The Museum of NCAAA

The Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists (NCAAA) is a private nonprofit in Roxbury dedicated to preserving and fostering the arts heritage of Black people worldwide. Since 1968 it has served the public through arts teaching and presentations of professional work across the fine arts. Housed since 1980 in the historic Abbotsford Estate, it has long been a platform for established, emerging and underrepresented artists of the African diaspora.

NCAAA holds a collection of more than 3,000 objects and has mounted critically acclaimed exhibitions while serving as a cultural and academic repository. Its music division produces Black Nativity, written by Langston Hughes, which has become a cherished Boston holiday tradition over more than fifty years. Like many arts groups after the pandemic, the organization is reassessing its operating model and how best to steward its history for the next generation.

What to Know

• The museum is currently closed to the public and opens only for special events.
• Its December 2026 production is scheduled at the Emerson Paramount Center in Boston.
• Supporters can become members, join the email list or donate.
• It describes itself as New England’s most revered institution celebrating African American and African diaspora arts heritage.