MoMA - Otobong Nkanga: Cadence
Tue, Jun 03
|MoMA
Experience Otobong Nkanga’s breathtaking new commission, Cadence, at MoMA—a sensory exploration of ecology, memory, and industrial upheaval through tapestry, sculpture, sound, and performance.
Time & Location
Jun 03, 2025, 7:00 AM – Jul 27, 2025, 11:00 PM
MoMA, 11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019, USA
About the event
On view through July 27, 2025
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Marron Family Atrium
Visit MoMA.org
What does it mean to feel the earth’s rhythm?In Otobong Nkanga: Cadence, the acclaimed artist redefines how we connect with land, history, and emotion. Presented in MoMA’s Marron Family Atrium, this monumental installation envelops visitors in an environment of tapestry, sculpture, sound, and poetry, confronting the intersections of nature, technology, and human intervention.
At its center is a kaleidoscopic, multi-paneled tapestry—digitally woven from organic and synthetic fibers at the TextielLab in the Netherlands—suspended like a shifting galaxy against the soaring Atrium wall. Around it, towering sculptural forms of glass, ceramic, and dyed rope descend from ceiling to floor, while ceramic tablets etched with Nkanga’s poetry offer grounding moments of reflection.
An immersive soundscape, shaped from Nkanga’s own voice and breath, fills the space—creating a visceral meditation on ecological disruption, colonial histories, and contemporary resilience.…