Koyo Kouoh (1967-2025) was the executive director and chief curator of Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in South Africa and the founding artistic director of RAW Material Company, a center for art, knowledge, and society in Dakar, Senegal. In 2024, Kouoh was the first African woman appointed to curate the Venice Biennale. She was also the curator of the education program at 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London, served as curatorial advisor for documenta 12 (2007) and 13 (2012), and collaborated in different capacities with the Dakar Biennial. She curated Still (the) Barbarians, 37th EVA International, Ireland’s Biennial (2016) and numerous other international exhibitions. In 2017, as part of its Center-supported I is for Institute project, the Institute of Contemporary Art presented a conversation with Kouoh on RAW’s rigorous and wide-ranging approach to curatorial projects, education initiatives, and residencies.
