Amílcar Cabral: In Support of a Radical Humanism

From October 16 to December 13, 2026, MansA is dedicating an exhibition to Amílcar Cabral (1924–1973), a revolutionary, theorist, agricultural engineer, and leading figure in the African independence movements. Curated by Armelle Dakouo and Ângela Benoliel Coutinho, based on an original concept by Paula Nascimento, *Amílcar Cabral: Toward a Radical Humanism* creates a dialogue between his ideas and contemporary art through the works of nine artists from Portuguese-speaking Africa and beyond.

What else does Cabral have to say to us today?

More than fifty years after his assassination, Amílcar Cabral’s ideas continue to inform discussions on sovereignty, global inequalities, population displacement, and ecological crises. His approach—understanding the world in order to better transform it—and his conception of culture as a force for emancipation continue to provide tools for reflecting on the connections between culture, power, and freedom.

For Cabral, national liberation is not limited to the achievement of political independence: it entails a profound transformation of societies, cultures, and consciousness. The land, art, and culture are not on the periphery of the political struggle, but at the very heart of building a new society.

The exhibition explores the continued relevance of Cabral’s ideas by contrasting them with the perspectives of contemporary artists.

A Philosophy in Dialogue with Contemporary Art

The works of Nú Barreto, Diogo Bento, Filipa César, Monica de Miranda, Bento Oliveira, Hamedine Kane, Yuran Henrique, Sónia Vaz Borges, and Sarah Maldoror together form a living geography of what Cabral called *a luta* —the struggle.

Bringing together artists from Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Senegal, and Portugal, the exhibition creates a dialogue between textiles, photography, installation, video, and drawing, exploring concepts central to Cabral’s thought: identity, nation, belonging, and cultural resistance.

Here, contemporary practices intersect with archives and cultural legacies. The films of Sarah Maldoror—a pioneering filmmaker and a committed figure in liberation struggles—play a particularly foundational role in the exhibition. *Fogo, Île de Feu*, *Carnaval dans le Sahel*, and *A Bissau, Le Carnaval* further explore the theme of culture as a space for reappropriation, memory, and resistance.

Through their artistic visions, the nine invited artists do not seek to illustrate Cabral’s ideas but rather to engage in a dialogue with them, to expand on the questions they raise, or to reinvent their perspectives.

The exhibition thus invites us to view Cabral not only as a major figure in African liberation struggles, but also as a body of thought to be brought back into circulation, confronted with the present, and engaged in dialogue with the creative works of our time.

A soundtrack curated by Rocé

To complement the exhibition, MansA enlisted rapper and producer Rocé to create the exhibition’s soundtrack.

This musical selection does not seek to recount Cabral’s life in chronological order. Instead, it highlights the echoes of his ideas in the music of struggle, revolutionary songs, and compositions that accompanied the struggles for African emancipation and independence.

From Guinea-Bissau to Cape Verde, from Angola to Mozambique, the soundtrack brings together iconic works, archival recordings, and rarer recordings. Some pieces were rediscovered in old editions and then digitized so they could be heard once again. Music thus becomes both an experience of the journey and a means of transmitting a sound heritage that is sometimes poorly documented.

An artist and music researcher, Rocé has long been interested in the music that accompanies movements for emancipation and in cultural exchanges between Africa and its diasporas. His work—which involves researching, unearthing, and promoting rare and socially conscious African and Afro-diasporic repertoires—takes on a new form here within the exhibition space.

This journey also underscores the importance Cabral attached to culture in the process of emancipation: not merely as a reflection of history, but as one of its driving forces.

About the Exhibition

In conjunction with the exhibition, MansA is presenting a multidisciplinary program of talks, discussions, film screenings, music, and audio presentations to further explore the ideas of Amílcar Cabral and his legacy.