Cornelia Stokes is about to become the bridge between two neighboring institutions with a shared vision: making African diaspora art impossible to ignore in the contemporary art world.
Starting January 5, Stokes takes on a newly created position as assistant curator of African diaspora art, splitting her time between SFMOMA and the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD). It's the first time the two museums have formally collaborated this way—and it signals something larger about how cultural institutions are beginning to work together.
Building something that didn't exist before
The role itself is telling. It's not a token position or a side project. The KHR McNeely Family Foundation has endowed the first three years, which means resources are backing the commitment. At SFMOMA, Stokes reports to Jenny Gheith, curator of Painting and Sculpture. At MoAD, she answers to Key Jo Lee, chief of curatorial affairs. Two institutions, two reporting lines, one clear mandate: mount exhibitions, produce scholarship, and build collaborative programs that put African diaspora artists at the center rather than the margins.
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Start Your News DetoxStokes arrives with the kind of resume that suggests she knows how to navigate the art world's complexities. She runs Emblazon Arts LLC, a curatorial consulting firm. She's worked as a research assistant to artist Amy Sherald and as a consultant to the estate of Donald Locke. She's completed residencies at the High Museum in Atlanta and the Derrick Adams–founded Last Resort Artist Retreat in Baltimore. These aren't credentials that come from one path—they come from someone who's spent years building relationships and asking the right questions.
What makes this partnership distinctive is the honesty behind it. MoAD's CEO Monetta White didn't frame this as charity or representation theater. She called it what it is: a response to ongoing conversations with SFMOMA director Christopher Bedford about institutions working "more boldly" together. "While MoAD and SFMOMA are neighbors," White said, "what truly connects us is a shared commitment to serve San Francisco and advancing artists and scholarship of the African Diaspora as central to the global cultural landscape."
Bedford echoed that in his own statement, noting that "telling a more expansive art history in our galleries and supporting a broad range of artistic voices" is essential to SFMOMA's work. The language matters here—it's not about adding diversity as an afterthought. It's about reshaping what those institutions consider central to their mission.
Stokes will also support SFMOMA's effort to diversify its permanent collection, a practical way to ensure that this collaboration has lasting weight beyond temporary exhibitions. MoAD, as a non-collecting institution, brings different strengths to the table—curatorial expertise, community connections, and a focused mission that's been centered on diaspora art since its founding.
Two museums, one curator, a three-year commitment with funding attached. It's a small structural change that might reshape what San Francisco sees in its galleries.
