The California African American Museum is now featuring the work of contemporary artists Adee Roberson and Azikiwe Mohammed in the museum’s vast atrium. The multi-faceted, two-person exhibition “Adee Roberson and Azikiwe Mohammed: because i am that” is on view through May 7.

The collaborative exhibition features screenprints, paintings, video, window vinyl and a mix of sculptural works in a dynamic environment that will evolve to include additional artists in performance, movement and sound. Roberson’s and Mohammed’s intuitive practices figure Blackness as an abstraction, something free of fixed narratives and boundaries. “because i am that” is a conversation between two artists, a means to attend to the physical and metaphysical and to create a space that inspires limitless Black thought.

“Adee Roberson and Azikiwe Mohammed: because i am that” is curated by Essence Harden, Visual Arts Curator, CAAM.

“Adee and Azikiwe both work across a wide range of materials and genres and have vested interests in abstraction, color theory, and Blackness as an expanse,” Harden said. “I was interested in what a conversation between artists with different practices but similar ethoses would look like and how the Museum could hold an evolving story on Blackness, place and possibility.”

“because i am that” is the sole exhibition on view at CAAM, which is undergoing infrastructure upgrades that impact its galleries, research library and conference center. During this time, CAAM will offer exhibitions and public programs in the atrium and continue to present exhibitions and programs at Art + Practice in Leimert Park, as part of the ongoing collaboration between the two institutions.

CAAM explores the art, history and culture of African Americans, with an emphasis on California and the West. Chartered by the State of California in 1977, the Museum began formal operations in 1981 and is a state-supported agency and a Smithsonian Affiliate. In addition to presenting exhibitions and public programs, CAAM houses a permanent collection of more than 5,000 works of art, artifacts, and historical documents, and a publicly accessible research library. Admission to CAAM is free.

The museum is open Wednesday-Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. CAAM is located in Exposition Park at the corner of Figueroa Street and Exposition Boulevard, west of the 110 Freeway. Exposition Park parking is available for $15 (daytime) at 39th and Figueroa Streets.