Koyo Kouoh Named First African Woman to Curate Venice Biennale

The Cameroonian curator and Pan-Africanist will lead the 2026 edition of the prestigious art exhibition.

Koyo Kouoh, a Cameroonian curator and director of Cape Town's Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, has been appointed curator of the 2026 Venice Biennale.
She is the first African woman to lead the Biennale in its 130-year history and only the second African to do so, following Nigerian curator Okwui Enwezor in 2015.
Kouoh has a distinguished career championing contemporary African art and Pan-Africanism, with previous roles in Dakar, Basel, and Cape Town, and involvement in major global art events such as Documenta and the Berlinale.
Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco highlighted Kouoh's ability to bring innovative and disruptive perspectives to the world-renowned exhibition.
Kouoh stated her vision for the Biennale is to create an exhibition that reflects the current global context and inspires a vision for the future.