Latest news with #ZeitzMuseumofContemporaryArtAfrica
What's On
17-06-2025
- What's On
6 art hotels around the world worth travelling for in summer 2025
We travel for so many different reasons. Some people travel to fuel their love of food, seeking out food cities that offer mind-blowing culinary adventures. Some travel for people, nourishing their soul by sharing stories and culture with people they've never met before. Some travel for the luxury, some travel for the beauty of this world and then we have some who travel for art. If you're an art enthusiast, these art hotels need to be on your travel list this summer. The Silo, Cape Town Watching over the iconic V&A Waterfront in one of South Africa's three capitals, The Silo is a masterpiece of art and design, both from the inside and out. With stunning views stretching from Table Mountain to the Table Bay harbour, this is where you need to go to discover Africa's largest collection of contemporary African art. The accommodation sits above the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), and is a pinnacle of luxury spanning six floors. From the outside, the pillowed glass windows make the hotel impossible to miss and difficult to ignore. @thesilohotel_ El Fenn, Marrakech 42 rooms and jaw-dropping visuals, that is El Fenn for you. This boutique property on the cusp on medina and souk brings to life all the 19th-century glory of the building, in the wrought iron, the carved wood, the graphic prints, the marble fountains – a mix of the old and the new with a healthy smattering of avant garde artwork and some mid-century modern works in colours of the land. The property has the romance of the creative, with a library, five inner courtyards and cosy alcoves inviting you to escape. This may just be Marrakech's most stylish hotel. @elfennmarrakech The Ned, Doha Spotlighting Middle Eastern female creatives, The Ned in Doha is housed inside Qatar's former Ministry of Interior. Inside, art enthusiasts can find themselves in the presence and power of over 350 artworks by over 100 Middle Eastern artists, most of them women. The collection is sprinkled across the hotel and is permanent. The collection has been curated by Wadha Al-Aqeedi and Elina Sairanen, the co-founders of Mathqaf Arab Museum of Modern Art. On the outside, the architecture will take you back to the brutalist design of the 1970s. Art, inside and out. @theneddoha The Dolder Grand, Zurich The Dolder Grand's art collection is an impressive list of names the likes of Salvador Dali, Keith Haring, Takashi Murakami, Joan Miro, and Sylvester Stallone (niche). The beauty of this collection is the variety, more than 100 works from over 90 artists spanning decades and movements. Stay-wise, the views are beautiful, pristine, snowy Alps and a crystalline Lake Zurich await guests. The property itself has undergone expansions that brings together the influence of different eras. The art collection also has a digital guide that will take you deeper into the art history. @thedoldergrand Bushman Cafe, Abidjan The most eclectic of this list, this little establishment is championing art, culture and chocolate from the Ivory Coast. Bushman Cafe houses a guesthouse of just 8 rooms, a restaurant, a cafe and a multi-use space. This is a hotspot for not just creatives in the Ivory Coast, but also from around the world, and is home to an exquisite collection of treasures like art, antiques, sculptures, designer lamps and some of the country's finest chocolate; Africa supplies about 70%of the world's cocoa beans – you can see why this matters. @ Chao, Beijing Championing arts is what Chao is all about. Located in the heart of the Chinese capital's entertainment district of Sanlitun, this hotel features a massive 30,000-square-foot art center, on-site , no less, and puts up a fantastic avant-garde cultural program all year long. Think sensory exhibits, talks and so much more. The state-of-the-art print shop is one of China's few high-end printmaking studios – a nod to the hotelier's background in art printmaking – with workshops on etching, silkscreen, woodcutting, and more. It continues to produce limited edition prints and guests are welcomed for a private tour. @chaobeijing Images: Socials > Sign up for FREE to get exclusive updates that you are interested in
Time Out
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Zeitz MOCAA honours late chief curator Koyo Kouoh
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA) in Cape Town will close its doors on Thursday to honour the life and legacy of its Executive Director and Chief Curator, Koyo Kouoh, who passed away unexpectedly on 10 May in Switzerland. Kouoh was a towering figure in contemporary art and known as a visionary, cultural leader and a fierce advocate for African and Afro-diasporic artistic expression. Appointed in 2019, she led Zeitz MOCAA through a transformative period, redefining the museum's curatorial voice and positioning it as a globally recognised platform for contemporary African art. Her sudden passing came just months after she made history as the first African Artistic Director of the Venice Biennale, where she was curating the 61st edition titled 'In Minor Keys', scheduled to open in May 2026. The Biennale has confirmed that Kouoh's vision will still shape the exhibition, to be realised by her core team. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zeitz MOCAA (@zeitzmocaa) In a tribute shared via LinkedIn, David Green, CEO of the V&A Waterfront and Trustee of Zeitz MOCAA, said, 'It has been with shock and a profound sadness that I received news of the sudden passing of Koyo… In getting to know Koyo over the years since her acceptance of the job to lead Zeitz MOCAA, I, in the role of Trustee and Co-Chair of the museum, had come to appreciate a true sense of her love for what art and artists bring to the world. 'She held an intense conviction that elevating African art was her calling and she extended herself to creating spaces and relationships that would make this possible. Her passing is untimely, and I am going to miss her counsel and friendship immensely,' said Green. Tribute Details for Koyo Kouoh Date: Thursday, 29 May 2025 Time: 4 PM (SAST)
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Venice Art Biennale to honour late curator Koyo Kouoh with 2026 exhibition ‘In Minor Keys'
The curatorial vision for the 61st Venice Biennale, 'In Minor Keys', was revealed in Venice today in an emotional presentation at the Sala delle Colonne of Ca' Giustinian, the Biennale's historic headquarters. Originally set for announcement later this year, the theme was unveiled ahead of schedule following the sad and unexpected death of the exhibition's curator, Koyo Kouoh, on 10 May. A leading figure in promoting Pan-Africanism throughout the art world, Kouoh had served as executive director and chief curator at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, South Africa since 2019. She earned global acclaim for curating the 2022 exhibition When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting, a monumental historical show inspired by Ava DuVernay's Netflix miniseries When They See Us, and became the first African woman invited to lead the Venice Art Biennale in December 2024. Related Koyo Kouoh, 2026 Venice Art Biennale curator, dies suddenly aged 58 Bahrain wins top prize at Venice Architecture Biennale with a pavilion tackling extreme heat With the support of Kouoh's family, La Biennale di Venezia confirmed it will proceed with the 2026 exhibition exactly as she conceived it, in what will now be a posthumous tribute to her life's work. As they noted, the edition will explore the spaces in which minor keys operate, to conceive "an exhibition that invites listening to the persistent signals of earth and life, connecting to soul frequencies. If in music, the minor keys are often associated with strangeness, melancholy, and sorrow, here their joy, solace, hope, and transcendence manifest as well." Scheduled to run from 9 May to 22 November 2026, 'In Minor Keys' will take place across the Giardini, the Arsenale, and various venues throughout Venice. The full list of participating artists, the exhibition's visual identity, and national pavilions will be officially announced at a press conference on 25 February 2026.
Euronews
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Venice Biennale to honour late curator Koyo Kouoh with 2026 exhibition
The curatorial vision for the 61st Venice Biennale, 'In Minor Keys', was revealed in Venice today in an emotional presentation at the Sala delle Colonne of Ca' Giustinian, the Biennale's historic headquarters. Originally set for announcement later this year, the theme was unveiled ahead of schedule following the sad and unexpected death of the exhibition's curator, Koyo Kouoh, on 10 May. A leading figure in promoting Pan-Africanism throughout the art world, Kouoh had served as executive director and chief curator at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, South Africa since 2019. She earned global acclaim for curating the 2022 exhibition When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting, a monumental historical show inspired by Ava DuVernay's Netflix miniseries When They See Us, and became the first African woman invited to lead the Venice Art Biennale in December 2024. With the support of Kouoh's family, La Biennale di Venezia confirmed it will proceed with the 2026 exhibition exactly as she conceived it, in what will now be a posthumous tribute to her life's work. As they noted, the edition will explore the spaces in which minor keys operate, to conceive "an exhibition that invites listening to the persistent signals of earth and life, connecting to soul frequencies. If in music, the minor keys are often associated with strangeness, melancholy, and sorrow, here their joy, solace, hope, and transcendence manifest as well." Scheduled to run from 9 May to 22 November 2026, 'In Minor Keys' will take place across the Giardini, the Arsenale, and various venues throughout Venice. The full list of participating artists, the exhibition's visual identity, and national pavilions will be officially announced at a press conference on 25 February 2026.
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Koyo Kouoh, art curator due to lead 2026 Venice Biennale, dies aged 57
Koyo Kouoh, the groundbreaking Swiss-Cameroonian curator who was to become the first African woman to head up the Venice Biennale, died suddenly on Saturday, the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa announced. 'It is with profound sorrow that the trustees of Zeitz MOCAA announce the sudden passing of Koyo Kouoh, our beloved executive director and chief curator, on Saturday, 10 May 2025,' said the museum in a statement on Monday. Kouoh, 57, had been put in charge of the 61st edition of the Biennale Arte, which will take place in Venice from April to November 2026. Born in 1967 in Doula, Cameroon, but educated through her teens and 20s in Zurich, Kouoh had been executive director of MOCAA in Cape Town, South Africa, since 2019. It holds the continent's largest collection of contemporary art. She was previously the founding artistic director of Raw Material Company, an art centre in Dakar, Senegal, which had a big impact on her. 'It's the place I came of age professionally, where I really became a curator and an exhibition-maker,' she recently told the Financial Times. 'Dakar made me who I am today.' As curator of the Biennale she was due to present the exhibition's title and theme in Venice in a week's time, on 20 May. In a statement, the management of the Venice Biennale said they were 'deeply saddened and dismayed to learn of the sudden and untimely passing of Koyo Kouoh'. They said Kouoh had 'worked with passion, intellectual rigour and vision on the conception and development of the Biennale Arte 2026.' The statement added: '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 confirmed it was 'likely to hold the press conference on 20 May', which will also be livestreamed from its headquarters. Zeitz MOCAA said it had closed its doors and suspended all programming until further notice. Kouoh moved to Switzerland at 13 and originally studied business administration and banking before starting a literary career. In 1994, she co-edited Töchter Afrikas, which was inspired by the groundbreaking Daughters of Africa (1992), an anthology of writing by women of African descent. She was regarded as a transformational leader at Zeitz MOCAA, where she built 'an explicitly Pan-African, world-class programme', according to the New York Times, which credited her with turning around an institution that had experienced several scandals. In one of her final interviews, Kouoh discussed her view on mortality. 'I do believe in life after death because I come from an ancestral Black education where we believe in parallel lives and realities,' she said. 'There is no 'after death', 'before death' or 'during life'. It doesn't matter that much. I believe in energies – living or dead – and in cosmic strength.
