Atlanta artist Tracy Murrell’s ‘Stillness at Sunset’ evokes quiet moments from her Creative Currents residency in Portobelo, Panama. Courtesy of ADAMA. Credit: Tracy Murrell

On a humid Sunday afternoon, I walked into the African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta (ADAMA) as the gallery was in mid-transformation. Canvases leaned against fresh white walls. A cluster of painted “Congo swords” waited in a corner like sentries. Arts advisor and curator Tosha Grantham guided the placement of works that span three decades and two continents. Nearby, Terra Coles, ADAMA’s gallery manager, moved tools and bubble-wrapped frames through the space. It felt like rehearsal—an inhale before the first drumbeat.

ADAMA’s next act is ‘Patacones, Paintbrushes, and Power’ (Sept. 5–Nov. 2), a visual study of the traditions, ritual, and magic of Panamanian Carnivale. The show, co-curated by Grantham, Dr. Fahamu, and Dr. Renée Alexander Craft, connects Afro-Panamanian and African American artists through painting, photography, and mixed media pieces. The title nods to the everyday—crispy smashed green plantains—and to the power of shared cultural memory. At its core, the exhibition is about how culture is carried across borders—from Portobelo to Atlanta, from the Caribbean to the American South.

  • Colorful painting of Congo devils and figures in Carnival ritual, Manuel “Tatu” Golden, Devils and Congos.
    Manuel “Tatu” Golden’s “Devils and Congos” captures Carnival folklore, where angels confront devils in Congo tradition.
  • Black-and-white photo of crowned Congo queen seated near water, Sandra Eleta, Catalina la Reina de los Congos.
    Sandra Eleta’s “Catalina la Reina de los Congos” immortalizes Congo matriarchal presence in Portobelo. Credit: Sandra Eleta
  • Watercolor painting of an Afro-Congo woman in a kitchen setting, wearing a red headscarf and white apron, by Dr. Indira Bailey.
    Dr. Indira Bailey’s untitled watercolor portrays the dignity of everyday life in Portobelo’s Afro-Congo community. Credit: Indira Bailey

Taller Portobelo and Arte Congo

At the center of this exchange is Taller Portobelo, founded in 1995 by mixed-media artist Virgilio “Yaneca” Esquina, photographer Sandra Eleta, and artist-educator Dr. Arturo Lindsay. The workshop, based in the Afro-Panamanian community of Portobelo, became a center for Congo-inspired art, performance, and cultural exchange. Its guiding ethos echoes a Wolof saying from West Africa: “Know who you are before someone tells you.”

Over the years, Taller Portobelo artists developed a shared but flexible style. Their works often depict Congo Queens and Kings with animal headdresses, crowns made with mirrors and shells, or Carnival fables. In one annual drama, Congo angels capture and baptize a black-and-red devil that represents Spanish colonizers.

“Atlanta has been central to this story through Arturo and his students.”

‘Patacones, Paintbrushes, and Power’ Co-curator tosha Grantham

Exchanges with Atlanta began through Lindsay’s teaching at Spelman College. Students joined the Spelman Summer Art Colony in Portobelo. Taller artists also traveled to Atlanta to teach and exhibit.

Works on View

Spanning from the early 1990s to today, ‘Patacones, Paintbrushes, and Power’ features works by all three founders of Taller Portobelo—Eleta, Esquina, and Lindsay. It also includes pieces from five of the group’s most celebrated artists.

These include:

  • Ariel “Pajarito” Jiménez, ‘King Guacamayo’ (2009), a mirror-laden canvas evoking Congo kingship and Panama’s tropical landscape.
  • Gustavo Esquina de la Espada, ‘María Merced’ (2022), which honors Congo matriarchal sovereignty.
  • Manuel “Tatu” Golden, ‘Judimingue nunko modidá [Cimarrones never die]’ (2019), a mixed-media work affirming Cimarrón resilience.
  • Dr. Indira Bailey, watercolors that show the daily life and dignity of Portobelo’s Afro-Congo community.
  • Masud Olufani, sculptures exploring African food staples as vessels of memory across the Diaspora.

Other featured artists include Sharon Barnes, Tracy Murrell, and Elaine Eversley & Dr. Renée Alexander Craft, whose photo essay ‘Playing with the Devil’ examines Carnival as performance-as-resistance.

Works in ‘Patacones, Paintbrushes, and Power’ include Sharon Barnes’s portraits of Taller Portobelo co-founders Virgilio “Yaneca” Esquina and Dr. Arturo Lindsay, whose vision shaped the Arte Congo movement. Courtesy of ADAMA

Atlanta’s Role


Atlanta has been a crucial bridge in this story. After the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989, Dr. Arturo Lindsay returned to Portobelo in 1992 for a creative residency. That project laid the groundwork for Taller Portobelo

From there, Atlanta artists and Spelman students built close ties to the colony, creating an exchange that continues today. “Atlanta has been central to this story through Arturo and his students,” said co-curator Grantham.

Among the artists shaped by this connection are Amy Sherald and Cosmo Whyte, both of whom spent formative time in Portobelo through Lindsay’s Atlanta links. Their experiences show how Portobelo influenced artists who went on to international acclaim.

For Atlanta, hosting ‘Patacones, Paintbrushes, and Power’, affirms the city’s place in a wider Diaspora network, where artists, scholars, and communities exchange ideas and create new futures together. When the show opens this Friday, audiences will not only witness Afro-Panamanian traditions in dialogue with African American expression, they’ll also see themselves reflected in the mirrors, colors, and stories that echo across time and space.

Exhibition Details
‘Patacones, Paintbrushes, and Power’ | Sept. 5 – Nov. 2, 2025 | African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta

Sherri Daye Scott is a freelance writer and producer based in Atlanta. She edits the Sketchbook newsletter for Rough Draft.