MC Art Matters with Koyo Kouoh
MC Art Matters with Koyo Kouoh
Art

Tue. February 4, 6:30PM

MC Art Matters with Koyo Kouoh

An exclusive conversation with the curator of the 2026 Venice Biennial.

Renowned African artist Kendell Geers and host of Art Matters lunch tables will once again invite a fascinating art world figure to join the discussion while raising intriguing questions.


This time, Kendell asks: In a world fragmented and divided by extremism, racism, prejudice and conflict, could art be the key to restoring our humanity? He argues that the ability to make art - which first manifested 73,000 years ago in Blombos Cave, South Africa - distinguishes us from animals and is the very definition of humanity.


Together with the director of the 2026 Venice Biennial Koyo Kouoh, you’re invited to join this thought-provoking discussion - a collaboration between GLEAN Magazine and TheMerode.


Being in charge of the world’s largest international exhibition, Koyo Kouoh has the unique opportunity to redefine our living relationship to art - and we can’t wait to hear her vision.


Don’t miss what promises to be a lively conversation on the rise and significance of African Figuration, the future of the 130-year-old Venice Biennial and why Art matters!


For those who want to find out more about Koyo Kouoh’s approach: On 7th February her 2022 travelling exhibition “When We See Us” opens at Bozar, providing clues to her understanding of how art defines identity. The show explores Black self-representation and provides a platform for a multitude of global Black perspectives, both pan-African and pan-diasporic.


Photo: ©Andile Buka

speaker

Koyo Kouoh

Koyo Kouoh (Camerun / Switzerland) has been the Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) in Cape Town since 2019. Previously, she was the founding Artistic Director of RAW Material Company, a centre for art, knowledge and society in Dakar, Senegal, as well as part of the curatorial teams for documenta 12 (2007) and documenta 13 (2012). Kouoh is the recipient of the Grand Prix Meret Oppenheim 2020 and the Swiss Grand Award for Art which honours achievements in the fields of art, architecture, critique, and exhibitions. She lives and works alternately in Cape Town, South Africa, Dakar, Senegal, and Basel, Switzerland.

moderator

Kendell Geers

Kendell Geers is a pivotal figure in contemporary African art, whose powerful works explore themes of identity, resistance, and the complex legacies of history. Born in apartheid-era South Africa, Geers' journey from a working-class family to an artist in exile has profoundly shaped his unique artistic language, defying simple categorization. Geers gained international recognition early in his career, with notable participation in the 1997 Johannesburg Biennale and Documenta 11 in 2002, curated by the esteemed Okwui Enwezor. In 2013, Enwezor further cemented Geers' significance by curating his retrospective at the prestigious Haus der Kunst in Munich. Now based in Brussels, Geers continues to push artistic boundaries, creating works that resonate globally while remaining firmly rooted in his African identity and experiences.
Start
Tue. February 4, 6:30PM
End
Tue. February 4, 9:00PM
Format
TheMerode Talks
Language
English (US)
Guest allowed?
Yes, 1 per member

Address

Event
Place Poelaert, 6
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Parking
Parking Poelaert, Place Poelaert 1000 Brussels

Detailed programme

Welcome
Tue. February 4, 6:30PM
Talk and Q&A
Tue. February 4, 7:00PM
Networking
Tue. February 4, 8:00PM
End
Tue. February 4, 9:00PM

Past Event