Curatorial Walkthrough with Athi-Patra Ruga

In the framework of , artist Athi-Patra Ruga joins Head Curator / Director of Exhibitions and Collections Stamatina Gregory for a curatorial walkthrough. Together, they discuss the process of creating the exhibition, and explore what it means to create a space of liberated possibility. Ruga’s exhibition, on view September 11–January 18, 2026, imagines a glittering vision of Azania, a queer Black matriarchy named after an ancient term for a part of southeastern Africa, invoking both a precolonial Black homeland and a decolonized, liberated South Africa. Through performance, film, painting, textile, and glass, Ruga creates allegorical figures, offering ways to persevere through a fractured present imbued with the emancipatory possibilities of queer Black femme culture.

Located at 26 Wooster Street, the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art strives to provide a welcoming environment to all visitors. Five external steps lead to our entrance doors: a wheelchair lift is available. All galleries are wheelchair-accessible, and a single-occupancy accessible restroom is located behind the visitor services desk: all restrooms are gender-neutral. Large print didactics are available. For questions or access requests, please email [email protected] with 1 week advance of your visit.

Host or Publisher Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art