MONTHLY DIGEST · AUGUST 2026
We empower Afrodescendant artists to build sustainable careers through community, mentorship, and market access
Artist Spotlight
Debut Museum Solo at MASS MoCA. Work in the V&A Permanent Collection.
Zora J. Murff opens his debut museum solo exhibition, RACE/HUSTLE, curated by Terence Washington, at MASS MoCA in North Adams through November 2026. The exhibition explores themes central to Murff's practice: how visual culture shapes identity, how language operates as a tool of power, and how we move through the world. Zora is a Darryl Chappell Foundation mentor and mentored Tania Balan-Gaubert over six months.
Simultaneously, Murff's work is on view in American Photographs at the V&A South Kensington Photography Centre in London, through May 2027, joining the museum's permanent collection.
Also Making News
Mentorship Pairing Begins
Jefferson Pinder and kelechi agwuncha have begun a formal six-month mentorship through the Darryl Chappell Foundation Mentorship Program. Pinder recently completed his 2026 Rome Prize Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome (concluded June 26) and was featured in The Emergence Room podcast discussing his Centro Pecci performance "Unsettled Matters." kelechi screened work this summer at Currents New Media festival in Santa Fe. The pairing brings together two artists engaged in rigorous explorations of identity, presence, and media.
LISTEN TO JEFFERSON ON THE EMERGENCE ROOM →
Solo Exhibition Announced, Chicago
October 24, 2026 – March 6, 2027 · alma lewis, Chicago
Cecil McDonald Jr.'s solo exhibition The American Beauty opens October 24 at alma lewis in Chicago. McDonald is a Chicago-based artist whose work explores memory, identity, and cultural narrative through painting and mixed media. His previous exhibition In the Company of Black closed earlier this year at the Chicago Cultural Center with a house-music closing celebration. The Darryl Chappell Foundation has supported McDonald since 2021 through grants, video documentation of his practice, and featured artist presentations at Foundation events.
LEARN MORE AT ALMA LEWIS →
First U.S. Museum Solo Travels to Cincinnati
Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati · October 2, 2026 – February 7, 2027
Currents 40: Widline Cadet, her first solo museum exhibition in the U.S., closed August 9 at the Milwaukee Art Museum and now travels to the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. The exhibition presents the decade-long project "Seremoni Disparisyon (Ritual [Dis]Appearance)" in full for the first time. Cadet is the Foundation's 2026 Artist-in-Residence at Light Work and received a 2026 Saltzman Prize Honorable Mention from the Center for Photography at Woodstock.
READ MORE ABOUT CURRENTS 40 →
Luis del Valle & Cita Sadeli (MISS CHELOVE)
OUT OF CHAOS Opens, Anacostia
August 15 – September 26, 2026 · Honfleur Gallery, Washington DC
Luis del Valle curates OUT OF CHAOS at Honfleur Gallery in Anacostia, featuring ten artists whose practices grew from graffiti and street art into sustained contemporary careers. Both del Valle and Cita Sadeli (exhibiting as MISS CHELOVE) are among the featured artists. Opening reception August 22, 6:00–8:30 PM at 1241 Good Hope Road SE. Del Valle was featured in the Foundation's Artists Talk DC #8 "Transcendence through Art," while Sadeli appeared in Artists Talk DC #10 "Street Art." Sadeli is also the subject of the 2026 Reel South/SCETV documentary "MISS CHELOVE: From Java to the Streets of D.C."
DETAILS ON OUT OF CHAOS →
ARTISTS TALK DC #8 →
ARTISTS TALK DC #10 →
Artist Talk: The Work Against the World. In Conversation with Robin Givhan.
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 · 6:30–7:30 PM · National Museum of Women in the Arts
Zsudayka Nzinga Terrell and Maria-Lana Queen discuss what it takes to build a career in an art world that rarely centers them, even as they produce work with national and international reach. Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Robin Givhan moderates this conversation about navigating audiences, markets, and political moments as Afrodescendant women artists. Presented in partnership with the National Museum of Women in the Arts. A reception follows at Eaton DC (1201 K Street NW) celebrating the Foundation's seventh anniversary. Free. Registration required.
REGISTER NOW →
Become a Sustaining Donor
A recurring monthly gift supports the Foundation's mentorship, residencies, and market access programs. This August, GiveButter matches 5 percent of your gift.
From 2 sustaining donors in 2025 to 27 today and growing
Your commitment makes lasting change possible. This image captures Gadiel Rivera Herrera (Foundation Artist-in-Residence) and Darryl Chappell at the Centro de Innovación Educativa and gallery space Cecilia Orta Allende, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, October 17, 2022—staying connected to artists and their needs for the long term.
Donate Today
Washington, D.C. Ambassador Pilot Program
The Darryl Chappell Foundation is launching a six-month Ambassador Pilot Program running September 2026 through March 1, 2027. We're looking for two local leaders to help build a real Community of Artists Ecosystem in the District: one Ambassador based in D.C., and a second based anywhere in the greater DMV region. Ambassadors are relationship builders and connectors between the Foundation and the D.C. arts ecosystem. The role includes a $2,000 honorarium, paid in installments. Read the full role description for criteria and application requirements.
Applications Due: Friday, August 21, 2026, by Noon Eastern
Send to darryl@darrylchappellfoundation.org with "DC Ambassador Program" in the subject line.
Mentor Open Call Coming October 6
The Darryl Chappell Foundation opens applications for mentors starting October 6, 2026. Whether you're an established artist interested in guiding emerging practice or know an artist who should mentor, sign up in the "Stay Connected" section on our website to stay informed of the application window and requirements. Simply provide your first name and email address.
Get Notified