Jorge M. Pérez Collection Explores African Diaspora in ‘Améfrica’ at Spain’s CAAC

The Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (CAAC) in Seville presents Améfrica: Diasporic Connections in the Jorge M. Pérez Collection (Améfrica), an exhibition curated by Brazilian curator and scholar Helio Menezes and drawn from the holdings of the Jorge M. Pérez Collection and El Espacio 23 in Miami. The presentation brings together 128 works by 99 artists and examines the global influence of the African diaspora across generations and geographies.

On view in the museum’s North and East Cloisters through January 10, 2027, the exhibition opens CAAC’s 2026 program with a project that deepens cultural dialogue across the Atlantic.

The exhibition offers a renewed reading of Africa’s imprint on the formation of the Americas, approached through relational, political, and aesthetic lenses. Spanning painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and textile practices, the presentation includes artists born in more than thirty countries across Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Australia, reflecting the global dimension of the African diaspora and its enduring impact on contemporary culture.

Featured artists include internationally recognized figures such as Kara Walker, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Wifredo Lam, Rubem Valentim, Igshaan Adams, Zanele Muholi, El Anatsui, and Esther Mahlangu. The presentation also establishes a dialogue between pioneers such as Rubem Valentim, Bertina Lopes, and Mahlangu and later generations including Nnenna Okore, Ayan Farah, and Kapwani Kiwanga.

“As a collector, I am interested in supporting works that expand our understanding of history and challenge simplified narratives,” says Pérez. “Améfrica underscores that we share intertwined origins and that no artistic expression, nor any society, emerges in isolation. We are the result of crossings, trajectories, and shared memories.”

The exhibition unfolds across five chapters inspired by ideas that Lélia Gonzalez identified as central to processes of africanidade.