Nexus 2026: Full Schedule

Join us for our annual San Francisco/ Bay Area Black Art week from Wednesday September 30th - Sunday October 4th, 2026!

5:00pm PDT

The BLAC Map Party: A Lush Celebration for Black Arts and Culture

Friday October 2, 2026 5:00pm - 8:00pm PDT

The BLAC Map Party: A Lush Celebration for Black Arts and Culture
Friday, October 2nd, 2026
5 pm - 8 pm
BlaQyard, Oakland, CA (Address shared with ticket)

A lush celebration of the people, places, and ideas shaping Black arts and culture in Oakland and beyond. The forest is growing. Let's celebrate.

Come for the music and art.
Stay for the company.
Meet the BLAC ecosystem.

Hosted by BLACspace Cooperative, the party marks the final stop of The BLAC Map Tour - a day field trip spent visiting the creative and cultural spaces stewarded by our members.

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Friday October 2, 2026 5:00pm - 8:00pm PDT

Event

Website https://www.blacspace.coop/

5:00pm PDT

Friday Nights at OMCA

Friday October 2, 2026 5:00pm - 9:00pm PDT

Oakland Museum of California @ 1000 Oak St, Oakland, CA 94607, USA

For your Oakland Nexus experience on Friday, October 2, 5-9pm, come enjoy The Town’s favorite block party, Friday Nights at OMCA. Experience a free evening of live music, interactive activities, Off the Grid food trucks, and, with a Museum ticket purchase, exclusive late-night access to our galleries and special exhibitions, including our current special exhibition Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory.

6:30-7:30 pm - Live Music by Shanté (OMCA Garden)
6:30 pm - Artist Talk with Mildred Howard and Adrian Burrell
6:45-7:45 pm - Music Set by DJ Shellheart (OMCA Amphitheater)

Don’t miss special NEXUS featured guests in conversation: Mildred Howard and Adrian Burrell at 6:30pm.

Fuel your night with a rotating lineup of Off the Grid food trucks serving up bold flavors and local favorites, and inside our campus, savor refreshing alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. With games, engaging museum programs, and a vibrant community atmosphere, it’s the perfect setting for making memories marked with unmistakable Oakland energy to celebrate 2026 Nexus: SF Bay Area Black Art Week.

Friday October 2, 2026 5:00pm - 9:00pm PDT
Oakland Museum of California

Event, Live Performance

Website https://museumca.org/about-friday-nights-at-omca-with-off-the-grid/

5:30pm PDT

David C. Driskell: Wake Up Everybody

LIMITED

Friday October 2, 2026 5:30pm - 7:30pm PDT

Jenkins Johnson Gallery @ 1275 Minnesota St #200, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA

Limited Capacity seats available

Jenkins Johnson Gallery is pleased to present David C. Driskell: Wake Up Everybody, a new exhibition celebrating the creative legacy of the legendary artist, curator, art historian, and educator David C. Driskell.

This exhibition will feature works spanning from 1960 through the early 2000s, across various media such as paintings, works on paper, collage, and printmaking, including linocuts, woodcuts, and serigraphs. The works featured reflect on the diverse travels of his life, including time raised in the South of the United States, adult travels in Africa, and time spent in nature in Maine. The exhibition title is drawn from the 1975 song by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, a call to action “Wake up all the teachers, Time to teach a new way,” a nod to Driskell’s legacy as a teacher to many of the great African American artists of the past 70 years.

Images are listed as:
Dr. David C. Driskell Mask Man, 1965
Dr. David C. Driskell Ancient Alphabets, 1990

Photos courtsey of the artist and Jenkins Johnson Gallery New York and San Francisco.

Artists

David C. Driskell (1931-2020)

Artist

David C. Driskell (b. 1931, Eatonton, GA, d. 2020, Hyattsville, MD) was a legendary African American artist and art historian. As an artist, scholar, and curator, he made substantial contributions to these fields that have changed the way we think about American art. His paintings and collages unite a strong modernist impulse with his personal vision... Read More →

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Friday October 2, 2026 5:30pm - 7:30pm PDT
Jenkins Johnson Gallery 1275 Minnesota St #200, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA

Event, Opening Reception

5:00pm PDT

5th Annual Afro Latinx Concert: Pre-Show Reception and Community Dinner

Saturday October 3, 2026 5:00pm - 7:00pm PDT

Tato @ 4608 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94124, USA

Discover San Francisco’s African American Cultural District in the Bayview. This celebration is a feast for the eyes, ears, and palate.

Join us for a Historical Tour & Art Walk with April Spears, Executive Director of the African American Cultural District incorporating an art walk featuring local artists showcased in nearby Black-owned businesses, including Let’s Eat BBQ and Gumbo Social.

Pre-Show Reception and Community Dinner at Tato’s: 5-7 PM
One of the neighborhood’s most beloved restaurants with rich Latin roots. Capping the evening off at the historic Ruth Williams Bayview Opera House, the oldest theater in San Francisco, for the 5th Annual Afro LatinX Concert. Experience a vibrant night of Afro LatinX culture this annual celebration highlights the rich artistic traditions and cultural contributions of Afro Latinx communities through powerful live performances. We spotlight Black and Brown artists, pair emerging talent with legendary headliners, and showcase the rich artistic traditions that shape San Francisco’s cultural story.

Hosted by Gina Madrid, featuring DJ Leydis

Full lineup to be announced on August 1, 2026.

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Saturday October 3, 2026 5:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
Tato 4608 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94124, USA

Event

6:00pm PDT

Afropolitan Ball

Saturday October 3, 2026 6:00pm - 11:30pm PDT

Ferry Building @ 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94111, USA

Reserve Your Spot

Date & Time: Saturday, October 3rd | 6:00 PM - 11:30 PM
Venue: San Francisco Ferry Building | Grand Hall

A gathering of frequencies.

Join us for the Afropolitan Ball, MoAD’s signature annual gathering celebrating the African Diaspora and its enduring influence on contemporary art and culture.

Set within the iconic San Francisco Ferry Building, The Afropolitan Ball 2026 takes its cue from Dewey Crumpler: Sonic Lineages as an expression of the Diaspora’s living power. The evening brings together artists, patrons, collectors, philanthropists, and innovators for a dynamic night of art, conversation, performance, and community in support of MoAD’s mission.

Support from the Afropolitan Ball helps sustain exhibitions that expand cultural dialogue, education programs serving thousands of students, and opportunities for emerging artists whose work is shaping the contemporary landscape.
Join us for an unforgettable evening built around art, culture, and collective imagination.

We look forward to welcoming you.

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Saturday October 3, 2026 6:00pm - 11:30pm PDT
Ferry Building

Event

Website https://www.moadsf.org/afropolitan-ball-sonic-lineages

7:00pm PDT

5th Annual Afro Latinx Concert

Saturday October 3, 2026 7:00pm - 11:00pm PDT

Bayview Opera House (BVOH) @ 4705 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94124, USA

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Saturday October 3, 2026 7:00pm - 11:00pm PDT
Bayview Opera House (BVOH) 4705 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94124, USA

Event, Live Performance

Website https://rwoh.org/afro-latinx-festival/

1:00pm PDT

AMAZING GRACE: YORUBA WORLDS - Film Screening

Sunday October 4, 2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm PDT

de Young Museum @ 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA

Reserve Your Spot

You are invited to the screening of Amazing Grace: Yoruba Worlds followed by a conversation with Director/Producer Raynald Leconte and Natasha Becker, Curator of Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.

In partnership with SF Art Week and Nexus SF Bay Area Black Art Week.

Arts & Culture Leaders

Natasha Becker

Curator of African Art, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Born and raised in South Africa, Becker has focused on presenting the work of African artists, African American artists, and artists of the African diaspora. Working in both Cape Town and New York City over the past decade, she has organized numerous exhibitions and international... Read More →

Artists

Raynald Leconte

Filmmaker

Haitian-born Raynald Leconte, is a film director and producer. Leconte currently resides in New York City and through his UN background, has lived in Africa, Europe and South America. He earned a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Boston University. He was trained as an actor... Read More →

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Sunday October 4, 2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
de Young Museum 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA

Event, Fim Screening

Website https://amazinggraceyw.film/

5:00pm PDT

Black Feast & Headlands Center for the Arts Supper

LIMITED

Sunday October 4, 2026 5:00pm - 8:00pm PDT

Headlands Center for the Arts @ 944 Simmonds Rd, Sausalito, CA 94965, USA

Limited Capacity seats available

Join us for a special edition of Black Feast at Headlands Center for the Arts as part of NEXUS Week in partnership with MoAD. This dinner will bring together up to 80 guests for an immersive dining and performance experience that honors Black creative work and fosters communal connection across the Bay Area arts ecosystem.

Black Feast
A creation of Black narrative, an offering to Black lineage, Black Feast is a culinary event that celebrates Black artists and writers through food. At our table, guests participate in an experience that weaves together food and art, where Salimatu works with Black artists to create a four-course meal based off of the artist’s work. Supported with creative direction by Annika Hansteen-Izora, Black Feast is led by two queer, Black artists that believe in food and art as a site of possibility. Our dinner experiences are a space where food celebrates Black art, Black stories, Black love, Black movement, & Black voices.

Headlands provides an unparalleled environment for the creative process and the development of new work and ideas. Through a range of programs for artists and the public, we offer opportunities for reflection, dialogue, and exchange, and build understanding and appreciation for the role of art in society. Headlands’ Monthly Suppers offer a chance to experience an evening at Headlands through the lens of our Artists. Your seat at the table helps sustain our mission of supporting artists and creative exchange.

Artists

Salimatu Amabebe

Artist, Chef

I am a Nigerian-American chef and multimedia artist working in food, film, photography, sculpture and installation. I work collaboratively with Black/queer and trans artists to make work centered in community care and activism, African diasporic storytelling and Black queer/trans... Read More →

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Sunday October 4, 2026 5:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
Headlands Center for the Arts 944 Simmonds Rd, Sausalito, CA 94965, USA

Event