The exhibition “Sheroes – Comic Art from Africa” will be on display at the Weltkulturen Museum in Frankfurt am Main from November 1, 2025, to August 30, 2026.
It presents an impressive variety of African comics and their unique perspectives. It features works by 20 artists from African countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda. The focus is on superheroines who fight against problems such as patriarchy, neocolonialism, and homophobia.
Another central theme of the exhibition is the examination of African cultural objects and their history. The artists use comics to transform cultural artifacts and revive their stories. Charity Atukunda, for example, draws inspiration from a Congolese horn to create a narrative that reintegrates the object into the context of life.
The exhibition features comics that deal with historical events, science fiction, and queer themes. Particularly noteworthy is the work of Akosua Hanson, whose series “Moongirls” focuses on queer African heroines fighting for a free Africa. Charity Atukunda is also represented with her science fiction comic “The Strange Tree,” in which nature takes revenge on humans.
The exhibition also addresses the importance of comics in African culture as an important medium for imparting knowledge and finding identity. In her series “Ary,” for example, Dinah Rajemison tells the story of a girl struggling with her identity and the threat of climate change. In African countries, comics offer the opportunity to address complex issues such as identity, culture, and social problems and make them accessible to a wide audience.
The “Sheroes” exhibition thus highlights not only the creative diversity of African comics but also their potential to address and communicate cultural and social issues in a new way. It invites visitors to see the world through the eyes of African artists and opens a dialogue about identity, history, and the power of art.
© Front-Cover Sheroes by Wolfgang Günzel
