Contemporary African Art Gallery in San Francisco — AOCA
Who We Are
The Art of Contemporary Africa
AOCA is the first gallery in San Francisco dedicated exclusively to Pan African contemporary art — bringing the depth, diversity, and dynamism of African art to the heart of the Bay Area's cultural landscape.
As the sister gallery to The Melrose Gallery in Johannesburg, we are dedicated to championing the global presentation of African art — from iconic figures like Dr Esther Mahlangu to emerging voices defining the next chapter.
Our Story →
1275 Minnesota Street, 2nd floor
Minnesota Street Project, Dogpatch
San Francisco · Tue–Sat 11h00–18h00
Now Showing
A Continent, Up Close
23 July – 30 August 2026
A Continent, Up Close — Directors' Selection brings together sixteen artists working across painting, photography, sculpture and works on paper, from eight countries across the Continent and the Diaspora, in an exhibition of works made to be lived with — chosen personally by the gallery's directors for the intimacy of the encounter they invite.
Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco
Now Showing
The Real Heroes
11 Mar – 31 Dec 2026
Clint Strydom's acclaimed black-and-white series — children playing soccer with pure devotion on beaches, township grounds, and improvised fields across South Africa, ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. FIFA Football World Cup fine art photographic limited edition prints.
The Melrose Gallery, Johannesburg
View Online ↗Upcoming
Artwork by Papytsho Mafolo
Unfinished Lines
Minnesota Street Project, Dogpatch, San Francisco
Unfinished Lines brings together four painters — Papytsho Mafolo, Hussein Salim, Pascal Konan and Aza Mansongi — from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Côte d’Ivoire, on the ways a work refuses to close. A participating exhibition in Nexus: SF / Bay Area Black Art Week, 30 September – 4 October 2026.
Atlanta Art Fair
Pullman Yards, Atlanta
AOCA is proud to participate in Atlanta Art Fair, Booth E13, presenting nine artists from Africa and its diaspora: Esther Mahlangu, Clint Strydom, Knox Clayton, Pascal Konan, Alexis Daniel Onguene Tassi, Oscar Mawuli, Samuel Allerton, Carol Cauldwell and Opa Bathily.
Our Artists
Pan African Voices
"One of the most important artists of our time — painting is in her heart and in her blood."Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, Serpentine Galleries
We Are Open
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1275 Minnesota Street, 2nd floor · Minnesota Street Project, Dogpatch, San Francisco Tuesday – Saturday · 11h00 – 18h00
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