Between MoAD and SFMOMA, Cornelia Stokes Charts a Unique Curatorial Path

Last month the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) announced that Cornelia Stokes would serve as the inaugural Assistant Curator of the Art of the African Diaspora. The job will have her working “across both institutions to develop new scholarship on contemporary art from the African Diaspora, and support a range of exhibitions and public programs, as well as SFMOMA’s work to diversify its collection.” It’s a huge mandate that promises to delve into some of the thorniest questions facing the art world at a time when galleries and museums are trying to find new ways to engage with audiences. We caught up with Stokes to hear about her new position and its responsibilities.

Congratulations on the new position! It’s a very unique one. How did you find yourself coming to this job? How was it initially pitched to you?

I originally discovered the role in 2023 and was instantly captivated by the intentionality and collaborative spirit of the position. As I began to understand more about the role, it was the idea of being connective tissue and building frameworks that could support long-term curatorial thinking, scholarship and public engagement for both institutions that drew me in.

You’ve been positioned as a bridge between these two unique institutions. I know you’re just starting your job, but could you speak a little about each of their individual strengths, and how you’ve initially envisioned their long-term collaboration?

MoAD has the ability to be more responsive in its programming. They are unapologetic and unafraid to foreground lived experience and cultural specificity. SFMOMA offers the scale, resources and global visibility of a major modern and contemporary museum, along with a deep commitment to collection-building. My thinking around the collaboration is less about merging identities and more about sharing influence, knowledge and resources without flattening difference.

You come to this job from Emblazon Arts LLC. What kinds of work did you do there? What lessons did you learn there to prepare you for this position?

Emblazon Arts is an independent curatorial and cultural strategy practice I founded to support artists and institutions working inside and outside traditional frameworks. Through Emblazon, I curated exhibitions, developed public programs, advised on collections and archival projects and helped build sustainable infrastructures for artists—often with limited resources but expansive vision. That work taught me how to be rigorous and responsive at the same time. To be flexible and fluid.

You’ve worked previously, too, as a research assistant for the beloved artist Amy Sherald. What did that position entail? What was it like working for her?

Working as a research assistant for Amy Sherald was and is inexplicable. Amy is a force who approaches her work with extraordinary discipline and care. Being part of that process taught me how deep research, compassion and patience are embedded in strong artistic practice. For me, it also reinforced the importance of protecting artists’ time and vision—something I carry with me into curatorial work.

Part of this job involves working with SFMOMA to help diversify its collection. What are some of the challenges to that task, historically and currently?

Diversifying a collection isn’t simply about adding works; it requires rethinking the frameworks of value, ownership and art-historical narratives. I have yet to encounter any challenges, but I think, as a new curator at a new institution, the challenge will always be entering a dialogue already in progress.

This position has a three-year tenure. How will you know you’ve done your job at the end of that time? What personal benchmarks will you have met?

I’ll know I’ve done my job if the collaboration between SFMOMA and MoAD provides a framework for someone else to continue evolving beyond my tenure. That can look like meaningful collaborative exhibitions, published scholarship and public programs that reflect the breadth of the African Diaspora without flattening its complexity. On a personal level, success means supporting artists and colleagues in thoughtful, ethical and generative ways. If I can look back and see that the work expanded possibilities—for institutions, for artists and for audiences—then I’ll feel the role has done what it set out to do.

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