Geoffrey Holder: Black Magic at MOCA North Miami
Geoffrey Holder’s paintings, drawings, collages and sculptures will take center stage at MOCA North Miami this fall. Scheduled for November 12, 2026, through April 5, 2027, Geoffrey Holder: Black Magic will bring together more than 60 works in what the museum describes as the first museum survey focused on his visual art. According to MOCA, many of the works have never been publicly shown.
Holder’s performance career offers a familiar entry point. He won Tony Awards for directing and designing costumes for the original Broadway production of The Wiz in 1975. Film audiences also know him as Baron Samedi in Live and Let Die and Punjab in Annie. His work crossed disciplines, connecting theatrical performance with the creation of characters, costumes and visual worlds.
Guest curator Erica Moiah James, PhD, approaches that career through Holder’s visual practice, presenting it as a foundation of his broader creative life. The exhibition follows five thematic sections: Portraits, Epistles, The Sacred and the Profane, Genre, and Figure Studies.
The subjects range from biblical scenes interpreted through a modern perspective to portraits drawn from memory, landscapes and still lifes. The human figure provides another connection between his disciplines, with the exhibition examining the body through the perspective of an artist who also worked in dance and choreography.
What to Know Before Visiting
MOCA is located in the Joan Lehman Building at 770 NE 125th Street, North Miami. Regular museum hours are Wednesday from noon to 7 p.m. and Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the museum is closed Monday and Tuesday. Check MOCA’s visitor information for updates before planning a visit.
Website: MOCA North Miami
Phone: 305-893-6211