Leilah Babirye: We Have a History (de Young)

Leilah Babirye’s solo exhibition “We Have a History” is in its final days at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco listing the show as included with general admission through May 26, 2026. Mission Local included the exhibition in a May museum roundup and said it closes May 26. The show is Babirye’s first solo museum exhibition in the United States, according to exhibition materials circulated by the museum and its partners. ### Who is Leilah Babirye, and what is on view at the de Young? Leilah Babirye is a Ugandan-born, Brooklyn-based artist whose work centers on sculpture and portraiture made from ceramic, wood and discarded materials, according to the de Young exhibition description carried by Galerie Max Hetzler and other museum-linked listings. The exhibition includes 12 sculptures, with three on view for the first time, those sources said. (missionlocal.org) The de Young’s ticketing pages list “Leilah Babirye: We Have a History” alongside the museum’s permanent collection and other current exhibitions, indicating that visitors see the show as part of standard admission rather than through a separate timed special-exhibition ticket. The museum’s general admission page also says Bay Area residents receive free admission on Saturdays. (maxhetzler.com) ### What does the exhibition focus on? The exhibition description says Babirye’s work addresses “reclaiming identity” and “creating community” through artistic practice, historical narratives and cultural traditions. The de Young materials, as reproduced by e-flux and Galerie Max Hetzler, say the show connects past and present within the museum’s Contemporary African Art program. (tickets.famsf.org) ABC7 San Francisco reported in June 2024 that Babirye described the figures in the show as “real people from our queer community in Uganda.” In the same report, curator Natasha Becker said Babirye was “creating a different story” about “love and belonging and community.” ### How does Babirye make the sculptures? (e-flux.com) ABC7 reported that Babirye works in Brooklyn and uses chainsaws to shape wood for masks and sculptures. The same report said the artist builds works from bicycle chains, beer cans and other discarded materials. The de Young exhibition description, as reproduced by partner and review sites, says Babirye is known for expressive, ambiguously gendered sculptures in ceramic, wood and found objects. (abc7news.com) Those materials are central to how the portraits are assembled and how the artist links discarded matter to marginalized lives, according to those accounts. ### Where does Uganda enter the story? Uganda is central to the exhibition’s subject matter because Babirye has tied the work to queer life and exclusion in her home country. ABC7 reported that Babirye said her practice was “creating communities of LGBT communities” that had been isolated and pushed out. The station also reported that Babirye said she would feel safe returning to show her work in Uganda when she is able to obtain U.S. citizenship. (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 scale of the work is also about “how much space Leilah Babirye is creating for queer people, for queer community.” (abc7news.com) ### What should a visitor know before going this week? The de Young is at 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive in San Francisco, according to the museum’s exhibition and ticketing pages. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco ticketing site says entry to “Leilah Babirye: We Have a History” is included with de Young general admission, and the museum says Bay Area residents can book free Saturday admission. Mission Local’s May roundup says the exhibition closes on May 26, 2026. (culturetype.com) May 26, 2026, is the listed closing date for “We Have a History,” and tickets remain available through the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s de Young admission pages. The museum store also lists a Leilah Babirye publication for sale, giving visitors one more named point of reference tied to the exhibition before it leaves view. (missionlocal.org) (e-flux.com)