Koyo Kouoh, first African woman appointed to lead Venice Biennale in 2026 is dead

Koyo Kouoh, the visionary Cameroonian-born curator and Executive Director of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), has died. The museum confirmed her sudden passing in the early hours of Friday, 10 May. She was 57.

In a statement posted on its official channels, Zeitz MOCAA announced:
“It is with profound sorrow that the Trustees of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) received news in the early hours of this morning, of the sudden passing of Koyo Kouoh, our beloved Executive Director and Chief Curator. Out of respect, Zeitz MOCAA will close its doors today, and all programming will be suspended until further notice. Our thoughts are with Koyo’s family at this time.”

Kouoh’s death comes just months after she made history as the first African woman to be named Artistic Director of the 61st Venice Biennale, scheduled to open in April 2026. Her appointment to helm the world’s most prestigious contemporary art exhibition was widely celebrated as a landmark moment for African and global art.

Born in Douala, Cameroon in 1967, Kouoh built a formidable career committed to re-centering Africa and its diaspora in the global art narrative. Her early life spanned Cameroon, Switzerland, and France, and she pursued studies in cultural management and banking before fully immersing herself in the art world—a field in which she would become one of its most influential figures.

In 2008, she founded RAW Material Company in Dakar, Senegal, a dynamic art centre dedicated to curatorial practice, critical thinking, and artistic experimentation. Under her leadership, RAW became an anchor for contemporary art in West Africa and a platform for emerging and established artists alike. It was a space that fused aesthetics and activism, shaped by Kouoh’s belief in art as a tool for transformation.

Kouoh’s curatorial acumen earned her international recognition. She served on the curatorial teams of Documenta 12 (2007) and Documenta 13 (2012), among the most influential exhibitions in the contemporary art calendar. Her work often interrogated power, memory, identity, and the lingering legacies of colonialism.

In 2019, she was appointed Executive Director and Chief Curator of Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town. At the helm of one of the largest museums of contemporary African art, Kouoh brought a new intellectual depth and Pan-African vision. She curated major exhibitions, restructured institutional programming, and fostered an environment where artists and curators could explore urgent themes with freedom and support.

Her tenure at Zeitz MOCAA was marked by boldness and clarity of purpose. She sought to make the museum not just a container of art but a generator of dialogue and change—a place where the complexities of African histories and futures could be explored with nuance and care.

More than a curator, Kouoh was a mentor and a builder of community. Her deep generosity of spirit was felt by artists, peers, and audiences alike. She championed others fiercely, insisting on the value of African thought, aesthetics, and lived experience in shaping global culture.

In a tribute posted online, Nigerian artist Otobong Nkanga, a long-time collaborator, wrote:
“Koyo was a source of warmth, generosity and brilliance, she always stated that people are more important than things and we feel her absence greatly today.”

Kouoh’s death leaves a profound void in the art world. Yet her legacy—etched in the institutions she shaped, the artists she empowered, and the conversations she ignited—will endure.