Curators Adria Gunter and Kiki Teshome on ‘Fade’, the latest chapter in the Studio Museum in Harlem’s influential “F” series
1 July 2026
Nearly a decade after ‘Fictions’, the Studio Museum in Harlem returns to its landmark “F” exhibition series with ‘Fade’, bringing together seventeen emerging artists of African and Afro-Latinx descent. Now on view in the Museum’s new home in Harlem, the exhibition explores spirituality, ancestry, land, memory, and non-linear conceptions of time, proposing the “in-between” as a space of resistance and possibility.
ART AFRICA spoke with Adria Gunter, Assistant Curator, and Kiki Teshome, Curatorial Assistant, about the legacy of the “F” series, the urgencies shaping a new generation of artists, and how ‘Fade’ navigates questions of belonging, transformation, and collective futures.
‘Fade’ is organised by Adria Gunter, Assistant Curator; Yelena Keller, Associate Curator; Jayson Overby, Assistant Curator; Kiki Teshome, Curatorial Assistant; and Habiba Hopson, former Senior Curatorial Assistant. Exhibition support provided by Maya Davis, Abigail Gordon, and Taylor Ndiaye, Studio Museum/MoMA Curatorial Fellows.
Suzette Bell-Roberts: ‘Fade’ positions the “in-between” as a site of resistance. How did this conceptual framing emerge in your curatorial process, and what does it offer that more fixed narratives cannot?
The concept of the “in-between” emerged from reflecting on themes shared between the featured artists’ practices as well as the possibilities from the title itself. ‘Fade’ recalls an in-between state, a moment before an act of total disappearance or emergence. As we navigated the curatorial process during profound political and social changes in the United States, this framing offered an opportunity to both acknowledge the wider context of change in which the exhibition takes place while also considering how artists remain steadfast throughout this change, bringing their layered experiences of land, spirit, history, and belonging into their work.
The exhibition brings together seventeen emerging artists working across disciplines. How did you approach constructing a conversation between such varied practices without flattening their individual urgencies?
The show includes artists working in a variety of mediums including photography, sculpture, painting, and others. Often, these artists’ practices include multiple mediums or push against the idea of adhering to a discipline altogether. We were sensitive to this throughout the installation process and prioritized the needs of the artworks to ensure that visitors would have enough space, literally and figuratively, to engage with each work individually.
The press release foregrounds spirituality, ancestry, and non-linear time. How do these elements manifest materially in the works, and what tensions arise between the visible and the intangible?
These elements sometimes manifest explicitly, such as in the bronze sculptures by Emmanuel Louisnard Desir who pulls imagery from biblical literature and African spirituality, or in the work of Shani Strand, whose ceramic duppies give a form to the ghost figures from Jamaican folklore. Through deep engagement with the artists, we know that spirituality, ancestry, and non-linear time are all embedded in their practices even if these themes may not appear immediately in their work. The show argues that the tensions that arise between the visible and the intangible function as a productive challenge; a space to experiment, play, imagine, and create.
As part of the Studio Museum’s historic “F” series, ‘Fade’ enters a lineage that has shaped contemporary Black art discourse. In what ways does this iteration extend or disrupt that legacy?
The “F” shows are a series of exhibitions that feature emerging artists of African descent. As the sixth in the series of “F” shows—following Freestyle (2001), Frequency (2005-06), Flow (2008), Fore (2012-13), and Fictions (2017-18)— ‘Fade’ is the first to take place in the Museum’s new building within its inaugural year. This context brings a renewed energy to the exhibition, as it is also the first show of its kind in almost ten years. While this iteration is visibly different, reflecting the concerns of artists today, what remains consistent is the dedication and support of the Studio Museum and its commitment to emerging artists. We’re grateful for the wisdom of prior “F” show curators and the recommendations of peers in the field as we navigated this process. The “in-between,” as we are also reminded by the artists in the show, is something we can navigate in community.
Many of the works engage land as an archive and sites of refuge. How do the artists complicate ideas of belonging and displacement within these spatial narratives?
There are moments where artists return to ancestral land or place, as well as moments where they create new worlds entirely, often in response to efforts of individual and/or mass displacement. We were really compelled by how several artists were looking to land as a way of engaging with their diasporic experiences, especially those rooted in the South or the Caribbean.
Installed in the Museum’s new building during its inaugural year, how did the architecture and institutional context shape your curatorial decisions?
With ‘Fade’ opening in the Museum’s inaugural year, it was exciting for us to return to such a defining exhibition series. We regularly looked back at previous “F” shows during the planning process: the catalogues, installation images, articles, any kind of referential material we had access to. Architecturally, with increased gallery sizes in the new building, we are able to imagine and work more expansively. The galleries in which ‘Fade’ is sited are sixteen feet in height, which allows us and the artists to work at various scales.
The exhibition reflects what is described as the concerns of a new generation. What specific social, political, or affective conditions feel most urgent across the works included?
There are a myriad of concerns that emerge, including the effects of late-stage capitalism, state-sanctioned violence, climate change, and the impulse to seek refuge amidst political subjugation. By no means are these concerns new—we are living in a moment that in many ways is reminiscent of the circumstances under which Studio Museum was founded nearly sixty years ago. These artists are not only sensitive to that, but are making daring work that actively responds to this climate and asks, what else is possible?
With both newly commissioned and loaned works on view, how did the balance between production and selection influence the overall rhythm and cohesion of ‘Fade’?
It was important to us that ‘Fade’ represent the artists’ current ideas and explorations in their practice. Some works are entirely new, others are existing but with newly imagined presentations. There is a cohesion in this being a very contemporary show, and there are conceptual relationships between works that emerged in not only the development of the checklist, but also in installation.
This exhibition is on view at the Studio Museum in Harlem in New York until 6 September 2026.
