of students, educators, artists, curators, and community leaders from the United States and South Africa for a day of conversation, workshops, and collective exchange, exploring what happens when art becomes a tool for knowledge and accessibility.
Presented by Indigo Arts Alliance (IAA), the Center for the Study of Global Slavery (CSGS) at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC), and Iziko Museums of South Africa, this program builds on the past two iterations of the series that centered on reckoning with the histories of slavery, colonialism and exploring the possibilities of repair: 2023’s “Art in the Wake: Reckoning and Re-membering,” in Portland, ME, and 2026’s “Art in the Wake II: Repairing, Healing & Memory,” in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
The third symposium focuses on connecting histories of resistance to the present through a youth-centered exploration of memory, creativity, and reclamation, demonstrating that art-making serves as a form of connection between generations to witness history and architect of future possibilities
This ongoing partnership between Indigo Arts Alliance and NMAAHC engages directly with the international traveling exhibition “In Slavery’s Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World,” centering on the freedom-making practices of global Black communities navigating both the histories and the legacies of racial slavery and colonialism. The exhibition was on view at the Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa from May 22 – October 4, 2026, and will travel to Dakar, Senegal in 2027.
