Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts

The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (mocada) uses art as a vehicle to celebrate the African diaspora through community conversations, creative expression, interactive learning, and cultural preservation. Twenty years since our inception, our mission has grown through three programmatic arms "exhibitions, education, and community, where we create unique experiences that expand beyond the traditional Museum concept to incite dialogue on pressing social and political issues facing the African diaspora and enable social justice as everyday practice. Mocada is a dynamic, safe space that balances the inequality of access and representation, while serving as a critical tool for engaging people across social divides and welcoming those who are systematically left out. By using art as a tool for economic sustainability, strengthening community, and learning, mocada enhances the livability of artists and residents simultaneously. Mocada collaborates with Arts organizations, local businesses, artists, educators, community leaders, and agencies to make the Arts an integral component of neighborhood development and economic sustainability. To date, we have produced over 70 exhibitions, and programs including artists in schools, public exchange, kidflix film festival, soul of brooklyn, creators in residence, mocada films, mocada live, mocada digital, public Arts presentations, and more. Due to the continued pandemic, we focused our efforts primarily on virtual programming while our physical venue was closed due to nyc shelter at home mandates/closures.