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# Isaac Julien dreams big at de Young
- URL: https://www.kinoki.co/isaac-julien-dreams-big-at-de-young/
- Published: 2025-02-16T12:47:29.000Z
- Updated: 2025-02-16T12:47:28.000Z
- Description: I Dream a World is the first retrospective of Julien's work to be held in the US. It is also the de Young's first exhibition dedicated to a moving image artist.
- Author: Marija Olga
- Tags: News, Black art, film, video art, installation, retrospective, museum, LGBTQ+, exhibition

The de Young Museum in San Francisco is preparing to hold a comprehensive survey of works by the British filmmaker and visual artist [Isaac Julien](https://www.kinoki.co/artists-isaac-julien/). The exhibition [I Dream a World represents the first retrospective of Julien's work](https://www.famsf.org/exhibitions/isaac-julien?ref=kinoki.co) to be held in the United States. For the de Young Museum, which is part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), this exhibition also represents a milestone, as [it is their first exhibition dedicated to an artist who works with the moving image](https://ocula.com/magazine/art-news/isaac-julien-surveyed-in-san-francisco-spring-2025/?ref=kinoki.co).

Claudia Schmuckli, Chief Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at de Young, has made [a selection of 10 major installations](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/isaac-julien-de-young-retrospective-20061133.php?ref=kinoki.co) created by Julien during the period of 1999 to 2022\. Visitors to the Herbst Exhibition Galleries of the museum will be greeted by the installation *The Long Road to Mazatlán* (1999), [an exploration of the myth of the cowboy imbued with a contemporary homoerotic twist](https://www.isaacjulien.com/projects/long-road-to-mazatlan/?ref=kinoki.co), followed by works such as *Paradise Omeros* (2002), *Baltimore* (2003) and *Fantôme Afrique* (2005). The multi-screen installation *Ten Thousand Waves* (2010), [a retelling of the 16th-century legend of the Chinese sea goddess Mazu](https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1382?ref=kinoki.co), will be accessible to the public at Wilsey Court.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/98/98/98986ef2-474e-4f7c-82a5-62d592178e78/content/images/2025/02/ExtIJ236Pas-de-Deux-No-21989201620050204_1440_0.jpg)

Isaac Julien, **Pas de Deux No. 2 (Looking for Langston Vintage Series)* (1989/2016). Ilford classic silver gelatin fine art paper, mounted on aluminium and framed. 58.1 x 74.5 cm. © Isaac Julien. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro.

The centerpieces of this retrospective will be two of Julien's most recent works: *Lessons of the Hour* (2019) and *Once Again… (Statues Never Die)* (2022). The former, a recent acquisition by FAMSF, is [a ten-channel installation with Frederick Douglass](https://www.kinoki.co/isaac-julien-installs-lessons-of-the-hour-at-museum-of-modern-art/) as the subject, which recounts the life of the famous abolitionist and highlights the role that technology and image-making have in forming bonds between people. The latter examines [the neglected place that African objects have in western art museums](https://www.mca.com.au/exhibitions/isaac-julien-once-again-statues-never-die/?ref=kinoki.co) through the lens of the relationship between the art collector Alfred C. Barnes and the first African-American Rhodes Scholar, Alain Locke.

[Besides the aforementioned installations](https://www.famsf.org/press-room/isaac-julien?ref=kinoki.co), the de Young is also displaying a selection of Julien's earlier film works, including *Looking for Langston* (1989), *Lost Boundaries* (1981-87) and *This Is Not An AIDS Advertisement* (1987). The exhibition I Dream a World opens on April 12 and is on view through July 13, 2025\. For more information visit the [FAMSF site](https://www.famsf.org/?ref=kinoki.co).