Liberatory Living: Protective Interiors and Radical Black Joy features designs, artworks, and environments dedicated to the global necessity for Black people to cultivate domestic interiors not only as spaces of revolutionary action, but also of radical joy and revolutionary rest. Conceptually, Liberatory Living evokes bell hooks’ concept of “Homeplace,” or those concrete spaces which inspire that [particular] feeling of safety, arrival, and homecoming—reminiscent of the warmth and belonging she experienced at her grandmother's home.

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In tandem, Elizabeth Alexander's notion of the "Black interior" unfolds as a space of unlimited imagination—a "Black imaginary" that challenges us to envision what we are not meant to envision and captures themes society often overlooks including complex Black identities; genuine and actionable Black empowerment; and rampant and unfetishized Black beauty.

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These two Black feminist frameworks collaborate in Lee’s curatorial idea of spaces crafted to incubate Black Joy, an idea that will be expressed theoretically and materially throughout the exhibition.

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Liberatory Living features sixteen contemporary designers and artists whose furnishings, wall coverings, lighting, ceramics, and other atmospherics are brought together to suggest what might be necessary to construct and sustain a sense of safety and belonging, in response to the enduring need for beauty to bolster those sensibilities. The exhibit also blends custom and retail objects, showcasing a broad spectrum of work that reflects a persistent impulse to create spaces offering sensory circumstances for profound relief.

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The first exhibition of its kind at Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), Liberatory Living: Protective Interiors & Radical Black Joy is an open invitation to deep, communal contemplation of contemporary interior design integral to dismantling destructive colonial legacies and opening spaces of Radical Black Joy without fetishizing Black strength and resilience.

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Artists include: Andile Dyalvane, Angela Hennessy, Chantal Hildebrand, Cheryl R. Riley, Chuma Maweni, dach&zephir, Germane D. Barnes, Kapwani Kiwanga, King Houndekpinkou, Lina Iris Viktor, Malene Djenaba Barnett, Michael Bennett, Nandipha Mntambo, Norman Teague, Sandra Githinji Studio, Sheila Bridges, Traci Johnson, Zanele Muholi, Zizipho Poswa

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Key Jo Lee is Chief of Curatorial Affairs and Public Programs at MoAD (Museum of the African Diaspora) in San Francisco, California. Lee’s career trajectory mirrors the interdisciplinary training that she has received as an academic thought leader, curator, museum educator, and administrator. Lee holds dual master's degrees in Art History and African American Studies from Yale University. Throughout her graduate studies, she refined her research and curatorial acumen through a rigorous array of coursework and prestigious internships at the Yale University Art Gallery. During this time, she was fortunate to receive invaluable mentorship from Pamela Franks, the Gallery’s then-Deputy Director.

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Lee's classroom teaching experience was enriched by her four years as a Wurtele Gallery Teacher, an endowed graduate position at the Yale University Art Gallery. In this role, she led powerful conversations on art with diverse museum constituencies, developing a robust and multifaceted pedagogical approach that significantly influences her curatorial work.

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During her tenure at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) from 2017 – 2022, Lee founded the museum’s first academic affairs department and became its inaugural Director of Academic Affairs and Associate Curator of Special Projects. She concluded her time at CMA as Associate Curator of American Art, where she curated the exhibition "Currents and Constellations: Black Art in Focus," which marked the beginning of the museum's practice of permanent gallery “interventions.”

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Lee's first book, Perceptual Drift: Black Art and an Ethics of Looking, was published by the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) and Yale University Press in January 2023, coinciding with her appointment as the inaugural Chief of Curatorial Affairs at the Museum of the African Diaspora. Additionally, she recently completed the essay “Gesturing Towards Infinitude: Painting Blue/Black Cosmologies,” featured in the catalogue Going Dark: The Figure at the Edge of Visibility, which accompanied the critically acclaimed Guggenheim exhibition.

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In her role at MoAD, Lee curates six to ten exhibitions annually, while also directing the strategic vision and operational oversight of the exhibitions, public programs, and education departments. She spearheads global initiatives to identify and champion emerging artists from the African diaspora, striving to amplify MoAD’s presence and impact on local, national, and international stages. Furthermore, Lee plays a pivotal role in shaping the organization’s outreach, communications, and digital strategy.