Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA), Neighbor

MoCADA’s mission is to rediscover valuable African cultural traditions that were lost through colonization and the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade and to foster a dynamic space for the creation of the continuous evolution of culture. MoCADA believes that the concept of the museum exists within its people and it is the museum’s goal to serve as a conduit for African Diaspora forms of expression ranging from the visual and performing arts to film and television with the goal of repositioning the continent of Africa and its people in both a foundational and central role in world development. Since the museum’s inception, MoCADA has placed primary emphasis on reaching under-served communities through on-site as well as out-of-doors programming.

MoCADA was founded in 1999 by Laurie Angela Cumbo in a brownstone owned by the Bridge Street AWME Church in the Bedford Stuyvesant community of Brooklyn, New York. The concept of the Museum grew out of Ms. Cumbo’s graduate thesis at New York University, which focused on the feasibility of an African Diaspora Museum contributing to the revitalization of central Brooklyn economically, socially and aesthetically. The Museum began with hard-hitting socially and politically charged exhibitions and public programs focused on contemporary issues impacting people of the African Diaspora that would attract the unlikely museum goer for community debate and exchanges. Twelve years later, the energy of the exhibitions have grown and the community of Brooklyn has recognized MoCADA as its Town Hall institution for the discussion of complex topics that arise in a constantly evolving world.

In 2006, MoCADA relocated to the ground floor of James E. Davis 80 Arts Building within the BAM Cultural District in a space designed by the architectural firm of studiosumo. The larger space gives MoCADA an opportunity to expand its audiences and its programming, which includes the Exhibition and Curatorial Program, The Curatorial Fellowship and Internship Program, the Educational Artist-In-Schools and Guided Tours Program, the KIDflix Film Fest of Bed-Stuy, MoCADA Television, and the Soul of Brooklyn Tourism Initiative. MoCADA is currently working with Rodney Leon Architects PLLC to plan for the future home of MoCADA.