10 Museum Exhibits To Visit In L.A. This Black History Month (& How To See Them For Free)

Taylor Henderson Editor, Secret Los Angeles January 21, 2026 It’s time! Black History Month returns this February, and Black art and artists are on full display at museum exhibitions around Los Angeles. Between the Hammer Museum and LACMA to the California African American Museum, and covering everything from the Harlem Renaissance to LGBTQ+ nightlife , there are just so many exciting options to explore – and most are free to enter! So let’s just dive right in. Without further ado, here are the must-see museum exhibitions of 2026 you’ve got to check out this Black History Month. The Day Tomorrow Began – LACMA ------------------------------ Tavares Strachan ’s multisensory exhibit on the second floor of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is a must-see event. The immersive and jaw-dropping exhibit plays with sculpture, sound, scent, light, history, and science to highlight elements of the Black diaspora that are often left out of mainstream history. The LACMA is free to enter after 3 pm on weekdays for L.A. County residents. LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036 Monuments – The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA ------------------------------------------- Monuments , a controversial new exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, features decommissioned Confederate statues. Exploring the collision of American history and trauma, this moving and sometimes heartbreaking exhibition recontextualizes who the U.S. puts on a pedestal and the lasting effects of the Civil War hundreds of years later. The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA is free to enter on the first Friday of each month. RSVPs are recommended. The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, 152 North Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012 **The Museum of African American Art ------------------------------------------ Located in Baldwin Hills, the MAAA features a permanent installation of over 40 works from Palmer C. Hayden, a leading artist of the Harlem Renaissance. Admission to the museum is free. Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza – Level 2, 3650 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90008, Suite 283 These Walking Glories – CAAM ---------------------------- Artist Sage Ni’Ja Whitson has crafted a ceremonial exhibit grieving and honoring the Black transgender people who were murdered or committed suicide across the United States. The moving exhibit includes a ceremony and performance, an oral history recording, recordings of the moon cycle, and more. This CAAM is free to the public. This exhibit is open through April 5, 2026. California African American Museum, 600 State Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90037 Sometimes I Feel Like I Am Almost Home – CAAM --------------------------------------------- This short film by J.J. Anderson explores the artist’s ancestral roots in North Carolina and her hometown’s racist history. The film features archival imagery and intergenerational interviews. This CAAM is free to the public. This exhibit is open through March 22, 2026. California African American Museum, 600 State Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90037 Dear Mazie – CAAM ----------------- This exhibition is an ode to Amaza Lee Meredith, aka Mazie, the first Black queer woman architect in the United States. Eleven contemporary artists, architects, and designers were commissioned to display her life, legacy, and impact on a field that didn’t welcome her. This CAAM is free to the public. This exhibit is open through April 5, 2026. California African American Museum, 600 State Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90037 Giving you the best that I got – CAAM ------------------------------------- Dozens of artists are featured in this CAAM exhibition honoring every facet of the sacred journey of Black motherhood. This CAAM is free to the public. This exhibit is open through April 5, 2026. California African American Museum, 600 State Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90037 Highly Favored – Los Angeles LGBT Center ---------------------------------------- This year’s Highly Favored exhibit at the Los Angeles LGBT Center highlights Black queer nightlife and will honor the life of Jewel Thais-Williams, the owner of the L.A. bar Catch One who died in 2025. An opening night ceremony on February 13 will showcase the work of visual artist Nikko Lamere. Half art show, half dance party, guests will honor the club space as a pillar of joy and community building. The exhibit is free to the public with an [RSVP](https://ci.ovationtix.com/36684/production/1263407?performanceId=11746953). The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N McCadden Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90038 Photography and the Black Arts Movement – Getty Center ------------------------------------------------------ This upcoming Getty Center exhibit explores African American photography, culture, and the struggle for civil rights. It will reportedly cover a range of “artists and activists—from studio and street photographers to graphic designers and community organizers—used photography as a tool for social change.” This exhibit opens February 24 in the lower level of the museum’s West Pavilion. Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049 Made In L.A. – Hammer Museum ---------------------------- 28 artists actively working in and around Los Angeles contributed to this biennial exhibit in the Hammer Museum. “The works presented in this year’s biennial include film, painting, theater, choreography, photography, sculpture, sound, and video,” reads a press release. “Each engages with this city in ways alternately literal, formal, material, and metaphoric. Conceived or made in Los Angeles, they are of this city and nowhere else.**” The Hammer Museum is free to enter. This exhibit runs through March 1, 2026. The Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024 Source: https://secretlosangeles.com/black-history-month-museum-exhibits-free/