San Francisco Gets a Brand New Gallery — With a Focus on African Artists

The first thing you see when you enter Art of Contemporary Africa (AOCA) — a brand new gallery at the Minnesota Street Project — are three stunning, large scale, oil and gold leaf portraits of Black women by Ayanda Mabulu. In his own country, Mabulu is a controversial figure known for unflinching depictions of South Africa’s political landscape, from the apartheid era to the present day. His work often inspires heated discussion, outrage and discomfort.

The three pieces Mabulu contributes to AOCA’s inaugural exhibition Afropop, however, are unexpectedly serene. The Load, The Hunt and Nongqawuse each focus on African women as holders of cultural memory, power and adaptability. Mabulu’s work here is a stunning start to a show that offers a mixed bag of contemporary talent, brought together as a means to display work by artists from as many corners of the African continent as possible.

AOCA has been three years in the making, a sister gallery to Johannesburg’s The Melrose, started by Craig Mark and fine art photographer Clint Strydom eight years ago. Mark and Strydom have long been focused on bringing contemporary African art to American audiences whenever art fairs around the country — in Miami, Los Angeles, Palm Beach, Chicago and others — presented the opportunity.

The decision to open a permanent gallery in San Francisco arose after Mark’s three children moved to the Bay Area to study at University of San Francisco and UC Berkeley. Mark says he immediately felt at home in San Francisco, where he is now based full-time.

“I felt similarities with Capetown,” he tells KQED Arts. “The vibes, the geography, the community engagement, the beautiful mix of different genres. There’s always something going on in the city.”

AOCA moves into the Minnesota Street Project space that was previously home to Rena Bransten Gallery. Mark is the first new tenant in the complex after four galleries announced their closure in late 2025.

The artists featured in Afropop hail from Uganda, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Costa Rica and Barbados. They range in age from 25 to 90. And though the work in the show doesn’t always feel unified in style or theme, one gets the impression that Mark and Strydom are simply keen to show the Bay, right out of the gate, the wide range of what the contemporary African art world has to offer.

“A lot of the Afropop works have traditional elements to them but also have a modern, contemporary feel that gives the show an interesting energy,” Mark says. “[Afropop is] not supposed to be a representation of Africa as a whole. There’s one and a half billion people there! But by 2030, it’s estimated that 42% of the world’s youth will be in Africa. Their voice becomes extremely important globally. So I think you’re going to see more and more African [art] shows [in the U.S.]”

Other standout pieces featured in Afropop include The Battle of Choice and Doomed by Mwass Githinji. The 31-year-old Kenyan artist explores mythological underworlds and ongoing skirmishes between man and nature. So dimly lit and disorienting are his oil and pastel works, the viewer can’t help but think of the Mariana Trench’s deep sea creatures, both monstrous and fascinating to the human eye.

Elsewhere, Marcel Tchopwe explores the dearth of professional jobs in his native Cameroon, for even the most qualified candidates. Docteur de call box depicts a man in scrubs, stethoscope slung around his neck, hawking cell phones on a street corner, seated dejectedly on a plastic chair.

Other artists on display include Akilah Watts, Dr. Willie Bester, Mederic Turay, Aza Mansongi, Edozie Anedu and Pascal Konan.

In the future, Mark is hoping that AOCA can bring together African and African American artists for collaborations and panel discussions at the gallery. In the meantime, after Afropop opens, Mark and Strydom will work with the American Federation of Arts to tour an exhibition of pieces by Dr. Esther Mahlangu, whose striking work also appears in Afropop. The 90-year-old artist explores her heritage in large-scale paintings and pottery inspired by the murals of the Ndebele people.

“There has been a traditional underrepresentation of African artists in the U.S. Very few of them have done museum shows,” Mark notes. “Artists from Africa need this kind of international exposure.”

‘Afropop’ is on view at Art of Contemporary Africa (1275 Minnesota St., San Francisco) Feb. 12–March 29, 2026. The opening reception takes place Thursday, Feb. 12, 6:30–9:30 p.m.