Elvira Dyangani Ose Appointed Artistic Director of Zeitz MOCAA

Elvira Dyangani Ose has been appointed as the new artistic director of Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, according to reports from The Art Newspaper, Artnet News, and The New York Times.

Dyangani Ose steps into the role following the sudden death of Koyo Kouoh, who served as executive director and chief curator at the museum beginning in 2019. According to ArtReview, Kouoh passed away on May 10, 2025, in a Basel hospital following a recent cancer diagnosis. Kouoh was also scheduled to direct the 61st Venice Biennale set for April 2026.

Leadership Transition at Zeitz MOCAA

The appointment of Dyangani Ose marks a major transition for the Cape Town cultural institution. Zeitz MOCAA confirmed the news of Kouoh’s passing in May 2025 through an Instagram post, noting that the institution received word of her death in the early hours of the morning, as reported by ArtReview.

During her tenure, Kouoh shaped the museum’s identity through major exhibitions. These included When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting, a wide-ranging exhibition bringing together 156 artists from Africa and its diaspora that traveled internationally, alongside solo presentations for artists such as Tracey Rose, Johannes Phokela, and Mary Evans, according to ArtReview.

Pan-African Art Leadership Context

Kouoh established a prominent international profile as a leading figure in promoting Pan-Africanism throughout the art world. Before joining Zeitz MOCAA, she founded the RAW Material Company in Senegal in 2008 after working as a cultural officer for the American Consulate in Dakar. Her extensive curatorial background included participation in the curatorial teams for Documenta 12 in 2007 and Documenta 13 in 2012, initiating the educational and artistic program for the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in 2013, and curating Eva International in Limerick, Ireland, in 2016, as documented by ArtReview.

Tributes followed the news of Kouoh’s death from across the international arts community. As artist Otobong Nkanga stated in a tribute reported by ArtReview, Koyo was a source of warmth, generosity and brilliance, she always stated that people are more important than things and we feel her absence greatly today. Source: ArtReview