Leilah Babirye at the de Young

Leilah Babirye’s solo exhibition at San Francisco’s de Young Museum is in its final days, with Mission Local listing “Leilah Babirye: We Have a History” among Bay Area museum shows closing on May 26, 2026. The exhibition is Babirye’s first solo museum show in the United States, according to exhibition materials carried by Galerie Max Hetzler, which represents the artist. The show centers on Babirye’s sculpture and places it in the de Young’s Contemporary African Art program, those materials say. The artist, born in Kampala, Uganda, lives and works in Brooklyn, according to gallery and museum biographies. ### Who is Leilah Babirye? Leilah Babirye is a Ugandan-born artist whose work includes sculpture in ceramic and wood, often combined with discarded materials collected from the street, according to Galerie Max Hetzler and ICA Boston. Those materials describe her practice as building expressive portraits through carved, burnished and glazed forms, then adding bicycle chains, gears and rubber inner tubes as adornment. Babirye studied at Makerere University in Kampala and later settled in New York, according to her gallery biography. (missionlocal.org) ICA Boston says Babirye fled Uganda after being outed as gay, and that her work continues a commitment to uplift LGBTQ identities. Gordon Robichaux, another gallery that represents her, says she received asylum in the United States in 2018. ### What is in the de Young show? “We Have a History” is made up of 12 large-scale sculptures, according to later coverage of the exhibition by Momus and other art publications. (gordonrobichaux.com) Those works were made between 2019 and 2024, Momus reported, and three were being shown for the first time. Other exhibition descriptions say the works were installed alongside objects from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s historical African art holdings. (icaboston.org) Galerie Max Hetzler’s exhibition page says Babirye uses ceramic, wood and discarded objects to create portraits of her LGBTQ+ community. The same materials say the show highlights links between past and present within the de Young’s Contemporary African Art program. ### What makes the sculptures look the way they do? (momus.ca) ICA Boston’s description of Babirye’s work gives the clearest account of her materials: bicycle chains and gears become headdresses and jewelry, while inner tubes become long strands that read as hair. Momus reported that the sculptures are composed from chain-sawed, burnished, coil-built and glazed materials, then further adorned with found objects. (maxhetzler.com) Natasha Becker, the de Young’s curator of African art, said in a museum video cited by Culture Type that Babirye is “drawing on history” while “building and innovating in this contemporary moment.” Becker said the work creates space “for queer people, for queer community.” ### Why does the exhibition matter in Babirye’s career? (icaboston.org) Galerie Max Hetzler describes the de Young presentation as Babirye’s first solo museum show in the United States. That places the San Francisco exhibition at a key point in a career that has also included the 2024 Venice Biennale and museum collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, according to her gallery biography. (culturetype.com) The de Young show also sits within a broader museum run. ICA Boston says it will present a Babirye solo exhibition from August 27, 2026, through January 18, 2027, built around a new body of ceramic sculptures inspired by the idea of the queer wedding. ### If someone wants to see it now, what should they know? Mission Local’s May 2026 museum guide says “Leilah Babirye: We Have a History” closes May 26, 2026, at the de Young. (maxhetzler.com) Galerie Max Hetzler’s page for the exhibition lists the de Young dates as beginning June 22, 2024, and running into 2026, confirming the San Francisco show as an extended museum presentation. ICA Boston lists Babirye’s next institutional solo exhibition for August 27, 2026. (icaboston.org) (missionlocal.org)