The name “Bumba-Meu-Boi” is commonly translated as “Bang! Pow! Wham! My Bull.” The word “Bumba” is from the Kikongo language meaning “to beat,” while “Meu-Boi” means “My-Bull/Ox” in Portuguese.
We warmly invite you to attend an upcoming photography exhibition opening on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 from 5-8 p.m. to be held at BXposure, located at the historic Andrew Freedman Home, 1125 Grand Concourse, No. 106, Bronx, NY 10452.
The exhibition features selected photographs from C. Daniel Dawson’s Bumba-Meu-Boi Photography Project – an ongoing body of work initiated in 1999 documenting one of Brazil’s most profound cultural traditions. The event is free and open to the public. To RSVP, please visit here.
A multi-talented artist, Daniel Dawson has worked as a photographer, filmmaker, curator, arts administrator, consultant and scholar. He has served as Curator of Photography, Film and Video at the Studio Museum in Harlem (NYC), Director of Special Projects at the Caribbean Cultural Center (NYC), Program Manager at the American Museum of Natural History (NYC) and Curatorial Consultant and Director of Education at the Museum for African Art (NYC). As a photographer, he has shown in over 35 exhibitions. In addition, he has curated more than 50 exhibitions including Harlem Heyday: The Photographs of James Van Der Zee and The Sound I Saw: The Jazz Photographs of Roy DeCarava. Prof. Dawson has also been associated with many prize-winning films including Head and Heart by James Mannas and Capoeiras of Brazil by Warrington Hudlin. He has worked as a consultant for the Cooper Hewitt Museum, International Center for Photography, Lincoln Center, Ralph Appelbaum Associates and three different divisions of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. As a scholar, he has lectured at the House of World Cultures-Berlin, the Kit Tropenmuseum-Amsterdam, the University of California-Berkeley, University of Texas-Austin, University of Wisconsin-Madison, New School for Social Research, Columbia University, Princeton University and the Federal University of Bahia and Rio de Janeiro-Brazil. Prof. Dawson has also taught seminars on African Spirituality in the Americas at the University of Iowa, Columbia University, New York University and Yale University. He is currently a member of Kamoinge, a pioneering collective of African American photographers founded in 1963.
Found principally in the states of Ceará, Piauí, Pará and Maranhão, Bumba-Meu-Boi is one of the most impressive cultural manifestations of the African Diaspora. In its contemporary form, it serves as a spectacular celebration that fuses African, Amerindian and European elements in a swirling colorful display. Brazilians often identify this fusion as illustrating their national ethos and the blending of the races in their country.
This photo exhibition presents images created from the early 2000s, each one tracing the visual language and cultural significance of Bumba-Meu-Boi through both analog and digital image-making practices. The works offer an intimate look at the festival’s evolving forms, from the deeply African-rooted Boi de Zabumba to the Indigenous-centered Boi de Matraca and the later Boi de Orquestra traditions.
About BXposure
BXposure is The Bronx’s first Black-owned independent film lab and community darkroom, located in the historic Andrew Freedman Home. The space offers film processing, workshops, exhibitions and community programming dedicated to keeping analog photography accessible and thriving in the Bronx.
