Koyo Kouoh, 2026 Venice Art Biennale curator, dies suddenly at age 58
Koyo Kouoh, the curator of the 2026 Venice Art Biennale, has died at age 58, her home institution in South Africa said in an Instagram post on Saturday.
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town in South Africa confirmed her passing overnight but gave no cause of death. The Biennale said on Saturday it was "deeply saddened and dismayed' to learn of her death.
Kouoh was the first African woman tapped to helm the Venice Biennale. Born in Cameroon in 1967, she was tapped to curate the 2026 edition of the Biennale in December. A leading figure in promoting Pan-Africanism throughout the art world, Kouoh had been executive director and chief curator at Zeitz since 2019.
Appointed in December 2024 by the board of directors of La Biennale, Kouoh worked "with passion, intellectual rigor and vision on the conception and development of the Biennale Arte 2026,' the Venice arts institution said.
The presentation of the exhibition's title and theme was due to take place in Venice on May 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 said.
It extended "its deepest sympathies and affection' to Kouoh's family and friends, and "all those who shared with her a journey of research and critical thought on contemporary art.'
In a statement, 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.' - AP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
TV host Lee Teng and wife welcome rainbow baby after 2020 miscarriage
TV host Lee Teng and his wife Gina Lin are now first-time parents to a girl named Ellison. Photo: Gina Lin/Instagram Singaporean TV host Lee Teng and his Taiwanese wife Gina Lin are now first-time parents to a baby girl named Ellison. Announcing the good news on Instagram on Aug 13, he joked about how he should now be called 'Ellis' dad'. The 41-year-old thanked his wife, 32, for her unwavering perseverance in her journey to becoming a mother. Calling their newborn a 'rainbow baby', Lee recounted how the past five years had been anything but easy for the couple after they lost their first child in July 2020. Lin was six months pregnant when she suffered a miscarriage after returning to Taiwan to prepare for the birth of their baby boy, nicknamed Xiao Dou Ya (Little Bean Sprout). Lee was then in Singapore for work and could not leave the country to be with her because of Covid-19 travel restrictions. He managed to reunite with her in August that year, and they subsequently spent three months in Taiwan to heal from the grief together. He apologised to his followers for keeping their second pregnancy a secret. He said: 'My wife and I have faced countless setbacks, and there were moments when I couldn't bear to see her disappointed. At times, I asked if we should give up, simply because I couldn't stand watching her suffer. 'The wait has been long, but the moment I saw the smile on our rainbow baby's face, I knew every second was worth it.' Lee also apologised for turning down work over the past year to be with his wife. Lin shared her heartfelt post on Instagram on Aug 13, writing in Chinese that the past few years had been 'incredibly challenging'. 'Facing physical, mental and emotional strain, and concerns from everyone, I've managed to appear calm and composed. But in reality, I've become incredibly sensitive and insecure,' she admitted. She added that she had been living under a constant barrage of repressed emotions and spent almost the entire pregnancy at home. Addressing her daughter in her post, Lin said: 'Thank you for choosing me to be your mother, thank you for working so hard to grow up, thank you for giving me the courage to face my birthday and thank you for piecing together the broken me bit by bit.' She added: 'From the moment I heard your first cry, it felt so unreal. I wake up every morning and ask myself, 'Is this true?' Thank you for coming safely to us. Your father and I only hope you will be healthy and safe.' – The Straits Times/Asia News Network View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gina Lin (@ginalin)
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Czech film takes 'conspiracy nuts' on Ukraine war tour
PRAGUE: Two men and a woman driven by disinformation and denying the Russian invasion of Ukraine are the unlikely protagonists of a Czech documentary that will premiere this month. Director Robin Kvapil took Petra, Ivo and Nikola on a two-week tour of Ukraine's war-ravaged cities, shelters and cemeteries last October, equipping them with handheld cameras to capture the experience. Before the shooting, Kvapil, 43, paid two visits to Ukraine to prepare the film and was shocked by the war. "That's an experience you won't get out of your head. It's for life. Seeing these places will simply change you," the bearded, bespectacled director told AFP in an interview. "As a filmmaker, I have no other weapon than film, and I wanted to stand up to the war in some way," he added. He chose Petra, Ivo and Nikola out of 60 Czechs who had answered his ad looking for people nursing doubts about the reality of the war after succumbing to disinformation. A survey by pollsters Ipsos indicated last year that most Czechs think Russia is using disinformation to skew public opinion. One in three respondents also told Ipsos they had believed disinformation on more than one occasion over their lifetime. The Czech intelligence service BIS said in a recent report that "in 2024, society continued to grapple with the spread of disinformation in the public space, originating both directly from Russia and from domestic actors." The film's title, "The Great Patriotic Trip", is a parody of "The Great Patriotic War", the Russian name for the Soviet-German part of World War II. The premiere is scheduled for August 21, the anniversary of the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of former communist Czechoslovakia which crushed the Prague Spring movement deemed too liberal by Moscow. The film begins by drawing a parallel between 1968 and the invasion of Ukraine and goes on to say that "Russia is leading a disinformation war against the whole of Europe", before introducing the three protagonists. Petra, whose parents were hardline communists, dismissed the war in Ukraine as "nonsense." Ivo said he believed information he finds on the internet "even if it's not true", admitting he is a "conspiracy nut." And Nikola said that Russian President Vladimir Putin "is the only man in the world who can stop the Western ideological madness." All three protagonists' surnames are not divulged. Kvapil, who has won several Czech awards for his documentaries, told AFP his goal was not to change the three but "to capture their contact with reality." He admitted that while he tried hard to stay out of the film, he was stunned on many occasions, like when Petra started to sing the Soviet anthem in a van en route to the war zone. "Everything that appears in the film is there because it's surprising in some way. I was trying to pass on the energy of my own astonishment," he said. Petra got a surprise herself during a visit to mass graves in the eastern Ukrainian town of Izyum, which was occupied for several months at the beginning of the war before it was retaken by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine said in September 2022 it had found more than 440 graves in Izyum. Petra found the pleasant smell of pine trees and fine sand resembling a beach inappropriate for the dreary place. "I know why this place feels so weird! Because it's all fake!" she then exclaimed, calling the graveyard "outstanding material for Ukrainian propaganda and nurturing hatred towards Russia." "I took the shooting as an exercise in inner tolerance which I undergo all my life," Kvapil said. Despite witnessing many horrors of the war, Kvapil's protagonists do not seem to be convinced as they return home. "I still have the same opinion," Ivo said after the trip, while Petra insisted she has "not been reeducated."
The Sun
6 hours ago
- The Sun
McDonald's Japan apologises for Pokemon Happy Meal chaos
TOKYO: McDonald's Japan has issued an apology after a promotional campaign offering limited-edition Pokemon cards with Happy Meals led to chaotic scenes and public anger. The campaign, which launched last Friday, quickly spiralled out of control as collectors and resellers rushed to buy meals in bulk. Cards featuring the beloved 'little monsters' are highly sought after, with some rare editions fetching millions of dollars in the collector's market. Social media erupted with complaints as images surfaced showing long queues at McDonald's outlets and discarded food in plastic bags. Some users criticised resellers for bulk-buying meals just to obtain the cards, leaving children unable to get Happy Meals. 'I couldn't buy a Happy Meal for my daughter because of these people,' one frustrated parent posted on X. Others condemned the waste, with one user questioning, 'They go to great lengths to collect them and then throw away food ... for how much profit?' McDonald's had initially set a limit of five meals per person but acknowledged that some customers bypassed the rule for resale purposes. In a statement on Monday, the company admitted to 'resale-driven mass purchases' resulting in food being discarded. The fast-food chain pledged to enforce stricter purchase limits and crack down on intimidating behaviour towards staff. McDonald's also vowed to work with e-commerce platforms to curb unauthorised reselling of the promotional items. This is not the first time such issues have arisen, with past collaborations, including manga series 'Chiikawa,' facing similar problems. The backlash has led some to sarcastically rename the campaign 'Unhappy Meals.' – AFP
