Dr. Joseph L. Underwood
Curator, AfriKin Art Fair 2025 | Associate Professor of Art History | Scholar of African & Diaspora Art
Curator, AfriKin Art Fair 2025 | Associate Professor of Art History | Scholar of African & Diaspora Art
Dr. Joseph L. Underwood, Ph.D. is a distinguished scholar and curator whose research illuminates the contributions of artists across the African continent and its diaspora. As Associate Professor of Art History at Kent State University and the newly appointed Curator of the 2025 AfriKin Art Fair, Dr. Underwood brings a wealth of expertise, vision, and commitment to Global African art.
As an art historian of the modern and contemporary periods, his projects focus on the mid-to-late twentieth century and encompass major themes of the Postwar era: including post-colonialism, (trans)nationalism, globalization, and biennialism. His research is especially focused on Francophone West and North Africa, charting how artists have created transnational networks of influence since the mid-20th century.
Dr. Underwood's academic rigor is complemented by extensive curatorial practice. He has contributed to exhibition projects at some of the world's most prestigious institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Brooklyn Museum, Musée Boribana in Dakar, the Dakar Biennale for Contemporary African Art, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.
Through Creation, We Find Meaning. The exhibition becomes a sanctuary—for artist and audience alike—where the sacred labor of our creations is honored as an act of eternal becoming.
— Dr. Joseph L. Underwood on AfriKin Art Fair 2025
Ph.D. in Art History & Criticism – Stony Brook University, New York
M.A. in Art History & Criticism – Stony Brook University, New York
B.A. in Art History and French Language & Literature – Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky
Dr. Underwood was a Goldberger Fellow at Stony Brook University and a Hensel and Jeannette McKee Scholar. His scholarly achievements include fellowships from the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Tyson Scholar) and an Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Under Dr. Underwood's visionary leadership, the 2025 AfriKin Art Fair embraces the theme "Through Creation, We Find Meaning." This multidisciplinary exhibition of Global African art will unfold in three powerful movements:
Like the Calabash—cherished across African traditions as a container of sustenance, ritual, and story—this year's exhibition positions art as a vessel of memory, resilience, and resistance.
Graduated with B.A. in Art History and French Language & Literature, receiving honors including the Omicron Delta Kappa Foundation Scholar and Benjamin A. Gilman Scholar.
Worked on exhibitions at the Dak'Art Biennale of Contemporary African Art in Dakar, Senegal, interviewing artists and coordinating exhibition details for contemporary African art presentations.
Joined Kent State University as Assistant Professor of Art History, teaching courses on historical, recent, and contemporary African art, as well as the history of exhibitions, museology, and the politics of display.
Curated "The View From Here: Contemporary Perspectives From Senegal," a traveling exhibition for the OFF Program of the Dak'Art Biennale, showcasing contemporary Senegalese artists.
Co-curated with Dr. Tameka N. Ellington the groundbreaking exhibition "TEXTURES: The History and Art of Black Hair" at the Kent State University Museum, the largest loan exhibition in the museum's history featuring 80 contributors.
Appointed as Curator of the 2025 AfriKin Art Fair, bringing his expertise to one of Miami Art Week's most sought-after cultural showcases. Currently co-curating the Cayman Islands Biennial.
Specializing in artists from the African continent and diaspora, with particular focus on Francophone West and North Africa from 1960 to present.
Charting how artists have created networks of influence across continents, examining themes of post-colonialism, nationalism, and globalization.
Expert in the history of exhibitions, museology, politics of display, and the role of biennials in shaping contemporary art discourse.
Exploring art's role in social transformation, cultural memory, and community identity across African and diaspora contexts.
Teaching modern and contemporary African art, curatorial studies, and leading travel courses examining race and art in cultural capitals.
Published in Art in America, World Art, SUNU Journal, Black Camera, and major academic volumes from Phaidon, Routledge, Columbia, and Oxford.
Dr. Underwood's scholarly writings have appeared in leading art journals and academic volumes:
Current Book Project: "Forging a New Contemporary: Art from Senegal in Transnational Networks, 1974-1984" – Examining the overlooked exhibition "Art Sénégalais d'Aujourd'hui" that toured 24 cities across 15 countries and 5 continents.
As Alfonso Brooks, Founder of AfriKin, states: "AfriKin is built on the principle of placing the right people in the right seats. After curating the fair for a decade, I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Joseph Underwood to the helm. His expertise, vision, and commitment to Global African art will ensure AfriKin continues to grow as a sanctuary for creation and cultural dialogue."
Dr. Underwood's appointment represents AfriKin's commitment to excellence and growth, bringing world-class curatorial vision to Miami's cultural landscape. His deep understanding of transnational artistic networks, combined with his dedication to fostering meaningful dialogues through art, makes him the ideal curator to guide AfriKin into its next chapter.
Join Dr. Underwood and the AfriKin team for "Through Creation, We Find Meaning" – a transformative exhibition of Global African art featuring painting, sculpture, installation, sound, movement, and ritual.
November 30 – December 7, 2025 | Miami, FL
In a world that too often demands our silence or spectacle, this exhibition stands as an insistence: through art, we speak, heal, mend, remember, and return. At its heart, the exhibition affirms Global Africa's creative practice as sacred and limitless.
— Dr. Joseph L. Underwood
Testimony. Remedy. Reclamation.
Vernissage – All-White Affair
6 PM - 9 PM
AfriKin Talks
Ethical Practices in the Arts
Fashion Workshops
Behind the Scenes with Designers
Fashion Runway
Resistance on the Runway