Georges Adéagbo turns the archive inside out, confronting Thomas Jefferson, freedom and the contradictions that continue to shape our present.
18 August 2026
What does independence mean when its promises have never been equally shared?
Opening at The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia, ‘Georges Adéagbo and the Legacies of Independence’ brings the internationally acclaimed Beninese artist into provocative conversation with Thomas Jefferson and the contested histories embedded within the American ideal of freedom.
Known for expansive installations that collapse boundaries between archive, artwork and everyday life, Adéagbo gathers found objects, texts, images and newly created works into dense constellations of association. Here, Jefferson becomes both historical figure and point of departure: author of the Declaration of Independence, architect of an enduring political ideal, and enslaver whose life exposes its profound contradictions.
The exhibition extends Adéagbo’s longstanding investigation into histories of emancipation, following earlier projects centred on Abraham Lincoln and global liberation movements. At The Fralin, these histories move across continents and centuries, asking who has been permitted to claim liberty, equality and belonging.
Immersive, restless and resolutely global in perspective, ‘Georges Adéagbo and the Legacies of Independence’ refuses the comfort of history as something settled.
This exhibition will be on view at The Fralin Museum of Art, University of Virginia, from 29 August 2026 to 3 January 2027.
