Upcoming BMA Exhibition Explores the Vibrant Tapestries of Post-Independence Senegal

BALTIMORE, MD (July 18, 2026)—On October 25, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) will present Woven Monuments: Tapestry and Identity in Senegal, an exhibition exploring the pivotal role of tapestry in expressing national identity, artistic innovation, and cultural diplomacy in post-independence Senegal. By bringing together a selection of 12 vibrant, large-scale tapestries alongside related designs and archival materials, the exhibition illuminates how artists transformed textiles into a powerful medium of historical narrative and global exchange. The exhibition will be on view at the BMA through March 7, 2027.

When Senegal gained independence from France on April 4, 1960, artists played a vital role in developing expressions of its cultural identity, ushering in a period of cultural transformation. Senegal’s first president, Léopold Sédar Senghor, was a poet, philosopher, and political leader who championed the arts as central to Senegal’s identity and global presence. He encouraged artists to create works that expressed both the culture and history of the country while also drawing from inspiration across the African continent.

Senegal’s national tapestry workshop, the Manufacture des arts décoratifs de Thiès (MSAD) played a central role in developing and disseminating Senghor’s vision. Established in the 1960s with state support, MSAD brought together designers, cartoonists, and weavers in a highly collaborative process that underscores tapestry as both an artistic and collaborative endeavor. Today, MSAD remains an important institution, continuing a legacy of artistic excellence and innovation in textile production.

Woven Monuments highlights the depth and range of this tradition through thematic sections, including explorations of Négritude—a movement celebrating Black identity, heritage, and cultural pride—nature and place, Pan-African connections, and the role of tapestry in diplomacy. The exhibition features tapestries presented to heads of state or that traveled as part of international exhibitions, such as Papa Ibra Tall’s Poète aux Mains Magiques (1969), Boubacar Goudiaby’s L’oiseau no 1(1980s), and Mouhamadou “Zulu” M’baye’s Belle Femmes du Pays(c. 1987).

Visitors will also encounter sumptuous works that evoke Senegal’s landscapes, community life, animals, and spiritual practice. Rich colors, fluid forms, and symbolic imagery reflect the artists’ efforts to articulate a distinctly Senegalese aesthetic while engaging in broader Pan-African artistic dialogues. Among the featured pieces are compelling tapestries designed by Ansoumana Diédhiou and Théodore Diouf, as well as works on paper by Bakary Diémé and Chérif Thiam.

“Woven Monuments reflects the extraordinary ways artists have used textile to shape national identity and speak across borders,” said Asma Naeem, the BMA’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director. “These gorgeous works are not only visually striking, but they also carry profound histories of independence, collaboration, and cultural pride. The exhibition resonates deeply with the BMA’s commitment to presenting global stories that expand how we understand art’s role in society.”

“This exhibition marks a significant milestone for the MSAD, as it brings our tapestries recognition within a leading international museum. Seeing our works in dialogue with pieces held by the Smithsonian and the World Bank Art Collection reaffirms the place Thiès has held for decades in the history of modern African art,” said M. Bassirou Thiam, director of MSAD. “It is also an opportunity to introduce a new audience to the richness of a craft often little-known beyond our borders, and to highlight that our tapestries are not merely decorative objects but artworks in their own right, created by artists whose work deserves to be fully documented and studied.”

By situating Senegalese tapestry within broader histories of independence, identity, and exchange, Woven Monuments offers a compelling perspective on how textiles function as carriers of memory, meaning, and national pride. Together, these works stand as enduring monuments—not in stone or bronze, but in thread—testaments to the enduring power of art to narrate collective histories.

This exhibition is curated by Carlee S. Forbes, BMA Associate Curator of African and Oceanic Art.

This exhibition is supported by the Jean and Allan Berman Textile Endowment Fund, the Nancy Dorman and Stanley Mazaroff Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation, The Coby Foundation, Ltd., and The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.