The City of Charleston's Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) has announced Akua Page, a Gullah Geechee interdisciplinary artist, cultural educator and naturalist from North Charleston, as the winner of the design competition for the 2026 MOJA Arts Festival's official poster.
The poster features a girl wearing sunglasses whose pigtails feature the flags of the four countries and cultures MOJA is celebrating this year: Jamaica, Barbados, Sierra Leone and Gullah Geechee.
Page described her style as using “the natural world as my map to tell the story of Gullah Geechee people.”
She said Gullah Geechee culture is central to her creative practice, which explores land, memory, spirituality and agriculture within the African Diaspora. Drawing from Gullah Geechee history, Page said she uses art, storytelling and environmental interpretation to reveal the stories and cultural knowledge embedded in the landscapes of the Lowcountry.
The poster is being unveiled in a new way this year — online at mojafestival.com, charlestonarts.org and on the OCA's Facebook page in a presentation created by OCA Social Media Coordinator Reason Woods that includes interviews with the artist.
The work represents the festival, an eight-day, national celebration of Black arts, culture and heritage that honors the lasting contributions of the African Diaspora. MOJA is produced by MOJA Arts, a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and supported by the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs.
The poster will be on sale beginning Sept. 24 at the Cannon Arts Center, the headquarters of the Office of Cultural Affairs, at 134 Cannon Street; City Gallery at Waterfront Park, 34 Prioleau Street; and the MOJA Arts Festival finale on Oct. 1 at Hampton Park. The OCA office will be open daily except Oct. 1 and Oct. 2, when it will be closed for the festival finale. More information and tickets are available at mojafestival.com.