The global art world is mourning the sudden loss of Koyo Kouoh, the trailblazing Cameroonian-born curator appointed to lead the 2026 Venice Biennale, who passed away at 57, per artnews.com. Her death was announced by the Biennale on Saturday, just weeks before she was set to reveal her highly anticipated exhibition theme.
Kouoh’s appointment had made her only the second African-born curator to helm the prestigious event, following Okwui Enwezor’s historic 2015 edition. Her passing marks a profound loss for contemporary art, particularly for the African creative community she championed tirelessly.
Since 2019, Kouoh served as Executive Director and Chief Curator of Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, transforming it into a global hub for African art. Under her leadership, the museum gained international acclaim with landmark exhibitions like “When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting” (2022), a groundbreaking survey still touring globally.
Before Zeitz MOCAA, she founded RAW Material Company in Dakar (2008), an independent art centre that became a cornerstone of West Africa’s cultural landscape. Her vision was clear: to centre African voices in art discourse.
“I wanted to engage with ideas that concern our region first—then share them with the world,” she told Artforum in 2016.
Born in Douala, Cameroon, in 1967, Kouoh moved to Switzerland at 13, studying banking before pivoting to art in the 1990s. Inspired by feminist literature and African creatives like Ousmane Sembène, she relocated permanently to Dakar in 1996, immersing herself in Senegal’s art scene.
Her curatorial career took off with Documenta (2007, 2012), EVA International, and the Carnegie International (2018). Yet, she remained committed to institution-building in Africa, stating: “It’s important to build institutions, not just careers—they leave a legacy.”
Kouoh’s 2026 Venice Biennale was poised to be her magnum opus, continuing her mission to decenter Western art narratives. The Biennale praised her “passion, rigour, and vision”—qualities evident in her transformative work at Zeitz MOCAA, where she redefined the museum’s direction after a leadership scandal.
“We cannot let this fail,” she told The New York Times in 2020. “Zeitz MOCAA must live up to its ambitions.”
Beyond her professional achievements, Kouoh was a fierce feminist, crediting her grandmother’s resilience as her inspiration. Colleagues remember her as “a force of warmth and intellect” (RAW Material Company) and a “changemaker who never compromised” (Simon Njami).
Her death leaves the future of the 2026 Biennale uncertain, but her impact endures. As she once said: “The real discussions begin when we talk to ourselves.”
Koyo Kouoh is survived by her four children, including her son Djibril.
•Featured image: Koyo Kouoh/©Mehdi Benkler
