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Museum of the African Diaspora
Category: Arts & Entertainment Museums Museums [Edit]
685 Mission Street(between Annie St & 3rd St)
San Francisco, CA 94105
Neighborhood: SOMA
(415) 358-7200
- Hours:
Wed-Sat 11 am - 6 pm
Sun 12 pm - 5 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
56 reviews for Museum of the African Diaspora
Review Highlights
"...museum as I went here for the Yerba Buena Free4All event."
(in 3 reviews)
"I do think the permanent exhibits could use some work."
(in 4 reviews)
"there's a lot of "interactive" museum, i."
(in 17 reviews)
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56 reviews in English
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Review from Charmayne Y.
Vallejo, CA
12/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
Living in the north/east bay, I don't get here often but when I do, each time I leave with something I didn't have before. I happened to be in the city showing an out of town guest the area and didn't plan the trip with a specific exhibit in mind. I was glad that we were able to sneak in with an hour left to spare on a Saturday and also not pay a dime because it was a Bank of America Saturday where admission was free for cardholders (finally a great thing from BofA, I digress...)
I've been coming here since it's opening and have the pleasure of bringing our sorority's debutantes so that they can see the museum and get more exposure to other things. One trip, we were fortunate to see a visitor from Africa who was on his first trip to the United States from his village. Accompanied by an escort, his stories that he shared where inspiring and reminded me of my own trip to Ghana several years ago.
I was totally impressed by a few traveling exhibits they had here a while back, one was Double Exposure and I can't recall the name of the other one that focused on food eaten by people throughout the world. The current exhibit has pieces from private California collectors and is a great collection.
If you're looking for something great to do in the city, you just have to add MoAD to your list. Seriously. -
Review from Chris M.
10/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
I was under whelmed by this Museum! Just not enough to the exhibits.
I attended on an open evening and admittedly the 3rd floor was closed, maybe all the good stuff is on the top floor, but from my experience it lacks content.
The building itself is really cool, huge glass windows make up the entire front, but as for learning about Africa and African culture it is disappointing! -
Review from Rebecca G.
Walnut Creek, CA
10/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
I came here for the opening reception for their new exhibit, and I was really excited to view this museum because I love museums and I hadn't been here before! We decided we'll start at the top and work our way down.
Unfortunately, the top floor, the 3rd floor, was closed off for the night, so we didn't get a chance to see it. It could be awesome, but for now, we have no idea. The 2nd floor was featuring the new exhibit. There was a massive room with live music, and historic movie posters on the walls, but not much else. I'm not sure if they moved out some of the exhibits for the party, but if not, it was very small! Also on the 2nd floor, there were a few interactive exhibits (children's activities), a movie screening room, and a cool transitioning-portraits section in one room, but unfortunately, that's it. It was just too small. We saw the entire 2nd floor in about 10 minutes and we read every word on every sign, and examined everything there was to see.
There wasn't really anything on the 1st floor except for a gift shop. I don't really have anything bad to say about this museum, I just wish it featured more. I really thought the patrons and staff were interesting and friendly. The building itself is really modern and interesting. I wish this museum the best and I hope it grows! I hope to visit it again and see the 3rd floor and hopefully they will have more to see. -
Review from Deborah J.
Alameda, CA
1/24/2012
This is an incredible venue which also has film screenings, the Scholarly Voices Program, and beautiful art work as well as music, storytelling, and a "Freedom Theater" with 15 videos on various topics. The Slave Narratives room recounts the stories of slaves and is narrated by Maya Angelou and her son. You could spend days exploring this museum.
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Review from Allison S.
San Francisco, CA
12/17/2011
I was kinda of disappointed after coming here. My class came here on a field trip,and I have been to many museums in the past, so I expected this place to be pretty big. It turned out to be kinda small ish. Even though you may learn a little here and there from the tour, its not really that worth it. Sure, the artwork is interesting, and probably really expensive, but it just didn't amaze me. The picture in the front of the building is a eye catcher though! This place is great though, if you want to learn about African cultural.
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Review from Betsy R.
Staten Island, NY
7/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
I really would love to give this museum 5 stars, but as much as I really enjoyed this place, I really wish they had designated more space to the permanent exhibitions and less to the temporary exhibit that was showcasing a single artist when I was there. I was not nearly as interested in the work of the artist in the temporary exhibit as I was in the permanent exhibits on how food and music impacted and were impacted by the movements of African people and the recordings of slave experiences.
The permanent exhibits were well designed and interesting, but definitely not for those who don't like to read the signs and watch films. If you aren't going to spend time really exploring the exhibits you will not get much out of your experience here. On the other hand if you are willing to really take the time to read, watch, and listen, you will learn a lot from this museum. -
Review from Markito M.
Oakland, CA
6/24/2011
A lot of the reviews here seem mean -spirited to me.
There are some things I would like to see improved but overall I had a great experience today - my first and only time to visit MOAD.
All of the staff that I interacted with - an art teacher, three security guards, the greeter/cashier, docent-in-training, and someone working in the heritage center were pleasant and helpful.
I sat and watched the entire Celia Cruz film and it was excellent. I would return to see that again. The one issue I had were the stations around the corner that played various types if music - gospel, blues, jazz, etc. That interfered with the Cflua Cruz film sound. Perhaps the volume on the stations could be lowered or headphones could be provided.
I listened to a bit of the audio of slave narratives. I looked at the stations about food and the diaspora - seemed like a good idea but the info seemed a bit too basic - perhaps it was aimed at children. There were three stations that addressed culture, appearance and dress that motives faces into another and another. I've seen this before but this was well done and compelling.
The stairs and elevator have tons of tiny photo portraits covering the walls. Made the trip visually significant.
The Heritage Center was a bit hidden. There were some pieces if art in the walls leading in. A staff member greeted me and let me know the film that was running was about the Fillmore neighborhood of SF. There were computers with info about MOAD. I wasn't sure how that was different from the website but didn't ask.
The reason I went to MOAD besides that I had been meaning to go for years was to see the Romare Bearden exhibit. I had seen his collages and watercolors at MOMA a few years back and that was a fabulous introduction and overview of his work. This was his graphic work and really illustrated his process. There were a few examples were several versions of his work were shown. There were a few etching or collograph plates on display. Some handwritten pages about different art materials made me feel as if I were looking over the artist's shoulder.
I was tremendously inspired by seeing these works if Bearden's and I may try to return before it comes down in two weeks time.
Because I so thoroughly enjoyed the film and the special exhibit the $10 admission seemed reasonable.
I do think the permanent exhibits could use some work. Glad the museum is here and glad to have seen the work if this very brilliant artist. -
Review from Yi Z.
3/6/2011
Yay for $5 admission even though I'm not a student.
Yay for the beautiful building that houses the museum.
Yay for the Celia Cruz video that made me want to dance.
Nay for not learning anything about African culture after spending half an hour in the museum.
Nay for the fact that there's most of the museum consists of 1 exhibit and what I saw was a bunch of quilts that were pretty to look at but unimpressive and noneducational.Listed in: Museums
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Review from Melodie T.
San Diego, CA
11/20/2010
This museum is very clean, modern and unique! It's pretty small so you can easily view every single exhibit within an hour. The benefit of a small museum is that you don't have to feel rushed to see as much as possible. Take your time and relax as you view the art, interactive displays and artifacts. I enjoyed the interactive and educational screens throughout the museum.
A let down is that the exhibits don't tell much of a story about African Diaspora. I felt as though I was learning bits and pieces about the food, housing, culture, etc but I didn't understand the full history of the movement since the displays were so scattered. Despite the lack or organization, I still felt as though I left with a unique learning experience about a topic I previously knew nothing about. -
Review from Jennifer C.
San Francisco, CA
7/10/2011
Saw the "From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden" exhibit during a Bank of America free day. That and the Celia Cruz documentary were engaging and interesting; however, there wasn't very much to see/experience for the rest of the permanent exhibits and the layout seems a little disjointed.
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Review from Aspasia s.
San Francisco, CA
10/27/2006
By definition of the term African Diaspora, I expected to walk into a curated museum that would provide a rich experience in cultural immersion on archaelogy, arts, linguistic and historical highlights focused on the dispersion of the African peoples throughout the New World: the Americas and the Carribean islands. Albeit the fact that such an attempt would be ambitious, tedious and quite grand, it would not have been an easy task. To provide in summary, in visuals and in artifacts highlights of a great people's influence throughout the new colonies, would entail meticulously selecting various zeniths in each discipline in history, language, anthropology, politics and sociology.
What I have experienced in the first and second floors, were scattered bits of pieces that did not seem to weave into a coherent and compelling whole. A bit of culinary tidbit, a bit of North American slavery, a bit of dance, and a collage of faces, ... such a curation struck me as reflective of pop-culture America. With such a rich theme and material, there is so much potentiality in providing a strong powerful message and story while educating the people beyond trivial pursuit knowledge and Jeopardy quality tidbits.
Indeed I was disappointed with this visit. Suffice it to say, that there were a couple of things I took away from that wonderful Wednesday afternoon.
I loved the documentary short on Howard Thurman, it was brief, yet powerful. The film showed highlights of this enlightened man's soul. I felt like I had a brief moment of oneness with Dr. Thurman.
The third floor's Ethiopian painting exhibit was a surprising treat. The works were marvelous. I noticed the influence of the Italians' attempts to colonize Northern Africa in WWII, as evident in the very strong Catholic themes (such as the St George slaying the dragon piece), as well as some of the images where one can observe slight traces of Byzantine influence.
OK, so I was in SOMA ... this was not DC, nor NYC, London, Munich or Rome ... where I walk out of museums in tears, with goosebumps or with my brain all wired and hyphy.
San Francisco ... laid back, hipster, indie-rock, grunge ...
Consistent with fashion, where we are not quite as compelling as the old world cities, we're a city of the future and technology ... silicon valley, and not old world.Listed in: food for the intellect
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Review from Fido D.
Durham, NC
12/13/2009
This is a just okay museum.
Okay, it was a little disappointing. The permanent exhibits really don't talk much about the larger African diaspora and focuses solely on African American diaspora. Have we forgotten the diaspora to Europe (currently still going on!), to South America and the Caribbean? It would have been better if this museum termed itself Museum of African-American history. But even then, it pales.
What I find more exciting is the rotating exhibit on the top floor. Of course, this depends on what artists and exhibitions are showing but the several times I've been to MOAD, I was there just for the top floor exhibit.
Perhaps the permanent exhibition of this museum is worth visiting, but only once. -
Review from Vikram A.
San Francisco, CA
12/23/2006
With all of the advertising for this place around the city, I finally went to check it out. I was expecting a museum of the scale of SF MOMA or the Asian Art Museum. It was obviously too much of a build up and MoAD falls way short of this.
The first floor was just a gift shop, moving on.
The second floor was mostly a big audio/video presentation. As I walked through, I mostly thought that what they had there could have been available on a website so that the floor space could be used for actual display items.
The third floor was a feature on an Ethiopian artist. I did enjoy the painting descriptions and the backgrounds behind everything. It was the only potential saving grace for the museum.
If you have to hit up a museum, there are many others in SF that you should visit before coming here. -
Review from Alexis B.
San Francisco, CA
2/24/2009
Take advantage of Black History month sponsorship!
By getting in for free, it gets knocked up a notch. It is rather sparse and I'm not sure what the usual price is. But there was a great deal of interactivity and video/audio installations. However, I would advise them to maintain the interactive pieces more. Specifically the piece that involves decoding messages via color code. Because I would have really liked to do that but all the pens had dried up :(
But over all it's a pretty cool museum. Do go! -
Review from Ann L.
Updated - 10/18/2009
Went to MOAD after SFMOMA & Jewish Museum for Target Family Day Sun 10/18/09.
Ground floor - museum store - very small.
2nd Fl - there was some jazz musicians.
3rd Fl - The Art of Richard Mayhew. Black artist that does landscapes & plays jazz. Pretty cool.
People were also able to do some screen painting for Target Family Day - we didn't. Looked cool.Listed in: Things to do in SF
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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10/19/2008
Went to to Moad after CJM, SFMOMA for Target Family FREE Day. It's the Only reason to go to this… Read more »
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Review from Camille B.
Oakland, CA
1/9/2008
This was a sad day.
It was a rainy day... But we ventured out in the hopes of catching a few of the museums free to the public on one of the city days.
I was very excited about this visit and was hoping to give breadth to, or at least receive validation of what I already understand to be the events and cultures surrounding the african diaspora.
So... at that we clamor in and get to the second floor.
Immediately I am shuffled along with the foot traffic into this 360degree room showing a film on... diversity? change? family? community maybe? Who knows. What I do know is that immediately I get a flood of "we are the world" syndrome and start to feel claustrophobic. I leave.
I venture past some interactive media stints and am not captured.
Finally... in the corner of the museum I think i've found something.
There is a room completely dark except for projected dim wave like images circulating the room and in the backdrop are slave narratives.
I sit with my eye's closed and listen. I hear a woman telling briefly of middle passage and appreciate this. This is, however, quickly over- shadowed by a house slaves narrative. Followed by a couple more that outline the tender relationship slaves had towards they're masters. Great. I need to leave because my blood starts to hurt... Where are the accounts of terror and blood!!? Wtf. This is slavery we are talking about right?
I am disappointed and leave to then spend considerable time in the "we are the world" in food. O.k. where are the black people? Didn't this Museum say something about african? I'm confused. Yet my mind is cleared as I loft through the food exhibit and find nations of the "first" world the majority of those displayed. Of course shown grossly abundant in food and only showing certain classes from the countries of europe, u.s., japan, australia, ect... But wait! In a corner I spot black people! Ah yes... what do they eat in african countries? Well... besides one obviously upper class family shown in africa the other folks in africa are apparently (according to what was on display) in refugee camps with only sacks of grain.
Whatever. The most african thing I got from the whole experience was my graffiti of the world calender 2008.
the end. -
Review from Sylvester N.
Oakland, CA
3/8/2011
MoAD has a really cool look and feel to the museum upon entrance, however, as much as I want to say I really enjoyed this museum, I can't forget how boring it was. Although I did learn a few things through the interactive tours, I didn't feel like there was much take-home value to the place. Overall, worth a quick tour but don't expect to learn or see too much!
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Review from Michael H.
Hayward, CA
10/19/2008 2 photos
Museum of the African Diaspora, otherwise known as MOAD, hosts African stories and arts. 'Diaspora' is defined as being a migration or scattering of a people. I'm unsure as to why this museum specifically used this word because they do not host works specifically on this topic. And why not just be a museum that hosts the rich history of African art instead of one movement of the African experience?
MOAD is split up into three levels. There's a gift shop, performance area, education center, and art collection. If you're expecting to look at a lot of African art, prepare to be disappointed. While the art they do have is very good, it's primarily 2D visual arts. There are some multimedia pieces and a theater that plays a short documentary, yet nothing that competes with other museums such as SFMOMA, Asian Art Museum, or even the new Contemporary Jewish Museum.
I've been wanting to come here for a long time but never really heard anything about it. The exhibitions don't seem that interesting either. I'd only recommend visiting when it's a free day.
I totally agree with the statement, "Africa is a continent, not a country." MOAD please represent what is in dire need of being represented.Listed in: Overrated
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Review from Jerry C.
San Francisco, CA
7/10/2006
I really like museums but this one was tiny. The 10 dollar admission was too much.
I really expected there to be a lot more to the African diaspora than what's on display here.
This museum should be free. It should be the introductory museum and then direct you to the real museum some place else, someplace bigger. -
Review from Chuck N.
1/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
A great concept and vital knowledge, but poorly designed and too small. The staff was very friendly and the plentiful volunteers on MLK maked it easier to navigate. The place in itself it a fantastic idea and really touches on slavery and the inequality given to black people. The problem is it's designed like an apartment building instead of a museum, and the one floor with artifacts had about 3 African tribal outfits and some spoons and masks, nothing more. The rest of the rooms were dedicated to documentaries (ie: Nelson Mandela, the slave experience, children's arts rooms, etc.). I learned some, but would prefer a better museum-like experience with more knowledge shared via artifacts and interactive exhibits.
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Review from GingerSnap G.
York, PA
5/25/2007
This was a very disappointing museum. Me, my sister, my BF and my brother all went to this place so excited at celebrating the African Diaspora. Instead, we saw a sparse "gallery" and left within thirty minutes feeling frustrated and disappointed.
The gift shop is very small considering the amount of space on the ground floor. It was also disappointing to see that some of the dolls were Einstein dolls and Freud dolls... What do they have to do with the museum?
On the 2nd floor, it was like a gallery with series of pictures in different areas with little or no discription by the pictures. I was hoping for even a small story or background pertaining to the pictures. In one series a metal ship was show out of water photographed from various exterior angles. We wondered, was this a ship that transported African slaves? Or was this a ship that was used by Africans to trade goods or flee their motherland? Or maybe, someone suggested, these pictures were merely by an African artist.
Another series of pictures showed a blackened pumice looking landscaped with slaughtered goats accompanied by men. We wondered, is this a ritual killing? Is this a systematic or seasonal function, or was this just the open market for buying and trading meat?
The worst was a series of pictures of tire marks in mud with water pooled in the mud. They were laying on the floor with velvet ropes around them. Was this the mud from Africa? Or were the tiremarks made by an African? Or was this the truck that drove someone out of Africa?
The most exciting and informative part of the feature was a small 6-8 foot wall that had video slide shows on food. I read about black eyed peas and how beans and rice are common to most cultures around the world, and how rice came from Africa... and how beans and rice were a complete protein. Then we learned about greens, how in Africa greens were consumed as a staple food. When African slaves came to america, they cooked the discarded greens off of root vegetables, such as turnips. This was the the information and integration of culture I was looking for. But unfortunately, this was only a minor display inthe scope of the entire museum.
There was a small dark room in which slave narratives where being performed. (Pre-recorded audio.) That would have been interesting if there was more of a story in place. But most Americans should have some sense by now what slavery was likened to, and have read at least one account of such things. And it didnt really tie into the entire theme or idea of the African Diaspora.
There is a small computer learning room tucked away (seemingly) in the back offices of the museum on the third level. But this information is like accessing the encyclopedia britannica online. Where the museum was lacking, the computer room had so much information. But to read about the African Diaspora in this manner, was so arduous. For that much, I would rather stay at home and read about African cultures, assimilation and migration at home, online.
And then the computers offered the history of each of the 2000+ pictures that create the mosaic that can be seen from the street. But who has time to click on each picture while on the computer? When I clicked on 6, all six were lacking stories anyway.
I think I would have been much happier buying an art / photography book such as those "24 hours in..." books. I would have learned SO MUCH more. And I would have spent the same amount of money.
I just wanted to really have a great richness added to the views that we have on the African Diaspora, and this museum failed miserably.
(I did write to the museum in hopes that they will revamp the museum. Everyone that I went with was quite disappointed with the museum.) -
Review from Jason D.
San Francisco, CA
2/1/2006
I have to agree with these other reviews. Glad we finally got the MoAD after 10 years, love that it is downtown, and think it is beautiful inside and out, but somewhat dissapointed with the actual displays, artwork and recordings and felt like the whole package was just a bit off, and unrelated to a main theme (ie "Diaspora").
Not a bad place to host an event either. -
Review from Delance J.
Emeryville, CA
1/27/2011
On the recent MLK holiday,I decided to take my daughters to MoAD for a valuable,educational and quality experience together. After signing the "sidewalk",we entered the museum and honestly,my first impression was it didn't "grab" me right away as the type of museum that truly took on such an ambitious task.I was expecting to view genuine archaelogical artifacts and in-depth exhibits on specific events that took place during the "diaspora".
Nevertheless,I did find the slave narratives compelling and I know my daughters did as well,especially the one depicting a 12 year old girl's harrowing experience being sold to another plantation.
I also must admit that on the day we honored Dr. King,I expected a more thorough exhibit on him,although I realize the King Center in Atlanta may not allow things like his speeches to be reprinted without permission or any other images,I'm not exactly sure.
Still,we all enjoyed our day together,learned a few things,and met a wonderful artist on the second floor -
Review from Geoffrey P.
San Francisco, CA
12/16/2006
This is an awful awful museum. I went to see an Ethiopian art exhibit. There was nothing there besides that. Well two films, and pouches, lots of pouches. The total square footage couldn't have been more than 2400 square feet.
The thing that caught me off guard was that the museum costs TEN dollars. I mean, 10 dollars for a couple of hours would make sense, but you can be done with this place in 15 minutes if your rushing.
The high cost and low square footage are sure to disappoint. Maybe they can improve the place, but I don't really see that happening with the small size of the place. -
Review from Jim C.
San Francisco, CA
3/5/2007
I wanted to like this museum. The theme is really compelling: Africa being the origin of the human race, one of the museums goals is to trace the movement of people and culture out of Africa and around the world. More specifically, it looks at movements and culture of slaves, refugees, emigrants, etc. around the world, as well as Africans in Africa.
Unfortunately, the Museum is way, way too small to give you anything more than a select glimpse at these migrations and cultural transitions. Worse still, much of what they do show you could be effectively reproduced in other media: radio, tv, and the web. The Museum appears to be lacking in a permanent collection: archaelogical artifacts, cultural objects, art, etc. It functions as much as a showroom of interactive museum display styles as it does a rich and interesting experience.
Given the small size of their space, their lack of collection, and their large ambitions, MOAD has clearly sought to expand their wallspace by using interactive multimedia exhibits. Unfortunately, in doing so they forgot that when people pay $10 for a museum entry, they expect a robust and unique experience to rival the other museums of the city, whose entry fees vary from $10-12.50.
I give them a second star for their theme, in hopes that someday they can grow into a museum worthy of their name. Go to this museum if you are really captivated by their current exhibits; if you are just feeling like spending a few hours in a museum try just about any other one first. -
Review from Glen B.
9/21/2009
They really should call it ,"The Museum of White Guilt." This place clearly suffers from having too muddled an objective and too large a scope. And as a result, there is little cohesiveness among the elements that they exhibit here, and they aren't really able to explore anything in sufficient detail.
Take for example, the boring faux-anthropological exhibit about "ornamentation," where a morphing LCD display of people's clothing styles is shown and you are asked (quite lamely): "think about how you dress and what that means to you?" This ball of cheese is displayed right next to a room playing a film about slavery (a single room in the museum studying slavery?) narrated by Maya Angelou.
I was disappointed - the execution of the museum is bad. -
Review from Ramon E.
Berkeley, CA
1/2/2009
Blah.
I think most of us really wanted to like this place, but the execution of a great idea fails in so many ways.
-As a linguist (but non-Africanist), I was really hoping to be dazzled by fascinating, accessible exhibits on the linguistic diversity of Africa and the consequences that millennia of social/cultural contact, exploitation, etc. from within and without had had vis-a-vis creation of mixed languages, creoles, etc., etc.
Nothing.
Ok, fine. On to African art.
Anything? Well, a little bit on dance. The Ethiopian painting exhibit that others have mentioned was closed (or not yet open? can't remember) when I went, so I didn't get to see it.
A moderately interesting interactive display on food in Africa, some framed historical documents on a wall, videos on slavery in North America...pretty scattered. I think it only took 20-30 minutes to go through.
We were very disappointed and certainly will not pay to come back. -
Review from armand d.
San Francisco, CA
9/4/2008
NEGATIVE 3
MOAD is the worst "museum" I have gone to in my life. FIrst of all, there is not one piece of African Art in it !!! To add insult to injury you pay over $20 to get in. Whatever is on display is mediocre at best.
Solution: Find a new curator, organize extensive African Art expositions or close down this ridiculous display of mediocrity. -
Review from Maria R.
Pasadena, CA
11/27/2008
Um....I have to come clean: I've given MoAD 3 stars in an act of solidarity with people of color. There, I said it. I think the goal of the museum is excellent; the execution of the goal is mediocre.
It's a very small museum and, yes, the entry fee does seem high for very sparse exhibits. The best feature on the afternoon I visited (Sept 08) was a darkened room with benches along the side. As you sit, you have the sensation of being in a slave ship while voices describe their experiences during slavery. Very moving, but my Mom and I could only endure one story, due to the stress and anger that these stories generate.
The museum inhabits a beautiful space and I quite like the image of the young girl that is the museum's trademark. Maybe they need a new curator or board of directors.....but for now, sadly, there is no there, there. -
Review from Jeannette G.
San Francisco, CA
4/13/2008
Yep, here's another dissappointing review for MOAD. I love going to museums, but never in my life have I felt so annoyed in a museum. I had to visit this place twice for a school project, and each time I was constantly bugged by the security guards and staff. They followed me everywhere and kept asking me where I was going. I was beginning to understand what it feels like to be wrongfully persecuted!
I think the ideas behind the museum and its exhibits are great, but the execution could be greatly improved. -
Review from Brian S.
San Francisco, CA
12/29/2008
I personally enjoyed my time there - perhaps I didn't have super high expectations - I see that many yelpers gave mediocre ratings.
The collection I saw was the Hewitt Collection of African American Art Collection of 20th-century African American art. I particularly liked the art of Alvin Hollingsworth, I am big fan now, apparently he did some work for DC comics in his days, and his art really reflected that lineage - it looked like graphic novel stuff.
Anyway, I like the gallery and the small circular theater which was featuring a narrative on the coffee trade - I really learned new insights into the inner workings and stakeholder of the coffee trade, seeing that I do have my cup of coffee in morning, the film really resonated on that level.
Four stars, not five, the place could certainly steps their game up, but I understand that assembling art of African, African-American descent is difficult, some of the exhibits seemed like place holders, and could have been gained by querying "African slavery" or " black jazz music" on YouTube. But, the fact that the place is there is certainly kudos for SF -
Review from Love Muffin ..
Kensington, CA
12/24/2006
This museum is TINY. Three very small floors. First floor: gift shop. Second floor: slave narratives (which I think you can hear on the web), small interactive thing about food, screening room showing short documentaries, moving exhibit on amulets. Third floor: exhibit of an Ethiopian artist.
The exhibit of the Ethiopian artist is fantastic. The slave narratives were cool, but the room you sit in is awkward (weird light show, uncomfortable seats... maybe it's intentional).
There was a part of the museum that was closed when we visited. I can't remember what it was, but the woman that greeted us said that it was her favorite part.
It's worth a few bucks ($5 for students and seniors and $10 for adults) and a few hours (ok, maybe 1 hour) to check it out. -
Review from Shira L.
San Francisco, CA
12/19/2006
MOAD makes a very good case that we are all, in essence, African. I can dig it, just like the Leakeys dug up the first upright human in the Olduvai Gorge in Kenya.
And, its a great place to spend a cold afternoon, say, the Friday before your office closes for Christmas. Snuggled up in an art "snack" of a museum. You'll get no art fatigue here due to its relative abbreviated square footage.
Finally, I will always love MOAD, because my fiance and I went there right before we got engaged. MOAD was my last attraction as a single woman. It was a great "spend the rest of your life with me" warm-up! -
Review from Jackie S.
11/19/2007
I really enjoyed this museum as I went here for the Yerba Buena Free4All event. The exhibit, "What the World Eats" was fascinating to view. It was fun to read how much families from different countries spend in one week. In addition, I loved how each family had a list of what they purchased and how much the food item costs. The exhibit definitely showed the poverty and wealth that certain families experience.
The museum was a lot smaller compared to SF MOMA, since it had two levels of the exhibit. It was crowded to view each of the families, but I can't complain since admission was free :)
The gift shop was small, but the trinkets were pretty cool. I liked the handmade stuffed animals, but they were too expensive. Don't expect anything cheap souvenirs.
I would go back to the museum again to see upcoming exhibits. -
Review from Megha S.
San Francisco, CA
4/27/2008
This museum is another example of the city's celebration of diversity. I first learned of this museum from a company event, in which we had the executive director come visit and speak more to African history. Seeing as to how we also purchased a corporate membership, I went and checked this place out one lovely summer day.
The entrance is really cool, and has a face of a young girl, which is a collaboration of thousands of peoples' faces! The pic is basically a representation tracing back to everyones' origins to Africa - it's the pic that is created if we had people of all ethnicities, colors, and nationalities mixed into one - cool, huh?
The museum has a really interesting and interactive exhibit on culinary traditions, slavery passages, and some desi (Indian) - African diasporic art from the Caribbean. I also watched three films on Nelson Mandela and The End of Apartheid, Toussaint L'overture and the French Revolution, and another film on Thurgood Marshall. Great place to learn more about the diaspora and of course, one's own origins! -
Review from DandA T.
Beaverton, OR
7/16/2009
We went to this museum while we were vacationing in San Francisco, and I'd have to say I'm a bit disappointed. I really wanted to like it, and I think we both really gave it a chance, but it just didn't seem up to par with other african/african-american museums. Perhaps this is because the museum is on the West Coast where there isn't as much African-American history and heritage as there is on the East Coast (slave trade, HBCU's, etc). Musuem is pretty small and you can quickly walk through in less than 30 mins. Most interesting part to me was listening to the narratives about how some slaves escaped.
Entry fee is $10 per person. -
Review from Lance H.
San Francisco, CA
10/30/2008 1 Check-in Here
I spent about an hour here yesterday and was a bit underwhelmed. I found the layout to be an interesting use of space as was the use of so much audio/video material.
For me, the video presentations moved very slowly--I could simultaneously watch two side by side and not miss a thing. Besides being slow moving they didn't have a great deal of depth, either, just glossing over subjects like African influences on music and food in this country. It seems like a great learning tool for the young, however.
The Hewitt Collection of African American painters was excellent, though. Earnest Crichlow in particular impressed me, and there was a wide variety of approach and subject matter. It's worth the price of admission. -
Review from Helen L.
8/28/2010
I do plan on revisiting MoAD and updating my review. I think I was disappointed because I expected a lot more. With so many centuries of stories to tell, I wanted to see more. The biggest disappointment was the "Slave Narratives" exhibit was out of order...and that was the exhibit I was looking forward to the most! I did learn about a few notable figures and that stuck with me.
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Review from Sabrina R.
Oakland, CA
5/13/2009
I went on 5/10 Mothers day, thank you to the Koret Foundation for sponsoring this free event.
I was blessed enough to see Siaria Shawn perform, went to high school with her, so that was a nice treat! They had a professonal photographer taking pictures, I can't wait to see how those came out! Also there was a project room for kids, and I know that my niece's had a blast because they have not taken off the necklaces they made that day!
As for the museum, I appreciate the range of African Americas featured in the various exhibits, and I loved all the interactive and multi-media stations...I think the most interesting place was the elevator...all the walls are covered in a collage of pictures, you could stand it it for hours just looking as the various people and places...
The museum itself was pretty small. I will go back for different events! -
Review from Carol G.
Palo Alto, CA
9/12/2009
i've been to all of the museums in SOMA and I really wanted to experience the MOAD. I was disappointed. I wanted to see more African and African-diasporan art. Although the multi-media presentations were very good, I really didn't come to sit through hours of movies. An entire room given over to photos and notes about Willie Brown and Willy Mays seemed like overkill. Gift shop was more interesting to me.
My recommendation: Tell the stories of diaspora and add more samples of success in the arts like Maya Angelous and Langston Hughes and other applied arts.
