ROME (AP) — Koyo Kouoh, the curator of the 2026 Venice Artwork Biennale, has died at age 58, her dwelling establishment in South Africa stated in an Instagram publish Saturday.
The Zeitz Museum of Modern Artwork Africa in Cape City in South Africa confirmed her passing in a single day however gave no reason behind dying. The Biennale stated Saturday it was “deeply saddened and dismayed” to study of her dying.
Kouoh was the primary African lady tapped to helm the Venice Biennale. Born in Cameroon in 1967, she was tapped to curate the 2026 version of the Biennale in December. A number one determine in selling Pan-Africanism all through the artwork world, Kouoh had been govt director and chief curator at Zeitz since 2019.
Appointed in December 2024 by the board of administrators of La Biennale, Kouoh labored “with passion, intellectual rigor and vision on the conception and development of the Biennale Arte 2026,” the Venice arts establishment stated.
The presentation of the exhibition’s title and theme was resulting from happen in Venice on Might 20.
“Her passing leaves an immense void in the world of contemporary art and in the international community of artists, curators, and scholars who had the privilege of knowing and admiring her extraordinary human and intellectual commitment,” the Biennale stated.
It prolonged “its deepest sympathies and affection” to Kouoh’s household and associates, and “all those who shared with her a journey of research and critical thought on contemporary art.”
In a press release, Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni on Saturday expressed her “deepest condolences” for Kouoh’s “premature and sudden passing,” noting it “leaves a void in the world of contemporary art.”
