Koyo Kouoh, 2026 Venice Art Biennale curator, dies suddenly at age 58

I thought it was amazing that she was not just a curator but an institution builder,

Oluremi C. Onabanjo, an associate curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art, said in a 2023 interview

The museum was in crisis when Koyo came on, subsequently compounded by the pandemic

Storm Janse van Renseburg, who was then a senior curator at Zeitz MOCAA, said in a 2023 interview

Koyo Kouohcurator

I couldn’t imagine raising a Black boy in Europe,

Ms. Kouoh said in the 2023 interview

I am part of that generation of African art professionals who have pride and knowledge about the beauty of African culture, which has often been defined by others in so many wrong ways,

she said in the same interview

I’m an international curator,

she said last December in an interview with the The New York Times

She gave voice to so many talents.”

adding,

I don’t believe we need to spend time correcting those narratives,

she added

The artists will define where we go,

she said

She made me, us, care again about the museum,

he said

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

Out of respect", the museum's programming will be "suspended until further notice",

it added

Africa is for me an idea that goes beyond borders. It's a history that goes beyond borders,

she said