Executive Director and Chief Curator of Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, Koyo Kouoh, speaks at AWITA's 'Build Your Art World 2024' at Christie's, London, a symposium aiming to inspire female arts professionals. Wednesday, June 5, 2024.
(Press Association via AP Images)
Black leadership has increasingly influenced Art platforms around the world. One such example is the appointment of Cameroonian Koyo Kouoh as the Artistic Director of the 2026 edition of the Venice Biennale. Kouoh is only the second African-born curator of the world’s biggest recurring art exhibition, following Okwui Enwezor, who was the first in history to do so in 2016.
Kouoh currently serves as the chief curator of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art Africa in Cape Town, South Africa. The Zeitz is among the grandest of such institutions on the continent of Africa. Having founded RAW Material Company in Dakar in 2008, Kouoh designed RAW Material to provide local audiences with space to freely discuss art.
Citing the privilege of taking on the role of shaping such a grand exhibition, Kouoh stated, “Artists are the visionaries and social scientists who allow us to reflect and project in ways afforded only to this line of work.”
The 61st Venice Biannale is due to open in April and run through November 2026.
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