In conversation with Koyo Kouoh

“The importance, or rather the urgency, of focusing on women’s voices cannot be highlighted enough.”

 - Koyo Kouoh

Koyo Kouoh. Photo by Lia Toby /PA Media Assignments.

Koyo Kouoh is the Chief Curator and Executive Director of Zeitz MOCAA. In 2008, she founded RAW Material Company in Dakar, an institution focused on art, knowledge, and society, offering critical education, exhibition space, and a creative residency programme. Regarded as one of Africa’s most influential female figures in shaping perceptions of contemporary art, we caught up with the celebrated director and chief curator ahead of her keynote address for the Association of Women in the Arts (AWITA) conference ‘Build Your Own Art World’ at Christie’s London, aiming to inspire and connect women working in the professional arts.

How did your journey into the arts begin?

I began my professional journey as a banker after studies of banking administration in Switzerland. I soon transitioned into the curatorial space, first by writing reviews on artists and learning by proximity to artists, and literally reading through virtually all curricula of art history I could access at the time in the early 1990s in Switzerland. Fast forward, this led me to return to Africa and settle in Dakar, Senegal where I eventually established RAW Material Company, a centre for art, knowledge and society.

AWITA is dedicated to helping women in the arts through networking and mentorship opportunities. How important do you think support among women is, and has it impacted your own career?

Having grown up in a family that intentionally decentred men, where the power was in the hands of women for the simple fact that there are not many men around, my life has always centred on the experiences of women, a perspective which remains central in my work. The importance, or rather the urgency, of focusing on women’s voices cannot be highlighted enough. Some of my best collaborative projects have always been those with fellow female curators. My practice has in the meantime developed into one that puts women first. For instance, the curatorial outlook at Zeitz MOCAA is framed around majority female artists. As such, over 60% of our exhibitions in the past five years were given to female artists. I hope to increase that percentage in the future.

Koyo Kouoh gives a keynote address at the AWITA conference ‘Build Your Own Art World’ at Christie’s London. Photo by Lia Toby /PA Media Assignments.

What are you most proud of in your leadership of Zeitz MOCAA so far, and what is your next area of focus?

One initiative that I am very excited about is the Zeitz MOCAA & University of the Western Cape (UWC) Museum Fellowship Programme that is currently in its third year. It was urgent for me to establish this fellowship to create space for young art professionals to gain professional experience in the museum work and curatorial and research practices as a means to contribute to the next generation of art professionals in the pan-African art landscape. The fellowship is a 12-month programme that leads to a post-graduate degree in curatorial practice and heritage management from the University of the Western Cape underlined by a thorough practice experience at the museum.

Left to Right: Katharine Arnold, Koyo Kouoh, Sigrid Kirk, Mariella Frostrup, Katrina Aleksa. AWITA conference ‘Build Your Own Art World’ at Christie’s London. Photo by Lia Toby /PA Media Assignments.

 Which upcoming exhibitions and events on the African continent would you like to draw attention to and encourage our readers to visit?

• 1 August 2024: Opening of solo exhibition by Vietnamese American artist Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn.

• 24 September 2024: Heritage Day in South Africa – to celebrate the centenary of the grain silo, the iconic brutalist building transformed by British architect Thomas Heatherwick that is home to the museum.

• 3 October 2024: Opening of solo exhibition by South African artist Nolan Oswald Dennis.

• 28 November 2024: Opening of solo exhibition by Ghanaian-American artist Rita Mawuena Benissan.

Watch this space for more on the Zeitz MOCAA Gala in mid-February 2025.

Instagram: Koyo Kouoh - @madamekoyo; Zeitz MOCAA - @zeitzmocaa; RAW Material Company - @raw.gram2011.

Website: zeitzmocaa.museum.