All talks and programs are conducted in English unless stated otherwise.
This event does not require registration; see further details below.
Join the Calderwood Courtyard for an hour of music performed by the Kuumba Singers of Harvard College. Offered in conjunction with the exhibition Joana Choumali: Languages of West African Marketplaces (January 25–May 11, 2025), this performance will feature songs that celebrate the rich musical culture of Black people, including spirituals, gospel, African folk songs, and contemporary music.
The Swahili word “kuumba,” meaning “to create,” embodies the choir’s mission: to express the creativity and spirituality of Black people through song and other art forms such as dance, poetry and spoken word.
The Kuumba Singers were organized in November 1970, at a time when Black students from Harvard, Radcliffe, and other colleges in the Boston area felt increasingly alienated from one another. The choir served as a source of unity, strength, and spiritual inspiration. Today that inspiration, unity, and strength extend to all those who believe in what the group represents.
Free and open to everyone, but seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Harvard Art Museums offer free admission every day, Tuesday through Sunday. Please see the museum visit page to learn about our general policies for visiting the museums.
Joana Choumali: Languages of West African Marketplaces was co-organized by the Harvard Art Museums and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. The creation of the works in this exhibition was funded by the Robert Gardner Fellowship in Photography at the Peabody Museum. For more information, visit the Gardner Fellowship website.
Related programming is supported by the M. Victor Leventritt Lecture Series Endowment Fund at the Harvard Art Museums. Modern and contemporary art programs at the Harvard Art Museums are made possible in part by generous support from the Emily Rauh Pulitzer and Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., Fund for Modern and Contemporary Art.