Cameroonian Pan-African curator, Koyo Kouoh, dies at 58.

Kouoh's death comes just a year after she made history as the first African woman to be appointed curator of the prestigious 61st Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art, scheduled to hold in 2026. 

Her death was announced in a statement by the Venice Biennale on Saturday, expressing shock and sorrow at the “sudden and untimely death” of the curator. 

The institution acknowledged that her death leaves “a huge void in the world of contemporary art and in the international community of artists, curators and researchers who appreciated her extraordinary intellectual and human commitment”.

Brief biography of Koyo Kouoh

Born in Douala in 1967, Koyo Kouoh's life journey was marked by a relentless pursuit of artistic truth and cultural empowerment. 

At the age 13, she moved with her family to Zurich, Switzerland, where she pursued studies in economics, as encouraged by her parents. But her path soon shifted toward arts, said to be a calling that would place her at the fore of Africa’s cultural renaissance.

Kouoh first ventured into the creative world through literature and cinema. In 1995, during a fateful interview with legendary Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène took her to Dakar, Senegal. It was in Dakar that her curatorial voice began to take shape. 

Between 1998 and 2002, she coordinated cultural programmes at the Institut Gorée, while also co-curating the Rencontres africaines de la photographie in Bamako, Malai, from 2001 onward. 

Her involvement with the Dakar Biennale began in 2003 and marked the beginning of an enduring impact on African art institutions.

In 2008, Kouoh founded the RAW Material Company in Dakar, Senegal, a centre for contemporary art, critical thinking, and societal engagement. 

Through RAW, she cultivated a space for artists, curators, and thinkers to interrogate African identities, challenge colonial legacies, and reimagine the continent’s place in global narratives. Among those she mentored was Eva Barois de Caevel, now herself a respected curator. 

Kouoh’s influence also extended internationally as she contributed to Documenta 12 and 13 in Germany, curated the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London, and co-curated the major Géo-graphics exhibition in Brussels in 2010.

Her curatorial style is said to have sharp, politically engaged and aesthetically bold earned her global respect. In 2015, The New York Times named her one of Africa’s most important curators. 

Specializing in photography, video and public space art, she tirelessly advocated for African artists to be seen not through the lens of exoticism, but as equals in the global art scene.

In 2019, she was appointed Executive Director and Chief Curator of Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town. 

Kouoh was appointment in 2024 as curator of the 2026 Venice Biennale. This was a crowning moment in her career. 

She declared that the appointment was “a unique honour and privilege to follow in the footsteps of illustrious predecessors in the role of artistic director and to create an exhibition that I hope will have meaning for the world we live in at the moment and, more importantly, for the world we want to build”.

Eulogies 

Her death has triggered a wave of tributes across the continent. Prof Maurice Kamto expressed his condolences in a message shared on social media on May 11. Kamto said her outstanding talent has brought honour to African women and to Cameroon. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3448 of Wednesday May 14, 2025