Arthur Jafa survey brings Black visual culture to New York’s New Museum

New York’s New Museum is presenting Arthur Jafa: I Am Tony, a survey of the artist’s work across film, photography, painting and sculpture. The museum’s current exhibition page lists the show from September 24, 2026, through January 3, 2027, on its third and fourth floors. For New Yorkers planning an autumn museum visit, the exhibition sits alongside a public program that also brings the Bowery’s cultural life into focus.

The museum describes the exhibition as its most extensive survey of Jafa’s practice to date. Its breadth matters because the artist is widely associated with moving images, while this presentation also includes objects and paintings. It offers visitors a way to consider how his methods carry across different materials.

Images, music and American experience

Jafa’s work examines Black life in the United States through images drawn into new relationships. The museum places the exhibition within a career spanning nearly four decades, connecting his early films with more recent video installations. Its title refers to jazz drummer Tony Williams, underscoring the importance of musical rhythm to the presentation.

Among the works listed are Love is the Message, The Message is Death and The White Album, alongside new work. The exhibition is curated by Massimiliano Gioni and Gary Carrion-Murayari, with Calvin Wang. The museum’s account links Jafa’s image-making to questions about racial violence, popular culture and the ways pictures circulate through contemporary media.

In its June preview, New York arts publication Hyperallergic contextualized the survey through Jafa’s filmmaking and his dialogue with Black popular music. That report was published before the exhibition opened. The January 3 closing date used here follows the museum’s current listing; the earlier preview gave January 4.

October programs connect the museum with its neighborhood

The museum’s September 22 program announcement sets out several events still ahead in October. These are scheduled activities, rather than reports that the events have already happened. Visitors should check each event’s booking page for availability and any admission requirements.

Community Day is announced with free museum admission for Lower East Side neighbors and activities tied to the neighborhood’s arts open house. That resident offer should not be read as a blanket free-admission promise for every visitor. The announcement directs neighborhood residents to separate ticket details.

Bowery Art Space is a different kind of entry point: a free drop-in art-making program for teens, with materials provided and no RSVP or prior art experience required. Its October session gives young New Yorkers a way to take part in the museum’s program beyond looking at finished works.

Planning around the exhibition

The Jafa survey and the October events have separate calendars. Choosing a day for the exhibition does not automatically reserve a seat at a talk or grant access to every program. The museum’s exhibition and event pages provide the place to confirm a visit and any applicable ticket conditions.

For local readers, the combination brings two scales of cultural activity into view: a sustained examination of one artist’s practice and programs rooted in the surrounding neighborhood. This article reports the museum’s published exhibition and program information; it does not present an on-site review or estimate audience numbers.

The AI-generated cover combines Gary Ku’s archival facade photograph with generic film and rhythm drawings. The cover adaptation is distributed under CC BY-SA 2.0. It does not reproduce Jafa’s artworks. The photograph inside the article is unchanged.

Sources

• New Museum, New York: Arthur Jafa: I Am Tony — current exhibition
• New Museum, New York: Fall 2026 public programs, September 22 announcement
• Hyperallergic: Largest-Ever Arthur Jafa Survey Coming to New Museum, June 10 preview