Koyo Kouoh has been announced as curator of the 61st Venice Biennale, to be held in 2026. Kouoh will be the first African woman to hold the prestigious position of curator of an international art exhibition, regarded as one of the most important exhibitions of its kind in the world.
Kouoh is a curator and scholar born in Cameroon and raised in Switzerland who has served as executive director and chief curator of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art in Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) in Cape Town since 2019. She served as the museum’s founding artistic director at the RAW Material Company Art Center in Dakar, and worked on the curatorial team for major exhibitions such as Documenta 12 and Documenta 13. In 2016 she curated EVA International, the Irish Contemporary Art Biennale, and was curator of education and art programs at the 1-54th Contemporary African Art Fair from 2013 to 2017. Most recently, her 2022 exhibition “When We See Us: A Century of Black Figures in Painting” at Zeitz MOCAA, which explored themes of black identity and representation, received critical acclaim. The exhibition toured the Kunstmuseum Basel earlier this year.
Cuo called the Venice appointment “a once-in-a-lifetime honor” and recalled the Biennale’s long history as a global gathering of art and ideas. She said: “It is an honor to follow in the footsteps of my illustrious predecessors… and to create an exhibition that I hope will have meaning for the world we currently live in – and most importantly, for the world we want to create. .”
Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco called Cuu’s appointment “a recognition of the broad horizons at the dawn of a day full of new words and new horizons.”
Although the 2024 Venice Biennale has just concluded, details about the 2026 art event began trickling out last month. For example, Yto Barrada recently announced that he will represent France at the 2026 Biennale. Other artists selected for the national pavilion include Abbas Akhavan from Canada; Merike Estna for Estonia; Isabel Nolan for Ireland; and Aline Bouvy from Luxembourg.
