Curator Koyo Kouoh, First African Woman to Lead Venice Biennale, Dies at 57

Koyo Kouoh, the curator from Cameroon who was set to lead the 61st Venice Biennale, passed away at the age of 57 on May 10 in Basel, Switzerland. Her husband, Philippe Mall, indicated that her death was due to a recently diagnosed cancer. Kouoh served as the executive director and chief curator at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town. Just days before her death, she had submitted her theme proposal for the 2025 Venice Biennale. Born in Douala in 1967, she relocated to Zurich at 13 and later studied cultural management in France after her time as a social worker. In 1996, she returned to Africa, establishing the influential Raw Material Company in Dakar in 2008. Kouoh gained global acclaim by co-curating the Bamako Encounters in 2001 and 2003 and contributed to Documenta 12 and 13. She was also the inaugural curator for the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair's educational program in 2013 and participated in the Irish Contemporary Art Biennale in 2016. In a 2016 interview with Artforum, she highlighted the importance of discussing art in analytical and social contexts. Raw Material Company honored her as "a real force, a source of warmth, generosity and intelligence." At Zeitz MOCAA, her vision was to foster a Pan-African institution that examined the continent's histories through dialogue.