LEILAH BABIRYE et al.
Fountainhead Residency (artist residency)
Fountainhead Arts, Miami
18 February – 18 March 2026
Leilah Babirye is participating in the Fountainhead Residency in Miami this spring. During the month-long residency, artists will undertake studio visits with nationally recognised curators, collectors and galleries for one-on-one studio visits, insight, and perspective on their work. Living and working alongside other artists-in-residence in Miami’s historic Morningside neighbourhood, Babirye will be invited to experiment, investigate, and reflect while being immersed in Miami's vibrant cultural landscape. At the end of the residency, the public will be invited to Fountainhead to meet with Babirye, view her work and discuss her inspirations.
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LEILAH BABIRYE
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
27 August 2026 – 18 January 2027
Leilah Babirye’s works are presented in a solo exhibtion at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. The exhibition is centred on a new body of evocative sculptures, inspired by the idea of the queer wedding, which feature the artist’s inventive reuse of debris with her deft carving of wood and work with ceramics. Each sculpture adopts a role – bride, groom, ring bearer, flower girl, bridesmaid, or groomsman – in a vivid installation that is both wedding ceremony and celebration. The exhibition will be accompanied by the artist’s first book.
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LEILAH BABIRYE et al.
Shifting the Silence. Die Stille Verschieben (group show)
Lenbachhaus, Munich
From 14 October 2025
Work by Leilah Babirye will be featured in the group show Shifting the Silence, at Lenbachhaus, Munich, opening on 14 October 2025. Borrowing its title from Etel Adnan’s last book, the exhibition reflects on the challenge of verbalizing works of visual art and making them tangible, inviting visitors to embrace the inexpressible in a poetic way.
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LEILAH BABIRYE
Nakimbugwe from the Kuchu Royal Family of Buganda, 2024 (permanent collection)
de Young Museum, San Francisco
Leilah Babirye’s Nakimbugwe from the Kuchu Royal Family of Buganda, 2024, has been acquired by the de Young Museum, San Francisco. The sculpture is on view in the museum’s current exhibition Leilah Babirye: We Have a History until 26 October, 2025.
This exhibition is Babirye’s first solo museum show in the United States and highlights the connection between past and present that is at the heart of the museum’s Contemporary African Art programme. The presentation has been organised by Natasha Becker, Curator of African Art, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
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LEILAH BABIRYE
We Have a History (solo show)
de Young Museum, San Francisco
22 June 2024 – 3 May 2026
The de Young Museum, San Francisco, presents We Have a History, Leilah Babirye’s first solo museum show in the United States. Known for her highly expressive, ambiguously gendered sculptures in ceramic, wood and discarded objects, Babirye creates portraits of her LGBTQ+ community, thereby speaking to the power of reclaiming personal and cultural identity through artistic practice. Exploring historical narratives and cultural traditions, the exhibition highlights the connection between past and present that is at the heart of the de Young’s Contemporary African Art programme.
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LEILAH BABIRYE
Shortlisted | High Line Plinth Commissions 2026/27
We congratulate Leilah Babirye on being shortlisted by High Line Art for the Fifth and Sixth Plinth Commissions on the High Line at 30th Street, New York.
High Line invites the public to share feedback on what works they would like to see realised. Share your comments here.
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