Imani Roach to Lead PMA’s New Center for African and African Diasporic Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) has announced Imani Roach as the inaugural director of itsnewly establishedBrind Center for African and African Diasporic Art. Made possible by an endowment from trustee Ira Brind, a financier, the center focuses on the acquisition, care, and study of art of the continent and its diaspora. Roach arrives to it from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where she is assistant curator in the Arts of Africa Department. In her new role, Roach will oversee the acquisition of artworks as well as the staging of exhibitions, installations, and symposia, and the production of publications.

“We are excited to have Imani’s passion and expertise for the arts of Africa and its diaspora at the PMA,” said Sasha Suda, the institution’s director, in a statement. “This marks a new chapter for us and reflects our commitment to reimagining the future of the museum.”

Roach specializes in mid-twentieth-century African modernism. She joined the Met in 2021 as senior research associate before rising to her current position there. She has held high-level editorial roles at Guernica and at The Artblog. Roach served as a visiting assistant professor of visual studies at Haverford College and has designed and taught courses on the arts of Africa at the University of Pennsylvania and the California College of Art, among other institutions.

She holds a BA in art history from Stanford University and an MA in the history of art and architecture from Harvard University. Born in San Francisco and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Roach has lived in Philadelphia since 2012.

“I am humbled to have been entrusted with building a home for African and Afro-diasporic art at the PMA and energized by the work ahead,” said Roach in a statement. “This is a transformative moment for the institution and its relationship to the city of Philadelphia. As a longtime Philly cultural worker, I look forward to contributing to the city’s profound legacy of nurturing and celebrating the ties between Africans on the continent and around the world.”