The exhibition will be the first to examine the relationship between Modern Architecture and agendas of self-determination during the independence era in Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo.
The Museum of Modern Art New York presents Architects of Liberation: Modernism in Western Africa, the first major exhibition devoted to examining modern architecture in the region between the late 1950s and early 1980s through the lens of political independence.
On view from July 5, 2026, to January 2, 2027, in the Robert B. Menschel Galleries, the exhibition focuses on a period of intense architectural activity, when the leaders of newly independent African nations sought to redefine their countries in opposition to colonial rule.
The emerging architectural identities of the period were closely connected to the political ideals of Pan-Africanism and Africanization advanced by new governments and their leaders. Bringing together material from Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo, the exhibition is structured around key projects that introduce themes including cityscapes, education, and housing, while giving particular attention to the contributions of the first generation of trained African architects. Architects of Liberation is organized by Martino Stierli, The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, and Ikem Stanley Okoye, guest curator and associate professor at the University of Delaware, with Mallory Cohen, curatorial associate in the Department of Architecture and Design.
Architects of Liberation brings together approximately 450 objects, including architectural drawings, models, and archival photographs, drawn from more than 50 lenders in 17 countries. Developed over four years of extensive research in the region, the exhibition presents a substantial amount of material that has never before been shown publicly. Many of the architects featured have also received little or no previous attention in exhibitions or scholarly publications. The presentation is complemented by original and newly commissioned architectural models, alongside new films and commissioned photographic works.
La Pyramide, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. 1968–73. Rinaldo Olivieri (1931–1998). 2025. Photograph by François-Xavier Gbré.
“I am thrilled to present Architects of Liberation to our audiences after an intense multiyear research period. Our exhibition will shed light on a crucial, under-examined period of African history at mid-century, providing a new perspective on the continent. The stunning works of architecture produced during the independence period are testaments to an extraordinary moment of design innovation and optimism.”
Martino Stierli, The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design.
Installation view, Architects of Liberation: Modernism in Western Africa, on view at The MoMA, New York, July 5, 2026 – January 2, 2027. Photo by Martin Parsekian / The MMoMA, New York.
The African independence movements reached a defining moment in 1960, the “Year of Africa,” when 17 countries across the continent achieved political independence from colonial rule. As these new nation-states took shape, they confronted fundamental questions alongside a broader cultural renewal in art, music, dance, and literature. In the exhibition, the term “western Africa” is used broadly to refer to the coastal area extending from Senegal to the eastern edge of the Gulf of Guinea. By examining concerns shared across the countries included, Architects of Liberation traces an architectural language associated with self-determination, showing how the idiom of modernism was adopted, adapted, or reworked in response to particular cultural, political, economic, and climatic conditions.
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More information
Architects of Liberation: Modernism in Western Africa.
Organized by Martino Stierli, The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, and Ikem Stanley Okoye, guest curator and associate professor at the University of Delaware; with Mallory Cohen, curatorial associate in the Department of Architecture and Design.
July 05, 2026 – January 02, 2027.
The Museum of Modern Art. 11 West 53rd Street, Manhattan, New York City, USA.
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Label
Full list of architects and artists featured
Text
John Owusu Addo, Victor (Vic) Adegbite, Raymond Aka Adjo, Jacques Nsangue Akwa, John Andrews, David Aradeon, Kader Attia, Babacar Bâ, James Barnor, Seydou Barry, Willis E. Bell, Zoran Bojović, Fernand Bonamy, J. Max Bond Jr., Robert Boy, Olivier-Clément Cacoub, Daniel Chenut, Henri Chomette, Jacek Chyrosz, Niksa Ciko, James Cubitt, Alpha Walid Diallo, Constantinos A. Doxiadis, Emilien Douala Bell, Jane Drew, Michel Ducharme, Guy Durand, Michel Ecochard, Augustine Akhuemokhan Egbor, Ousmane Faye, Yona Friedman, Edwin Maxwell Fry, R. Buckminster Fuller, François-Xavier Gbré, John Godwin, Heinz Fenchel, Messan Raphaël Ekoué-Hagbonon, Konrad Helbig, Nick Hollo, Gillian Hopwood, Aylette Jenness, Paul Kodjo, Stefan Kolchev, JeanFrançois Lamoureux, Christian Larras, Jean Léon, Ousseynou Ly, John Seyton Kole MacGregor, Miro Marasović, Jean Louis Marin, Philippe Ménard, Jean-Pierre Minost, Mordechai Moneh, Riccardo Morandi, Pier Luigi Nervi, Marilyn Nance, Cheikh Ngom, Bernard Nivet, Demas Nwoko, Marcello D’Olivo, Elpidio Olympio, Rinaldo Olivieri, Claude Parent, Charles Polónyi, Henry Pottier, Stanisław Rymaszewski, Armand Salomon, Kenneth Scott, Arieh Sharon, Hannah Shreckenbach, Thomas A. Todd, Alan Vaughan-Richards, Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Gerhard Vetter, Carrie Mae Weems, Harry Weese.
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Published on:
August 16, 2026
Cite:
metalocus, SARA GENT
“Modernism and Liberation in Western Africa” METALOCUS.
Accessed
https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/modernism-and-liberation-western-africa>
ISSN 1139-6415
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