Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., USA, 23 January – 23 August 2026

Artists across Africa and the diaspora whose artworks connect to their identities and experiences as LGBTQ+ people are featured as the first continental and diasporic survey of its scale and scope outside of Africa. The show assembles artists whose work has implicitly or explicitly challenged local and global legacies of homophobia and bigotry, offering imaginings of alternative futures as well as celebrations of intimacy, faith, family and joy. Untethered/Retethered (2025) (تائه في العدم/مستعيد جذوره) was selected by curators, Serubiri Moses and Kevin Dumouchelle for this exhibition.

Artist statement

At present, the United States finances, trains and arms soldiers in the Lebanese Armed Forces. My mixed European/Lebanese heritage has compelled me to spend the last three years interviewing retired and active duty U.S. and Lebanese soldiers, deployed to the ‘Greater Middle East’ region.

In these exchanges, I was struck by each soldier’s account of the camaraderie between ‘battle buddies’ and surprised that the older veterans from both countries spoke of a profound sense of loss when returning to civilian life. This traumatic experience of detachment resonated strongly with me when a U.S. paratrooper gave me his parachute. He recounted how he had acquired it after retiring from active duty in 2008, only to discover that all 30 of its suspension lines had been severed.

The accompanying original drawings on 2 cotton rags, comprise a ‘hand portrait’ of a Lebanese, active duty infantryman and a ‘foot portrait’ of a U.S. paratrooper. I was driven to record the intimacy of our conversations in some way and they both allowed me to draw their hands and feet, so as to protect their anonymity.

The Lebanese infantryman’s hands are scratched by hand with a steel blade into a layer of gunpowder residue because he uses an M16 assault rifle and ammunition supplied by the United States. The U.S. paratrooper’s feet however, are scratched into a layer of black boot polish because to this day, airborne troops use it to buff their leather, ceremonial ‘jump boots’ to signify excellence and professionalism.