Shared Vision: Portraits from The CCH Pounder-Koné Collection

The African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) is proud to present, “Shared Vision: Portraits from The CCH Pounder-Koné Collection,” featuring paintings from the personal collection of award-winning actress, CCH Pounder. This exhibition, curated exclusively for AAMP, is a stunning collection of contemporary art that spans the African diaspora.

“Shared Vision” is composed of 40 works in a wide range of media by world-renowned artists, including Bisa Butler, Elizabeth Colomba, Samella Lewis, and Lezley Saar, and emerging art stars such as Luke Agada and Alex Peter Idoko. The artists in the exhibition share the breadth and depth of the African Diaspora through notions of beauty, identity, autonomy, and power.

In addition to her prolific acting career, CCH Pounder has been extensively involved with the arts as a patron, collector, gallery owner and museum founder. Originally from Georgetown, Guyana, Pounder’s collection consists of Caribbean and African artists and artists of the African Diaspora. Her collection is heavily concentrated in Contemporary Art but also includes traditional African sculptures. Recently, pieces from Ms. Pounder’s collection have been exhibited at select museums and organizations.

In 1993, Pounder and her husband, the late Boubacar Koné, founded and built the Musee Boribana, the first privately owned contemporary museum in Dakar, Senegal, which they gifted to that nation in 2014. Pounder’s personal collection contains over 500 works of art from which the pieces in “Shared Vision: Portraits from The CCH Pounder-Koné Collection” were selected.

AAMP collaborated closely with Pounder for over two years to curate this exhibition. The works on display offer a unique glimpse into Pounder’s vision as an art collector and her dedication to celebrating and sharing these masterpieces, particularly with Black museums. “Shared Vision” centers the imagery of Black figures, providing a global perspective on Black presence and identity.

“Shared Vision: Portraits from The CCH Pounder-Koné Collection” will open on September 14, 2024 and continue through March 2, 2025.