Auteure: Anaïs Fa

 

À la 61e Biennale de Venise, placée sous le commissariat posthume de Koyo Kouoh, les pavillons africains s’imposent comme l’un des faits saillants de l’édition. Entre premières participations et retours institutionnels, cette présence élargie – 13 pavillons – dessine une constellation de récits. De Conakry à Kampala, de Rabat à Harare, l’Afrique s’impose sur la scène du plus important évènement d’art contemporain mondial.

L’édition 2026 de la Biennale de Venise, intitulée In Minor Keys, a ouvert ses portes aux professionnels du monde de l’art le 6 mai. Dès le 9 mai et jusqu’au 22 novembre 2026, le grand public pourra y découvrir une centaine de pavillons, et une programmation parallèle foisonnante. Commissariée par Koyo Kouoh, curatrice camerouno-suisse et première femme africaine nommée à la direction artistique de la manifestation, décédée prématurément en 2025, la 61e mouture de la manifestation internationale accueille en son sein une douzaine de pavillons du continent africain. La présence – en nombre – des pays du continent est un signal fort, qui vient ancrer la présence africaine dans les circuits institutionnels de l’art contemporain. Qu’ils soient insérés au cœur de l’Arsenale, dans des palazzo vénitiens, des fondations ou des espaces périphériques ; ces projets nationaux, aux formats hybrides et propositions parfois inégales, renforcent le rayonnement de l’art africain au niveau international. Tour d’horizon.

Égypte — Silence Pavilion: Between the Tangible and the Intangible

Dans son pavillon historique des Giardini, l’Égypte présente le travail d’Armen Agop, à la fois artiste et curateur du projet. Intitulée Silence Pavilion: Between the Tangible and the Intangible, l’exposition se construit à rebours du spectaculaire : elle propose une expérience de ralentissement, de concentration et d’écoute. Le visiteur est ainsi invité à pénétrer un espace totalement plongé dans la pénombre, où parler est interdit car le silence y règne en maître. Le travail d’Agop, nourri par la sculpture, la forme minimale et une attention à la permanence des matériaux, fait du silence une matière active plutôt qu’un vide. Né au Caire en 1969 dans une famille arménienne, l’artiste inscrit cette proposition dans une mémoire à la fois égyptienne, méditerranéenne et diasporique. Ses œuvres – dont plusieurs sculptures de granit que le visiteur est invité à toucher, voire à caresser – joue entre volumes réduits, lignes, points et formes contenues, invitant le spectateur à percevoir ce qui se joue entre présence physique et dimension intérieure.

Pavillon de l’Égypte, Giardini della Biennale, Venise

République démocratique du Congo — Simba Moto! Seize the Fire! Saisis le feu !

Pour sa toute première participation nationale à la Biennale, la République démocratique du Congo a choisit le feu comme thématique curatoriale. Baptisée “Simba Moto! Seize the Fire! Saisis le feu !”, le projet, commissarié par la philosophe et spécialiste des études post-coloniales Nadia Yala Kisukidi, réunit neuf artistes congolais et issus de la diaspora : Sammy Baloji, Arlette Bashizi, Patrick Bongoy, Damso, Gosette Lubondo, Nelson Makengo, Aimé Mpané, Léonard Pongo et Géraldine Tobé. Situé dans l’ancien réfectoire de la Scuola Grande di San Rocco, lieu emblématique de la Renaissance italienne, le pavillon aux allures un brin futuriste, se pense comme une forge lumineuse, où le feu n’est pas seulement une force de destruction, mais une puissance de transformation, de création et de récit. Le projet – financé en partie par la Fondation Damso, du rappeur congolais basé en Belgique – articule imaginaires radicaux congolais, mémoires anciennes, bibliothèques noires de la liberté et récits capables de déplacer les discours du manque, de la douleur ou de la mort.

Antico Refettorio – Scuola Grande di San Marco, Castello 6777, Venise

Cameroun — NZƎNDA – The Path Home

Le pavillon du Cameroun se présente comme un parcours de retour, de réparation et de réactivation spirituelle. Conçu par l’artiste Beya Gille Gacha, également curatrice du projet, NZƎNDA – The Path Home transforme le Palazzo Canova en architecture immersive, pensée comme un seuil entre le visible et l’invisible. L’exposition se déploie en différents espaces reliés, où le corps, la terre, la mémoire et l’esprit sont envisagés comme les éléments d’un même organisme. Aux côtés de Beya Gille Gacha, le pavillon réunit Jail Time Records, Sylvie Njobati, Bienvenue Fotso, Zora Snake et Neals Niat. Chacun active une dimension spécifique du projet : paysages sonores, divinité féminine Ngon’so, pharmacopée camerounaise, médecine baka, seuils temporels ou gestes rituels.

Gervasuti FOUNDATION PALAZZO CANOVA CANNAREGIO
Calle Lunga Santa Caterina 4998

Guinée équatoriale — The Forest The Undergrowth

La Guinée équatoriale fait son entrée à la Biennale avec The Forest The Undergrowth, projet curatoriel confié à Joan Abelló. Le pavillon part de la forêt comme archétype : espace mystérieux, inexploré, spirituel, mais aussi lieu de l’inconscient. La forêt y devient une zone de passage entre le visible et l’invisible, entre nature et culture, entre ce que l’homme croit maîtriser et ce qui lui échappe. Fernando Nguema Madja et Modest Gené Roig sont les deux figures centrales du projet, accompagnés d’un vaste ensemble d’artistes invités, parmi lesquels Rani Bruchstein, Barbara Cammarata, Florin Codre, Jianqi Du, Fulvio Merolli, Alfred Mirashi Milot, Mfochive Oumarou, Hannou Palosuo, Andrea Roggi, Sonia Ros ou encore Liu Youju. Les œuvres construisent une expérience sensorielle et mystique, invitant le visiteur à habiter la forêt plutôt qu’à simplement la contempler.

Palazzo Donà dalle Rose, Cannaregio 5038 / 5101

Éthiopie — Shapes of Silence

Avec Shapes of Silence, l’Éthiopie propose un solo show de Tegene Kunbi, commissarié par Abebaw Ayalew. Le projet part d’une interrogation très juste : comment les œuvres sont-elles parfois rendues muettes par les textes, cartels et discours qui prétendent parler à leur place ? Le pavillon aborde ainsi le silence non comme une absence, mais comme une condition politique. Les hiérarchies entre texte et image, langage écrit et formes visuelles, se prolongent dans d’autres rapports de domination : masculin/féminin, élite/peuple, colonisateur/colonisé. Les peintures monumentales de Tegene Kunbi sont alors envisagées comme des archives stratifiées de travail, de mémoire et d’histoire. Elles refusent l’idée d’une peinture purement passive ou décorative, pour faire du silence une matière tendue, chargée d’affects, de pouvoir et de récits empêchés.

Palazzo Bollani, Castello 3647

Guinée — Le Son de l’Art : l’Écho de la Matière

La Guinée participe pour la première fois à la Biennale avec Le Son de l’Art : l’Écho de la Matière, commissarié par Carlo Stragapede. Le projet investit l’île de San Servolo comme un espace de résonance, où le silence devient support d’écoute et de mémoire. Le pavillon entend inscrire la Guinée dans un dialogue interculturel mondial, en articulant modernité, spiritualité ancestrale et héritage postcolonial. L’exposition rassemble un très large groupe d’artistes, dont Bella Bah, Bachir Diallo, King Emmanuel, Sékou Oumar Thiam, mais aussi de nombreux artistes italiens et internationaux. Les œuvres annoncées mêlent tapisseries évocatrices et sculptures, dans une scénographie pensée comme un journal visuel immersif. À travers la matière, le pavillon cherche à faire entendre une mémoire nationale qui ne se réduit ni à l’histoire politique ni aux récits de crise, mais se projette vers une renaissance culturelle.

Isola di San Servolo, Venise

Maroc — Asǝṭṭa

Pour sa première participation à la Biennale, le Maroc présente Asǝṭṭa, un projet d’Amina Agueznay commissarié par Meriem Berrada, dans les Sale dell’Artiglieria de l’Arsenale. Le titre renvoie à la notion tissage rituel en langue amazigh : un geste technique, mais aussi mémoriel, féminin et spirituel. L’installation prolonge plus de vingt ans de travail de l’artiste avec les savoirs vernaculaires marocains, les artisanes et les communautés locales. Ici, le textile n’est pas traité comme un motif identitaire figé, mais comme une architecture suspendue, une membrane vivante qui traverse l’espace. Les œuvres – 150 bandes tissées et rehaussées de motifs et de couleurs – font dialoguer matériaux, gestes, transmission et site d’origine. Le projet interroge aussi la notion de seuil, en écho au concept marocain de âatba : une zone ni totalement dedans ni totalement dehors, où se rencontrent mémoire intime, espace public, visible et invisible.

Arsenale, Sale dell’Artiglieria, Venise

Sénégal — « WURUS »*

Le pavillon sénégalais, commissarié par Massamba Mbaye, présente un solo show de Caroline Gueye autour de l’or, “wurus” en wolof. Le projet prend cette matière comme point de départ cosmique, historique, politique et technologique. L’or vient de la terre, mais aussi des étoiles ; il traverse les civilisations, les économies, les imaginaires de richesse et de pouvoir. Le pavillon rappelle l’âge d’or de l’empire du Mali au XIVe siècle et la figure de Kankou Moussa, dont la mémoire reste associée à une prospérité fondée sur l’or, mais aussi au développement de bibliothèques, d’universités et de savoirs. Les œuvres interrogent l’ambivalence de ce métal : symbole de puissance, matériau high-tech, mais aussi cause d’extraction, d’impérialisme, de dégâts environnementaux et de violations des droits humains.

Palazzo Navagero, Riva degli Schiavoni 4145, Venise

Sierra Leone — Worlds of Today

La Sierra Leone entre pour la première fois à la Biennale avec Worlds of Today, un pavillon porté par Fatima Maada Bio et commissarié par Sandro Orlandi Stagl et Willy Montini. Le projet insiste sur l’ouverture culturelle du pays, sa vitalité créative et ses liens d’échange avec l’Italie et l’Afrique de l’Ouest. Soutenu par la CEDEAO, le pavillon se veut un espace de présence active, où l’art contemporain devient un langage partagé. L’exposition rassemble des artistes de Sierra Leone, d’États membres de la CEDEAO et d’Italie, parmi lesquels Hawa-Jane Bangura, Ayesha Feisal, Hickmatu Bintu Leigh, Abu Bakarr Mansaray, Seyni Awa Camara, Abdoul Ganiou Dermani, Eloi Lokossou, Móyòsóré Martins, Eros Bonamini ou encore Piergiorgio Colombara. Les œuvres sont pensées dans un espace fluide et non hiérarchique, fondé sur l’écoute, l’interaction et le dialogue.

Liceo Guggenheim, Dorsoduro 2613, Venise

Somalie — Saddexleey

La Somalie participe pour la première fois à la Biennale avec Saddexleey, commissarié par Mohamed Mire et Fabio Scrivanti. Le titre vient d’une forme poétique somalienne structurée par le chiffre trois : répétition, variation, équilibre. Le pavillon fait de la poésie non un simple contenu littéraire, mais une architecture sociale et spatiale. Dans un pays souvent qualifié de “nation de poètes”, la parole, le chant et le poème constituent des formes de transmission du savoir et de la mémoire collective. L’exposition se déploie sur les trois étages du Palazzo Caboto, suivant cette logique ternaire. Le parcours commence avec la présence poétique de Warsan Shire, se poursuit avec les films et installations d’Asmaa Jama, puis culmine dans les œuvres textiles d’Ayan Farah, teintes par la terre et le temps. Langage, son, odeur, image et textile composent une expérience multisensorielle.

Palazzo Caboto, Via Garibaldi, Castello 1645, Venise

Tanzanie — Minor Frequencies: The Inner Life Of A Nation

La Tanzanie présente Minor Frequencies: The Inner Life Of A Nation, commissarié par Lorna Benedict Mashiba et Martina Cavallarin. Le projet répond directement au titre général de la Biennale, In Minor Keys, en invitant à écouter les fréquences faibles, les bruits de fond, les formes moins spectaculaires de la vie nationale. L’exposition articule quatre lignes de recherche : le corps, le geste, l’archive et l’esprit. Des artistes tanzaniens comme Amani Abeid, Valerie Asiimwe Amani, Turakella Editha Gyindo ou Lazaro Samuel dialoguent avec un large groupe d’artistes internationaux. Les œuvres habitent une structure scénographique ponctuée de tissus vibrants et d’installations pluridisciplinaires. Le pavillon se pense moins comme un récit national unifié que comme une topographie relationnelle, où l’on accepte de se perdre, d’écouter et de reformuler les questions.

Fondamenta de la Sensa 3218, Venise

Zimbabwe — Second Nature | Manyonga

Le Zimbabwe présente Second Nature | Manyonga, commissarié par Fadzai Veronica Muchemwa, sous l’égide de Raphael Chikukwa, directeur exécutif de la National Gallery of Zimbabwe. Le pavillon réunit Gideon Gomo, Eva Raath, Felix Shumba, Franklyn Dzingai et Pardon Mapondera. Le projet interroge la neuroplasticité comme métaphore et méthode : comment les cerveaux, les identités, les récits et les sociétés se réorganisent-ils face à la technologie, aux crises et aux imaginaires contemporains ? Les œuvres se situent au bord de la transformation, entre résilience, perception, environnement, réalité post-pandémique et révolutions numériques. L’exposition pose une question très actuelle : que reste-t-il de l’humain lorsque la machine devient une seconde nature ? Les pratiques présentées envisagent les médias non seulement comme supports, mais comme matériaux conceptuels, capables d’ouvrir de nouvelles philosophies de l’art numérique et de la perception.

Santa Maria della Pietà, Castello 3701 / 3702, Venise

Seychelles — Existence on an island

Ajoutées à la liste officielle après l’annonce initiale des participations nationales, les Seychelles présentent Existence on an island, un projet confié à l’artiste Egbert Marday, sous le commissariat de Nina Comini. Le pavillon prend place au Palazzo Mora, dans le cadre du European Cultural Centre, et peut être lu comme une méditation sur la condition insulaire : habiter une île, c’est vivre dans un rapport constant à la mer, à l’isolement, aux circulations, à l’écologie et aux récits d’appartenance. Peintre et sculpteur majeur de la scène seychelloise, Marday travaille depuis plusieurs décennies à partir de son environnement, de l’histoire sociale de l’archipel et de ses formes naturelles. Sa pratique, marquée par la peinture, la sculpture et les commandes publiques, permet d’aborder l’île non comme un motif exotique, mais comme un espace de mémoire, de transformation et de résistance quotidienne.

European Cultural Centre, Palazzo Mora, Cannaregio 3659, Venise

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PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

28 to 31 May 2026 | Pátio 3

Exhibition – World African Artists United
WAAU presents at ARCOlisboa 2026 a presentation exploring Afro Atlantic perspectives through contemporary artistic practices shaped by memory, transformation, and intercultural exchange. Developed in collaboration with ABLAKASSA and THIS IS NOT A WHITE CUBE, the exhibition brings together works that reflect on identity, historical continuity, and the circulation of cultural narratives across territories marked by colonial histories, migration, and diasporic experience.
Positioning the Afro Atlantic as a space of relation, movement, and shared histories, the programme considers how personal and collective narratives are continuously constructed, fragmented, inherited, and reimagined over time. Through distinct visual languages and material approaches, the participating artists engage with questions surrounding visibility, belonging, resilience, and the emotional and social complexities of contemporary existence.
The presentation further reflects on the progressive affirmation of contemporary African and Afro descendant artistic practices within the global art system, foregrounding the role of artists and curatorial platforms in the critical expansion of historiographical and cultural discourse. Moving between material experimentation, poetic reflection, and social inquiry, the works propose alternative readings of memory and contemporaneity while opening space for new epistemologies and forms of encounter.
Conceived as a site of dialogue, the presentation reflects WAAU’s ongoing commitment to fostering meaningful connections between African and Afro descendant artists, institutions, and international audiences.
Artists presented: Aristide Kouamé, Gonçalo Mabunda, Nelo Teixeira, Ricardo Piedade aka Blac Dwelle, Yvanovitch Mbaya.

29 May 2026 | 18:30 – 19:30 | Torreão Nascente

Talk – Decolonial Memory and Artistic Education
Moderator: Ana Balona de Oliveira. Researcher, Lisbon
Speakers: Ângela Ferreira (Artist, Lisbon), Amanda de la Garza (Deputy director of Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid), Cindy Sissokho (Curator and Associate Program Director (Africa & Europe) at KADIST, Lisbon), Kwasi Ohene-Ayeh (Curator and educator, Kumasi).

This roundtable will examine how colonial legacies have been addressed, remembered and contested within artistic education in various contexts in the North and South, including both formal and informal education. Colonial narratives have shaped art histories, museum collections and educational curricula, privileging Eurocentric perspectives, while erasing, marginalizing or fetishizing others, namely those that had been a source of inspiration. At the same time, artists and educators from the Global South and its diasporas have historically claimed as theirs not only pre- and anticolonial knowledges and modernities, but also some Western traditions which have been variously appropriated and transformed, requiring a complex understanding of the aesthetics and politics of influence in various contexts. How has art education critically addressed inherited canons, acknowledging the historical impact of colonialism while highlighting multiple forms of resistance, thus creating space for more plural narratives? How have artists, educators and institutions revisited archives, rewritten histories, and included voices that had long been overlooked? How can artistic education become a truly decolonial, emancipatory and reparatory site for critical reflection, memory and imagination, open to the community, and able to foster actual change?

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EN | PT

Author: Elias Joaquim

 

The 61st Venice Art Biennale takes place from May 9 to November 22, 2026. Who are the Afro-descendant artists in the spotlight? What did they bring? How did they translate the “minor keys” of acclaimed curator Koyo Kouoh?

Before any hasty conclusions, it should be noted that the 2026 Biennale was architected by a Black woman, born in Cameroon. The late Koyo Kouoh built, over recent decades, one of the most influential curatorial trajectories in contemporary African and diasporic artistic thought. As Executive Director of Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, Koyo not only fostered and expanded African presence in the international circuit, but also helped reshape the very ways of looking, exhibiting, listening, and organizing cultural sensibilities within contemporary art.

And perhaps that is precisely what makes this Biennale so singular, so special. This shift in tone that seems like an intimate desire to collectively create a sensibility tribe.

In a world saturated by speed, visual excess, hyperproduction of images, and curatorial monumentality, In Minor Keys emerges almost as a forced brake, an essay on the conscious deceleration of perception. Less spectacle. Less noise. Less excess of the future. More listening. More intimacy. More silence. More relationship between bodies, memory, and territory. And in the end, silence again.

Did Koyo Kouoh attempt to translate the language of birds?

In Minor Keys does not seem to function as a curatorial title. But how do you truly translate the theme Koyo proposed, since it functions more as an emotional state, a kind of sensory enigma about the present, or a birdsong on a sunny or rainy day? It seems to function as a translation before the translation, as if, even before the artists began translating the world through their works, there had already existed a first great gesture of translation: that of Koyo herself, trying to name what the contemporary world feels, but which slips through her hands amid the chaos with which it has grown familiar.

There is something profoundly African and simultaneously universal in this proposal. We venture to say that the African and Afro-diasporic presence in this edition is not merely present for the sake of it, nor merely as a geographical emblem, it occupies instead a conceptual center within the Biennale. Walking through the pavilions of Venice, one notices that many of the strongest works of this edition refuse the very logic of immediate impact.

Art saves us!

What do these Black artists communicate within the Biennale? Where do they want to go?

Artists like Otobong Nkanga, from Nigeria, and Sammy Baloji from the DRC, dialogue in many ways, they are members of that sensibility tribe. The works of both shout, are stained with sweat and blood, are sharp and corporeal, but viewed in reverse or from another perspective, they are the perfect illustration of minor keys, of touches from within, of waves in a gentle breeze that embrace us. As the saying goes, art saves us: it is political, but it does not make politics on its own.

Both work on the relationship between land, mineral extraction, ecological violence, and colonial memory. They create works, through photography, visual arts, or performance, in which the African soil manages to rise beyond its beauty to challenge global capitalism. In their installations, the materials seem to carry subterranean wounds, as if the modern world had been built upon minerals forcibly torn from certain territories.

Beyond these, several other Afro-descendant artists stand out in this edition, such as Wangechi Mutu, born in Kenya, Billie Zangewa from Malawi and South Africa, Buhlebezwe Siwani from South Africa, and Kader Attia, born in France and deeply connected to Algeria.

There is a kind of conceptual maternity in In Minor Keys, capable of generating life, creating tensions, raising doubts, bringing hope. And this prominent Black presence, though plural and quite diverse, manages to capture and even embody the essence of minor keys, as in the case of South African artist Helen Sabidi, who brings the sensibility of home, the roots and traditions inherited from her grandmother, to explore the traumas of Apartheid through beautiful paintings. Yes, art does save us, art always points to a path, even when it does not know it.

The mouth of the Global South

In the previous article we asked: if the artistic system has decentralized, what remains the center that legitimizes global art?

Perhaps Venice has partially answered that question. Or perhaps the Global South itself answered through its own mouth, saying that it was not merely a theme of contemporary art, it was the minor key itself, a producer of language, a producer of sensibility, and a producer of curatorial methods.

Because what is observed here is not a simple substitution of centers, as has already been said, but something more complex: a gradual displacement of the emotional frequencies of contemporary art. The dominant axis remains institutionally strong, but the imaginary, the questions, and much of the conceptual vitality seem today to be shifting increasingly toward geographies historically considered peripheral.

And that inevitably raises an uncomfortable question for the old center: What return paths are even possible now?

Images: Celestino Bastos and Eduardo Lima.

EN | PT

Autor: Elias Joaquim

 

A 61ª Bienal de Arte de Veneza acontece de 9 de maio a 22 de novembro de 2026. Quem são os artistas afrodescendentes em destaque? O que trouxeram? Como traduziram eles os “tons menores” da aclamada curadora Koyo Kouoh?

Antes de qualquer avanço precipitado, é preciso ressalvar que a Bienal de 2026 foi arquitetada por uma mulher negra, nascida nos Camarões. Koyo Kouoh construiu ao longo das últimas décadas uma das trajetórias curatoriais mais influentes do pensamento artístico contemporâneo africano e diaspórico. Como diretora executiva do Zeitz MOCAA, na Cidade do Cabo, Koyo, para além do fomento e da ampliação da presença africana no circuito internacional, ajudou a reformular os próprios modos de olhar, expor, escutar e organizar o sensível dentro da arte contemporânea.

E talvez seja precisamente isso que torna esta Bienal tão singular, tão especial. Esta mudança de tom que parece um desejo íntimo de criar em conjunto uma tribo da sensibilidade.

Num mundo saturado por velocidade, excesso visual, hiperprodução de imagens e monumentalidade curatorial, In Minor Keys surge quase como um travão forçado, um ensaio sobre desaceleração consciente da percepção. Menos espetáculo. Menos ruído. Menos excesso de futuro. Mais escuta. Mais intimidade. Mais silêncio. Mais relação entre corpos, memória e território. E no fim, silêncio outra vez.

Koyo Kouoh tentou traduzir a linguagem dos pássaros?

In Minor Keys não parece funcionar como título curatorial. Mas afinal, como traduzir verdadeiramente o tema que Koyo nos propõe, uma vez que funciona mais como um estado emocional, uma espécie de enigma sensorial sobre o presente, ou um canto de pássaros num dia de sol ou chuva? Parece que funciona como uma tradução antes da tradução, como se antes mesmo dos artistas começarem a traduzir o mundo através das suas obras, já tivesse existido um primeiro grande gesto de tradução: o da própria Koyo tentando nomear aquilo que o mundo contemporâneo sente, mas que lhe escapa das mãos em meio ao caos com o qual se familiarizou.

Há qualquer coisa de profundamente africano e simultaneamente universal nessa proposta. Arriscamo-nos a dizer que a presença africana e afro-diaspórica nesta edição não está apenas por estar, nem está apenas como um emblema geográfico, ocupa antes um centro conceptual dentro da Bienal. Ao atravessar os pavilhões de Veneza, percebe-se que muitas das obras mais fortes desta edição recusam a própria lógica do impacto imediato.

A arte nos salva!

O que comunicam esses artistas negros dentro da Bienal? Aonde querem chegar?

Artistas como Otobong Nkanga, da Nigéria, e Sammy Baloji da RDC, dialogam em muitos aspetos, são os tais membros daquela tribo da sensibilidade. As obras de ambos gritam, estão manchadas de suor e sangue, são ácidas, corpulentas, mas se vistas ao contrário ou sob outra perspectiva, são a perfeita ilustração dos tons menores, dos toques de dentro, das ondas em brando sopro que nos abraçam. Como se costuma dizer, a arte nos salva: é política, mas ela não faz política por si só.

Os dois trabalham a relação entre terra, extração mineral, violência ecológica e memória colonial. Criam obras, por meio da fotografia, artes visuais ou da performance,  em que o solo africano se consegue erguer para além das suas beldades, para pôr em xeque o capitalismo global. Nas suas instalações, os materiais parecem carregar feridas subterrâneas, como se o mundo moderno tivesse sido construído sobre minerais arrancados à força de determinados territórios.

Além destes, outros vários artistas afrodescendentes destacam-se nesta edição, como Wangechi Mutu, nascida no Quénia, Billie Zangewa do Malawi e África do Sul, Já Buhlebezwe Siwani, da África do Sul e Kader Attia, nascido em França e profundamente ligado à Argélia.

Há uma espécie de maternidade conceptual em In Minor Keys, capaz de gerar vida, criar tensões, fazer dúvidas, trazer esperança. E essa presença negra em destaque, apesar de plural e bastante diversa, consegue captar e até capturar o essencial e a essência dos tons menores, como no caso da artista sul africana Helen Sabidi, que traz a sensibilidade de casa, as raízes e as tradições herdadas da sua avó para explorar os traumas do Apartheid com quadros belíssimos. A arte nos salva sim, a arte aponta sempre um caminho, mesmo que não saiba.

A boca do Sul-global

 No artigo anterior perguntávamos: se o sistema artístico se descentralizou, qual continua a ser o centro que legitima a arte global?

Talvez Veneza tenha respondido parcialmente à questão. Ou talvez o próprio Sul Global tenha respondido pela própria boca dizendo que não era apenas um tema da arte contemporânea, era o tom menor por si só, produtor de linguagem, produtor de sensibilidade e produtor de método curatorial.

Porque o que se observa aqui não é uma substituição simples de centros, como já se disse, mas algo mais complexo: uma deslocação gradual das frequências emocionais da arte contemporânea. O eixo dominante permanece institucionalmente forte, mas o imaginário, as perguntas e parte da vitalidade conceptual parecem hoje deslocar-se cada vez mais para geografias historicamente consideradas periféricas.

E isso produz inevitavelmente uma pergunta desconfortável para o velho centro: Que caminhos de volta são possíveis agora?

Imagens: Celestino Bastos e Eduardo Lima.

The post The presence of Black creators at the Biennale: Afro-descendant artists in the spotlight appeared first on waau art.

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Author: Elias Joaquim

 

For a long time, talking about contemporary art was, at its core, talking about a relatively stable axis: The great European centers and the United States as the focal point of the art world, from which trends, legitimacy, and even value emanated. This model has not entirely disappeared today, but it has become obsolete and perhaps insufficient to explain the present, or as Camões would say: “times change, desires change.”

Today, global art organizes itself less as a single center and more as a network. A deliberate constellation of voices, distributed across diverse geographies, where cities and contexts once considered peripheral have begun to play an active and increasingly central role in artistic production and circulation.

 

But this transformation inevitably raises an essential question:

If the art world has decentralized, which center continues to define what counts as art and global trend?

Displacement and Permanence

The emergence of new poles such as Lagos [Nigeria] in Africa or São Paulo [Brazil] in South America, as well as Dubai, cannot be ignored. In these contexts, artistic production grows with force, fueled by their own local dynamics, political tensions, and new ways of imagining identity, the territory that surrounds them, their bodies, and the embrace they extend toward the future.

Here, contrary to what one might think, art does not arise as a mere extension of other agendas or global trends, but as a cultural vanguard, frequently more experimental, more rooted, and at times more urgent than in the traditional centers.

However, there is an important nuance to bear in mind:

production, however impressive, is not yet the same as legitimation.

Despite the vitality of these contexts, symbolic validation continues, to a large extent, to pass through established institutional circuits: museums, fairs, and above all, major international exhibitions such as the one in Venice. And it is at this point that the Venice Biennale becomes unavoidable.

Venice: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Beautiful city, beautiful people. Venice seems entirely suspended between water and stone, taken over by a continuous movement of people speaking different languages, different accents, different gazes. With improvised maps in hand, forming orderly queues for everything and anything. Immense pavilions, immense churches, palaces and spaces transformed into exhibitions. It is a vast scene, seen up close or from afar, almost excessive. At every corner, a work; at every canal, a displacement. There is a good and constant sense of global simultaneity, as if suddenly the entire world had been compressed into an archipelago of art and circulation, where everything happens at the same time and in many places at once.

Frequently presented as a global space par excellence, the Biennale functions simultaneously as an opening and a filter. On one hand, it welcomes artists from multiple geographies; on the other, it remains one of the primary mechanisms of international legitimation.

Its structure, with enormous reach and influence, reminds us that, despite the global rhetoric, art continues to engage with forms inherited from modernity. And it is precisely on that terrain that some of the most interesting tensions of the present arise. The wars of the world in dialogue or confrontation, if you will, with the quieter tones of Koyo, the intimate, the sensorial, the subtle. The edition conceived by Koyo Kouoh proposes a relevant inflection.

By favoring a more sensitive, slowed-down, and relational approach, the curator suggests a reading of contemporary art that moves away from excess, from vices, from the easy, and from spectacularization.

Her project can be understood as an effort to redefine Modernism “under a new hemispheric perspective.”

Episodes like this remind us that Curating often wears a life jacket with two panels: mediation and translation.

Curation assumes a role grounded not merely in the selection of works and organization of artists, but above all in the construction of meaning, connecting local contexts to global circuits, transforming production into visibility, and visibility into recognition. Initiatives such as WAAU (World African Artists United) illustrate this movement well. Operating between artists, institutions, and markets, this type of platform acts as a mediator, allowing artistic practices situated in specific contexts to enter into dialogue with the international system.

Does Expansion Have Limits?

Despite everything, speaking of an absolute decentralization would still be premature. What is observed can be understood not as a replacement of one center by another, but as an expansion of the system’s latitudes. New contexts emerge, new voices gain space, new desires are born from Camões’s mouth, but the structures of validation remain, to a large extent, concentrated.

This scenario generates tension, but a productive tension, sometimes revealing signs of global exhaustion with a system that continuously expands, incorporating new geographies, discourses, and bodies, without necessarily transforming its foundations. Perhaps the most interesting question today is not to identify new centers, but to understand how narratives are being reconfigured.

We always want to tell and live the history of art as we tell and live the history of humankind and the history of their nations: linear, hierarchical, heroic, centered on few places and few mixtures. That is not the truth. The present challenges this logic, not through total rupture, but through a multiplication of perspectives.

Contemporary art today has no single center, no single tone, no single thread that stitches it together. It has multiple points of intensity, multiple regimes of visibility, multiple ways of existing and being recognized.

And perhaps it is precisely there, in that imperfect, at times contradictory coexistence, that its current strength and its new center reside.

 Images: Celestino Bastos and Eduardo Lima.

Autor: Elias Joaquim

 

Durante muito tempo, falar de arte contemporânea foi, no fundo, falar de um eixo relativamente estável. Os grandes centros europeus e Estados Unidos como ponto focal da arte mundial, de onde emanavam tendências, legitimidade e até valor. Esse modelo, atualmente, não desapareceu por completo, mas tornou-se obsoleto e quiçá insuficiente para explicar o presente, ou como diria Camões: “mudam-se os tempos, mudam-se as vontades”.

Hoje, a arte global organiza-se menos como um centro único e mais como uma rede. Uma constelação de vozes intencional, distribuída por geografias diversas, onde cidades e contextos antes considerados periféricos passaram a desempenhar um papel ativo e cada vez mais central na produção e circulação artística.

 

Mas esta transformação levanta, inevitavelmente, uma questão essencial:

Se o mundo artístico se descentralizou, qual é o centro que continua a definir o que conta como arte e tendência global?

Deslocamento e Permanência

A emergência de novos polos como Lagos em África ou São Paulo na América do Sul, passando também por Dubai, não pode ser ignorada. Nestes contextos, a produção artística cresce com força, alimentada por dinâmicas locais próprias, por tensões políticas e novas formas de imaginar identidade, o território que os circunda, os seus corpos e o abraço que dão ao futuro.

Aqui, ao contrário do que se poderia pensar, a arte não surge como mera extensão de outras vontades ou de tendências globais, mas como vanguarda cultural, frequentemente mais experimental, mais enraizada e, por vezes, mais urgente do que nos centros tradicionais.

No entanto, há uma nuance importante a ter em conta:

produção, ainda que imponente, ainda não é o mesmo que legitimação.

Apesar de imponente e da vitalidade destes contextos, a validação simbólica continua, em grande medida, a passar por circuitos institucionais consolidados: museus, feiras e, sobretudo, grandes exposições internacionais como a de Veneza, e é neste ponto que a Bienal de Veneza se torna incontornável.

Veneza: espelho-espelho-meu

Cidade linda, pessoas lindas. Veneza inteira parece suspensa entre água e pedra, tomada por um movimento contínuo de pessoas que falam línguas diferentes, sotaques diferentes, olhares diferentes. Com mapas improvisados nas mãos, a formarem filas bem-dispostas para tudo e alguma coisa. Imensos pavilhões, imensas igrejas, palácios e espaços que se transformam em exposições. É um cenário vasto visto de perto ou de longe, quase excessivo. Em cada esquina, uma obra; em cada canal, uma deslocação. Há uma sensação boa e permanente de simultaneidade global, como se de repente o mundo inteiro tivesse sido comprimido num arquipélago de arte e circulação, onde tudo acontece ao mesmo tempo e em muitos lugares ao mesmo tempo.

Frequentemente apresentada como espaço global por excelência, a Bienal funciona simultaneamente como abertura e filtro. Por um lado, acolhe artistas de múltiplas geografias; por outro, mantém-se como um dos principais mecanismos de legitimação internacional.

A sua estrutura, com pés e braços enormes, recorda-nos que, apesar da retórica global, a arte continua a dialogar com formas herdadas da modernidade. E é precisamente nesse terreno que surgem algumas das tensões mais interessantes do presente. As guerras pelo mundo em diálogo ou confronto, se quisermos, com os tons menores de Koyo, o íntimo, o sensorial, o subtil. A edição concebida por Koyo Kouoh propõe uma inflexão relevante.

Ao privilegiar uma abordagem mais sensível, desacelerada e relacional, a curadora sugere uma leitura da arte contemporânea que se afasta do excesso, dos vícios, do fácil, e da espetacularização.

O seu projeto pode ser entendido como um esforço daquilo que seria o redefinir o Modernismo “sob uma nova perspectiva hemisférica”. 

Episódios como este lembram-nos que a Curadoria veste, muitas vezes, um colete salva-vidas com duas abas: mediação e tradução.

A curadoria assume um papel não apenas embasado na seleção de obras e organização de artistas, mas sobretudo na construção de sentidos, ligando contextos locais a circuitos globais, transformando produção em visibilidade, e visibilidade em reconhecimento. Iniciativas como a WAAU (World African Artists United) ilustram bem este movimento. Operando entre artistas, instituições e mercados, este tipo de plataforma atua como mediador, permitindo que práticas artísticas situadas em contextos específicos entrem em diálogo com o sistema internacional.

A expansão tem limites?

Apesar de tudo, falar de uma certa descentralização absoluta seria ainda precipitado. O que se observa pode ser entendido não como uma substituição de um centro por outro centro, mas como expansão das latitudes do sistema. Novos contextos emergem, novas vozes ganham espaço, novas vontades nascem da boca de Camões, mas as estruturas de validação mantêm-se, em grande medida, concentradas.

Este cenário gera uma tensão, mas gera uma tensão produtiva, revelando por vezes sinais de exaustão global com um sistema que se alarga continuamente, incorporando novas geografias e discursos e corpos, sem necessariamente transformar as suas bases. Talvez a questão mais interessante hoje não seja identificar novos centros, mas compreender como se reconfiguram as narrativas.

Queremos sempre contar e viver a história da arte como contamos e vivemos a história dos homens e a histórias das suas nações: linear, hierárquica, heróica, centrada em poucos lugares e poucas misturas. Não é essa a verdade. O presente desafia essa lógica, não através de uma ruptura total, mas por meio de uma multiplicação de perspectivas.

A arte contemporânea não tem hoje um único centro, nem um único tom nem um único fio que a costure. Tem múltiplos pontos de intensidade, múltiplos regimes de visibilidade, múltiplas formas de existir e de ser reconhecida.

E talvez seja precisamente aí, nessa coexistência imperfeita, por vezes contraditória, que reside a sua força atual e o seu novo centro.

 Imagens: Celestino Bastos e Eduardo Lima.

The post The Venice Biennale and the great centers of modern art appeared first on waau art.

Author: Leila Chik

 

Between market recalibration and regional realignment, 1-54 Marrakech 2026 unfolded as a moment of consolidation rather than spectacle. Positioned alongside the launch of Art Basel Qatar and bought by a maturing collector base, the Moroccan edition of the fair confirmed its strategic role within the global art ecosystem. Beyond the corridors of La Mamounia, an expanded OFF programme and a growing South-South circulation signalled a structural shift: no longer a platform of visibility alone, 1-54 is becoming a site where contemporary African art negotiates its integration, its canon, and its future.

At La Mamounia, the choreography begins long before the doors officially open. Chauffeurs idle outside as collectors adjust sunglasses against the winter sun. Advisors exchange brief nods in the marble lobby. Inside, the atmosphere is measured rather than electric. The corridors at 1-54 Marrakech resist spectacle. They invite conversation, reflection, and negotiation. Here, the art fair functions less as a stage for competitive visibility than as a laboratory of positioning.

The global art market in 2026 continues its recalibration. Post-pandemic exuberance has given way to strategic selectivity. Auction houses report stabilization rather than acceleration. Collectors acquire fewer works, but with sharper criteria and longer-term thinking. In this climate of precision over volume, 1-54 Marrakech positions itself not as a rival in an overcrowded calendar but as an instrument of focused exchange.

Held from 5 to 8 February 2026, the seventh edition gathered twenty-two galleries and nearly seventy artists. Its boutique format reflects an ideological choice: intimacy over expansion, depth over breadth. Yet this year’s alignment with the launch of Art Basel Qatar introduced geopolitical resonance. Rather than eclipsing Marrakech, the overlap revealed a regional rebalancing. The Middle East and North Africa are no longer peripheral, they are structural nodes within global art circuits. If Doha represents capital consolidation and institutional ambition, Marrakech signals relational density and continental dialogue. The distinction is strategic rather than competitive.

Market Figures and measured optimism

Beyond atmosphere and positioning, the numbers at 1-54 Marrakech 2026 offer a revealing snapshot of market maturity. While the fair maintains a compact format with twenty-two galleries, the price spectrum reflects increasing stratification. Emerging artists such as Adjei Tawiah and Méné were presented in the €6,000 to €18,000 range, depending on scale and medium. Works on paper and smaller canvases tended to move quickly during the preview, particularly among younger Moroccan and West African collectors building first serious acquisitions. Mid-career painters like Chigozie Obi saw works priced between €25,000 and €45,000, with larger compositions approaching €60,000. According to a Moroccan gallerist participating in the fair, “Collectors are no longer afraid of the €40,000 mark if the narrative and institutional trajectory are clear. Five years ago, that psychological threshold was much lower.” Textile-based practices occupied a slightly higher conceptual bracket. Joana Choumali’s embroidered photographic works were positioned between €35,000 and €75,000, reflecting her international visibility and museum presence. “Those works don’t sit long,” the same gallerist noted. “They’re seen as historically grounded and internationally validated.” In the upper segment, modern and historically anchored works commanded six-figure expectations. Pieces by figures such as Karim Bennani or carefully sourced works by Roland Dorcély entered the €80,000 to €150,000 bracket, depending on provenance and rarity. This inclusion of modern masters alongside contemporary names signals a notable shift: collectors are constructing narratives across generations rather than isolating contemporary production. According to the gallerist, the fair’s “real strength sits between €20,000 and €70,000, that’s where serious consolidation happens.” She added, “We had fewer impulse buyers this year, but stronger commitments. Clients returned twice, sometimes three times. That tells you something about confidence.” Overall, while 1-54 Marrakech does not compete with blue-chip mega-fairs in raw volume, it demonstrates a healthier depth across segments, from emerging to modern. More importantly, intra-continental acquisition is rising. “The most interesting change,” the gallerist concluded, “is seeing African collectors buying African artists here, not waiting for London or Paris to validate them first.”

The Market Lens: From What to Collect to What to Sustain

The 2025 “What to Collect” focus published by Diptyk already suggested a market in transition. Rather than privileging singular blue-chip names, the editorial selection highlighted a plurality of trajectories: emerging figuration, materially driven abstraction, sculptural experimentation, and the reactivation of modernist legacies.

This shift was visible again in 2026. Nigerian painter Chigozie Obi, whose series Shades of Black celebrates Black corporeality through chromatic intensity, exemplifies the renewed appetite for figurative painting that refuses caricature. The works do not rely on exotic appeal, they articulate self-defined representation. That confidence translates into collector trust.

Similarly, Moroccan artist Bouchra El Menjra’s bas-reliefs — constructed from reclaimed materials and extending dialogues initiated by the Casablanca School — demonstrate how abstraction rooted in local history can resonate internationally. Her practice exemplifies a broader tendency: collectors are increasingly attentive to works that anchor contemporary experimentation within genealogies rather than trends.

Ivorian artist Méné’s quasi-mystical compositions, oscillating between organic abstraction and cosmological suggestion, reflect another market evolution. Rather than chasing stylistic uniformity, buyers now seek conceptual depth. Ghanaian artist Adjei Tawiah’s use of nylon sponge (referencing cleansing, domestic labor and resilience) similarly merges material metaphor with social commentary.

The Diptyk selection also foregrounded historical modern figures such as Roland Dorcély, signaling a crucial market expansion: the reintegration of modern African art into contemporary collecting circuits. That dialogue between modern and contemporary continued in 2026. The presence of works by figures such as Karim Bennani reinforces this continuum. Collectors are no longer dividing their attention strictly between emerging contemporary names and Western modernism; they are constructing narratives that situate African modernism as intrinsic rather than peripheral.

This maturation of collecting culture suggests something essential: Marrakech is no longer merely a discovery fair. It is becoming a site of canon negotiation.

The Social Choreography of the Fair

What distinguishes 1-54 Marrakech from its counterparts is not only what hangs on the walls but what circulates between them. The fair unfolds through a subtle social choreography. Advisors move discreetly between suites. Young Moroccan artists linger at thresholds, absorbing signals about pricing, presentation, and positioning. Conversations oscillate between English, French and Arabic, reflecting the city’s layered linguistic identity.

In the early hours of the preview, transactions are swift but discreet. By mid-afternoon, the pace slows. Collectors return for second viewings. Negotiations unfold quietly in adjacent rooms. Unlike larger fairs where momentum is relentless, Marrakech allows hesitation. Hesitation here becomes productive. It allows consideration.

A notable shift lies in the profile of buyers. Beyond established European collectors, there is visible participation from North and West African patrons whose acquisitions signal intra-continental circulation. This South-South exchange remains under-reported in global market analyses, yet it may represent one of the most significant long-term developments. African collectors purchasing African artists on African soil reframes the geography of validation.

A Structured Ecosystem

Over the past decade, Marrakech has transitioned from episodic meeting point to coordinated cultural circuit. During a studio visit in Tahanaout, artist Mourabiti reflected on this evolution: “Before, it was only Al-MAQAM*, and it was part of the cultural circuit. Now they organise studio visits with Mou, Fatiha, me and artists in residency. It’s a way to open space for everyone, beyond VIP, beyond galleries. It shows foreigners that Morocco isn’t only folklore.”

His observation highlights a shift not only in scale but in structural ambition. The fair no longer exists solely as marketplace; it operates as hinge between production, circulation, and discourse. Collectors now plan their February itineraries around 1-54. European, American, Gulf and West African patrons converge. Advisors accompany clients. Moroccan students and emerging artists circulate with professional intent rather than simple curiosity.

Sales during the VIP preview reflected diversified appetite. Painting remains strong, yet textile-based practices, ceramic works and sculptural installations demonstrated steady movement. Photography retained conceptual gravitas. Buyers appear increasingly attuned to narrative depth rather than surface appeal.

Memory, Material and the Politics of Craft

Material tendencies at the fair reflect broader theoretical preoccupations with memory and embodied knowledge. Textile practices do not merely reference craft traditions; they interrogate them. Embroidery becomes archive. Woven fibres suggest continuity across generations disrupted by colonial histories and urban migration.

The prominence of such practices in Marrakech is not accidental. Morocco’s artisanal heritage operates as implicit backdrop. Yet artists resist folkloric reduction. They re-code traditional techniques through contemporary frameworks. This dynamic resonates directly with Mourabiti’s insistence on moving beyond surface exoticism. The works do not perform tradition, they question its afterlives.

Sculptural works engage similar material politics. Clay vessels evoke ritual and domesticity, yet their placement within the fair context reframes them as contemporary propositions rather than ethnographic artifacts. The shift from anthropological gaze to conceptual engagement is subtle but decisive.

Booth Presence and Curatorial Strategies

Several booths crystallised the edition’s tonal direction. Loft Art Gallery presented Joana Choumali’s embroidered photographic works, whose layered threads function simultaneously as aesthetic gesture and mnemonic intervention. Galerie 38 showcased ceramics and sculptural forms that slowed circulation and required viewers to dwell. Smaller galleries opted for focused solo presentations privileging narrative cohesion over visual overload. Figurative painting maintained presence, yet its language has shifted toward introspection and psychological tension. Textile practices proliferated, with embroidery functioning as inscription rather than ornament.

Photography’s conceptual expansion was evident across multiple stands. Whether engaging staged identity or archival layering, works demonstrated that photography now occupies a theoretical space equal to other mediums within contemporary African practice.

Touria El Glaoui and Strategic Integration

Since its foundation in 2013, 1-54 has repositioned its mission. Founder Touria El Glaoui articulates this evolution: “Today, it is no longer just about visibility, but about a true integration of the African continent into the global discourse on contemporary art.”

Integration implies permanence, continuity, and reciprocity. El Glaoui also situates Marrakech as a distinct platform: “Marrakech has always occupied a distinct place. It is a meeting space on the continent where artists, gallerists, collectors, and institutions can exchange directly, free from constraints often associated with Western markets.”

Her emphasis shifts the narrative from exhibition to encounter. “Our objective is to create conditions for a durable presence and not simply momentary visibility.” Durability signals structural ambition rather than episodic spectacle.

The OFF: City as Counter-Structure

If La Mamounia concentrates attention, the OFF disperses it across the city. Thursday’s Gallery Night activated Guéliz. Storefront galleries hosted openings while rooftop terraces became stages for extended conversation. Street corners filled with informal dialogue. The city’s rhythm became integral to the fair’s tempo. Studio visits in Tahanaout provided an even deeper counterpoint. Gravel underfoot. Open doors. Works in progress leaning against walls. Collectors shed VIP badges and entered working environments.

Mourabiti elaborated: “We have artists who work in different ways, with their own research.”

The OFF did not function as decorative supplement but as parallel ecosystem. Pop-up exhibitions unfolded in riads. Hotel patios hosted installations. Foundations presented special projects. Late evenings blurred into informal salons where artists articulated structural concerns and curators debated acquisition ethics. The OFF produced density that the hotel suites alone could not sustain.

Infrastructure and Structural Fragility

Growth reveals gaps. Morocco has limited fine arts institutions, primarily in Casablanca and Tetouan. Independent criticism remains sparse. Educational infrastructure lags behind market momentum. Mourabiti addressed these tensions candidly: “We need figures who can invest intelligently, who can support artists. We need art critics, which we barely have. In the South, there’s nothing. Artists learn on their own. That is both beautiful and difficult.”

His remarks foreground the interplay between market maturation and intellectual scaffolding. Without criticism, pedagogy and institutional depth, integration risks remaining superficial.

The central tension of 1-54 Marrakech 2026 lies between continental specificity and global integration. El Glaoui’s formulation on moving from visibility to integration encapsulates this shift. African contemporary art is no longer framed as emerging novelty but as constitutive component of global discourse. Yet integration carries risk: dilution, assimilation, homogenization. Marrakech’s strength lies in preserving friction. Its scale, rootedness and layered urban fabric resist total assimilation. That friction sustains dialogue.

Presence as Policy

By the final afternoon, the corridors of La Mamounia grow quieter. Works have been marked with red dots. Conversations taper. Crates await repacking. Yet what lingers is not transactional residue but structural momentum. 1-54 Marrakech 2026 did not pursue spectacle. It pursued equilibrium. It balanced global ambition with local anchoring, market pragmatism with curatorial inquiry, exclusivity with permeability. In a volatile art world, equilibrium is not passivity. It is strategy.

The fair’s maturation mirrors that of the market it helped shape. From improvisational beginnings to structured integration, from episodic visibility to durable presence, the trajectory is clear. And as the city returns to its ordinary rhythm, one realizes that the true measure of 1-54 lies not only in what was sold but in what was sustained: conversations, networks, commitments, and the slow architecture of cultural integration.

*Al-Maqam is an artist residency created in 2004 by artist Mohamed Mourabiti, in Tahannaout, 30km from Marrakech.

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Even if the 19^th edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale is not resolutely African, like the one Lesley Lokko imagined for 2023, it is nevertheless characterized by a significant presence of voices previously seen as marginal. Within this very dense and pragmatic exhibition, which has a global resonance, the ideas that come from the continent and the diasporas not only have their place, but they also have the strength to be heard. Even though they do not always benefit from the support and recognition of African institutions and from the people of the continent. Let’s have a look at what is actually going on in Venice!

Author: Luisa Nannipieri

Two years ago, for the first time in its history, Africa was the protagonist of the Venice Architecture Biennale. Lesley Lokko, the event’s first curator coming from the continent, carried out a remarkable groundwork which has left a lasting mark that is still making waves. The paradigm shift is noticeable even in this new 19^th edition of the Biennale (ongoing till November 23), curated by the Italian architect and urban planner Carlo Ratti. Ratti, who lives and works in the United States, has always kept an eye on the scene developing in Asia and in the rest of the world, the Global South included. His exhibition is dubbed “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective” and it translates as a statement about how we urgently need to address the social and environmental challenges that are currently shaking the world. It invites us to make a leap in sustainable architecture and promotes cooperation and transnational work. In the hope that collective intelligence will show us ways to adapt to the future that awaits us.

To this end, Ratti reminds us that it is essential to listen and be inspired by the diverse voices that come from outside the well-established narrative of the Western architectural world: “For the first time in the history of the Biennale, we have launched a call for applications for the exhibition taking place at the Arsenale (the former shipyard in Venice and the symbolic location of the event). An open call that was a very difficult act, but also magnificent. Difficult because we were inundated with applications. But at the same time beautiful, because we found voices that we would not have been able to find otherwise. Those voices came from the other side of the world, or were yet to be heard, like those of the students who had just left university”. This gave birth to a very dense exhibition, imagined as a large fractal organism where the works of more than 750 participants resonate with each other. This incredible number of participants is definitely a first, in Venice. And, of course, several of them live in, work with, or have ties with the African continent. For those who have had the occasion to see Lokko’s Biennale, several practitioners named in this article will certainly stand out, as they previously made an appearance in the Guests from the Future’s sections, she personally curated.

The work of the Nigerian architect Tosin Oshinowo, An Alternative Urbanism: Self-organising Markets of Lagos, has been especially appreciated by the international jury, which awarded the project a special mention award for its insight into the everyday innovation that drives many African cities. Through three documentary films, the project reveals the systems, practices, and ingenuity embedded in the Ladipo, Computer Village, and Katangua markets. Where you can find second-hand car parts, electronics, and recycled fashion. These spaces actually function as informal factories, processing end-of-life products from the Global North and embodying the principles of circularity. Oshinowo, who is based in Lagos, has been fascinated by this collective process and has chosen to show it using an optimistic narrative, rejecting the common voyeuristic representations of African spaces. The research project tries to understand how the urbanization of the continent has created an urban condition that is alternative to conventional expectations of progress and development.

Several other African and diasporic projects, both theoretical and pragmatic, can be spotted across the huge L-shaped venue of the Arsenale. They are scattered in the three main thematic worlds, or sections, composing the exhibit: Natural Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence and Collective Intelligence. But we can also find some of them in the extra section called Out, where the visitors are asked if we can really look at the space to find a solution to the crises we face on Earth. The non-exhaustive list features a modular kitchen project by Design for Communities, which delivers 300 meals a day to children in the Mathare slum in Nairobi. An educational and co-designed project in Uganda focusing on urban planning and sustainable practices (The Kitintale Collective). Or a study on bungalow compounds in Johannesburg, which in the post-colonial era were transformed into informal and flexible living spaces.

It is also worth mentioning the philosophical work of South Africa’s practitioners Mphethi Morojele and Kgaugelo Lekalakala, proposing an architecture inspired by the culture and needs of animist societies. The suggestions around building an adaptive health architecture in rural Kenya, based on artificial intelligence, made by Geoffrey Mosoti Nyakiongora with Bridging the Health Divide. A philanthropic project coordinated by a Catalan university in Tanzania, which includes a multipurpose building made from 3D-printed earth. Or the Probiotic tower by the Egyptian firm Design&More, envisioning the transformations of Cairo’s abandoned water towers into independent vertical ecosystems. 

In the Out section we can find a piece by Olalekan Jeyifous entitled Even in Arcadia… which draws inspiration from the Arcadian myth to juxtapose picturesque portrayals of idyllic pastoral life with glimpses of a retrofuturist urban protopia set within the Hudson Valley, New York. And catch a glimpse of the journey of Senegalese astronomer Maram Kaire. A man who, at the head of a NASA mission, blends modern science and Senegalese astronomical tradition to shape the conversation about a sustainable future in his own country.

Besides the exhibition designed by Carlo Ratti, the Arsenale also hosts some of the national pavilions, such as the Italian, Chinese or Saudi. Morocco has also occupied a large room of the venue with an installation called Materiae Palimpsest, which offers an immersive experience in the world of earthen construction in the Kingdom. Visually striking, complete with holograms of artisans, a labyrinth of stone and earth columns, and even a ceiling covered with work tools such as shoves and wooden handcarts, the exhibition is curated by two architects still mostly unknown in the country (Khalil Morad El Ghilali and El Mehdi Belyasmine), and it has generously been funded by the State. The proclaimed goal was to highlight the country’s expertise on vernacular architecture, but on site we could hear several Moroccan practitioners harshly criticize the results: “There is very little substance, it’s nothing more than folklore and a flashy show”, “It’s a lost opportunity”, told us the most skeptical.

Indeed, one might wonder why not showcase the work of local architects who are experts in the field of neo-traditional and sustainable architecture, such as Aziza Chaouni or Salima Naji. Chaouni, who is an associate professor at the University of Toronto and specializes in the implementation of sustainable technologies and adaptive reuse in developing contexts, recently received international recognition for her innovative, low-cost prototype of a rammed-heart house in Morocco’s Haouz region, which was devastated by an earthquake in 2023. Salima Naji, an architect and anthropologist, has been working for more than 20 years around the preservation of Saharan collective architectures, and she is known for her contemporary projects with a social character. She is one of the laureates of the 18^th edition of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, supported by Saint-Gobain and UNESCO, which was announced in Venice at the same time as the Biennale opening.

Both of them are actually present in Venice, participating in talks and showcasing some of their works at the invitation of the Qatari pavilion.

The Gulf State is set to soon build its own venue in the Giardini, the garden where the prominent nations such as the UK, France, Brazil, or Japan historically have their statement pavilions. But, for its first participation in the Biennale, it is showcasing works centred on the common features of the architecture of the MENASA region in the magnificent setting of the former Franchetti Palace. The exhibition, titled Beyti Beytak. My home is your home. La mia casa è la tua casa, explores hospitality and shared spaces, honouring architects such as Egyptian Hassan Fathy, one of the first to advocate a return to sustainable vernacular architecture, and his compatriot Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil, one of the masters of contemporary Islamic architecture. It also features the work of the young Algerian architect and activist Meriem Chabani, with the project for a cultural centre in Myanmar she designed with her studio New South, and the work of French architect and historian André Ravéreau on the oases of the Sahara.

Togo is another notable first-time participant at this Biennale and the only sub-Saharan African country represented this year. In this case, the government has not been actively involved in the project. If the Republic of Togo came to Venice, it is thanks to the impressive determination of the founding director of the Palais de Lomé, Sonia Lawson, who has been reflecting on the historical and cultural importance of architecture in her country since the renovation of the Palais, the largest visual arts centre of the country. “I am delighted to commission the first Togolese Pavilion at the International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia”, said Lawson. “It is a milestone to showcase Togo’s diverse architectural heritage to a large number of visitors from across the world. The Palais de Lomé is a landmark architectural venue in Togo. Once a place of colonial exclusion, the institution’s program engages in a dialogue about contemporary issues relating to culture, architecture, and the environment. I hope the pavilion furthers the conversations on the future and preservation of architectural heritage in West Africa”.

The project, entitled Considering Togo’s Architectural Heritage, has been curated by the architecture and research firm Studio NEiDA (Jeanne Autran-Edorh and Fabiola Büchele) with the participation of Sabrine Bako. It takes the form of a photographic exhibition, a real gem, exploring the country’s architectural narratives from the turn of the 20th century, focusing on the themes of conservation and transformation. The methodical documentation of Togo’s iconic architecture lead by Studio NEiDA, establishes a dialogue between conventional building practices and modernist construction techniques and it has allowed to restore the names of the local architects who worked on the projects and had been erased from the official history.

The show especially highlights Afro-Brazilian architecture, a style developed by freed slaves returning from Brazil, and the remarkable examples of modernist structures built after the independence. Some of the outlined buildings are still functional, such as the ECOWAS and the BOAD banks headquarters. It is quite interesting to note that the West African Development Bank (BOAD) has been actively preserving the building, the design of which is inspired by the traditional Batammariba architecture of northern Togo, specifically the tata somba (earth houses) of the Koutammakou region.

Other structures showcased in the exhibit have benefited from renovation. Particularly noteworthy are the refurbished Hotel 2 Février and the Palais des Congrès, which is in the process of restoration. But other prominent buildings, such as the Hotel de la Paix and the Bourse du Travail, are in a state of disrepair, completely dilapidated and threatened with destruction. Studio NEiDA has actually designed a renovation project balancing social impact and preservation for some of those sites, but their proposal met with the indifference of the Togolese institutions. “If bringing this project to Venice allows us to highlight our architectural heritage and history”, believes Jeanne Autran-Edorh, “perhaps they will also change their approach and their stand on the matter.”

The efforts of the Togolese team have been well received and recognized internationally, putting the country’s architecture under the spotlight. This success, despite the lack of interest of the institutions in participating in the Biennale, raises some questions about the means by which African countries can establish themselves on the international stage. The partnership involving private or non-governmental arts institutions – or platforms – and the talented voices of the continent and its diasporas, is definitely a valid option, as the Togo’s example shows. It’s undeniable that events like the Venice Biennale still have an appeal. Especially when we consider that even now many people on the Continent base their scale of values ​​on the Western one. Seeing the ideas coming from the South recognized in the global North, such as the importance of using vernacular techniques to build better in a global warming context, gives them more strength in their countries of origin. It can be frustrating, but it is still a reality African practitioners need to deal with.

Leaving behind the Togo pavilion, nested in a quiet and charming building outside the touristic routes, just across a small bridge behind the Arsenale, we take the vaporetto towards the Giardini. The last stop of this Venetian tour still has a lot to offer. Starting with the magnificent temporary pavilion, made of recycled wood and glass, that Rolex commissioned from the Nigerian architect Mariam Issoufou (already Kamara). The pavilion features a wooden facade, crafted locally from recycled wood beams, and fashioned to evoke the fluted bezel of many of Rolex’s iconic watches. Inside, the translucent coloured ceiling – made by Murano glassmakers – produces a range of shades and hues that morph throughout the day. The terrazzo flooring is made of an aggregate that includes recycled “Cottisso” crushed glass. The ecological vulnerability of Venice, as well as Rolex’s commitment to craft, was her inspiration for the project. Issoufou has an intersectional approach to sustainability, one that extends beyond environmental factors, and she made sure that the pavilion promotes the social fabric, cultural history, and economic conditions of crafters in Italy, and more specifically in Venice itself.

Let’s Grasp the Mirage is the name of the interactive exhibition showcased in the Egyptian pavilion (Egypt is the only African country disposing of a permanent venue in the Giardini). Curated by Salah Zikri, Ebrahim Zakaria, and Emad Fikry, and commissioned by the Ministry of Culture Egypt and Accademia d’Egitto, the project reflects on the delicate balance between conservation and development, centring on the oasis seen as a microcosm and a symbol of sustainability. The core of the installation is a 10 meters long platform suspended above a sand-covered floor, where visitors can place and shift yellow and blue-gray blocks, representing conservation and development. Each of them comes in a different size and weight: their disposition can create a visual and physical equilibrium, taking part at the same time in a game of balance that visualizes the complexity of sustainability and the impact of uneven decisions.

Speaking of national contributions, it is interesting to talk about how the French and British pavilions approached this year’s Biennale. Keeping in mind that Great Britain has been awarded a special mention for National Participation by the Biennale international jury for its ability to “reveal architecture as architecture that is defined by extraction that produces inequality and environmental degradation and it attempts to imagine a new relation between architecture and geology”.

The British pavilion exhibitions have been commissioned by the British Council since 1937 and this year intervention is the result of an open call, launched in November 2023, for innovative proposals for a collaborative exhibition. It is actually a key part of the British Council’s UK-Kenya Season 2025: a year of cultural exchange and a partnership which celebrates the connections between the two countries. Entitled GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair, the exhibition is curated by a collaborative team based between the UK and Kenya, including Kabage Karanja and Stella Mutegi of Nairobi-based architecture studio Cave_bureau, and it investigates how architecture can reverse the destructive impacts of colonial systems of geological extraction. 

The exhibition’s geographical, geological and conceptual focus stems from the British Pavilion’s pivotal alignment along an axis that runs between Britain to the north-west, and the Great Rift Valley to the south-east. Emerging from the “rift”, which runs from southern Turkey through Palestine, the Red Sea to Ethiopia, Kenya and Mozambique, the exhibition comprises a series of installations by Cave_bureau, Mae-ling Lokko and Gustavo Crembil, Thandi Loewenson, and the Palestine Regeneration Team / PART.

The central gallery of the pavilion becomes, for instance, an Earth Compass: the space is crowned by an image of the night sky above Nairobi on 12 December 1963, the day of Kenya’s independence from British control, paired at the centre with a pulsating “oil drum” that unsettles the corresponding depiction of the sky above London on the same date. On the surrounding walls is a cartography of the carbon emissions brought about by geologic empires, with the keloid “scars” creating an inverted index of cumulative national carbon emissions from 1750–2023. Visitors can then experience The Baboon Parliament emerging both from a reproduction of the rift valley’s caves and the brick structure of the pavilion itself, before approaching Objects of Repair. An installation exploring fracture and repair in the architectures and geologies of Palestine.

A moving series of graphite drawings by Thandi Loewenson is hung on the walls of a crimson piece amongst bits of poetries. It is inspired by the technofossils orbiting around our planet, which testifies the history of imperialist expansion above the heart. He chooses to re-write the scenes of exploitation and extraction the extra-terrestrial ambition facilitated on the ground depicting Njiwa, the sixth rocket developed by the experimental aerospace company Développement Tous Azimuts based in Democratic Republic of Congo; Cyclops 1, the inaugural prototype of the 1964 Zambian Space Programme, launched by “space girl” and liberation combatant Matha Mwamba; and a mission data-gathering cube developed by the Mars Society of Kenya. In his works, recyclers, ‘artisanal miners’ and waste-workers recuperate discarded sites and resources, forging new collectives between people and the planet and become the architects of our possible future.

The British exhibition ends with Vena Cava, a timber frame reproducing the Palm House at Kew Gardens in West London, the beating heart of the British botanical empire and the world’s first large-scale greenhouse, the focus and destination for a vast system of extraction and circulation of plants, minerals, energy, labour, and knowledge. From the frame are hung patterned panels of fly ash, biomass, bioplastics, and fungi – emerging twenty-first century material streams that herald a shift away from thin mineral-based building envelopes dependent on mechanical environmental regulation, which the Palm House pioneered.

Just below the British pavilion, the French pavilion’s renovation site has been transformed into adaptive architecture and an exhibition space. Among the approximately 50 showcased projects exploring the theme of Vivre avec / Living with, selected by architects Jakob and MacFarlane in association with Martin Duplantier and Éric Daniel-Lacombe, several have a connection to Africa or were designed by its architects. Such as MycoHab, a pilot project in Namibia born from a collaboration between the MIT, Standard Bank Group and Cleveland-based Redhouse studio and a peculiar example of regenerative architecture. MycoHab is actually a house made entirely of bricks produced locally, using only agricultural waste products and the natural process of mycelium growth. Namibian bush is used as the substrate to grow gourmet mushrooms, and the waste of the cultivation can be used to make carbon-storing structural materials. We can also mention the Pedagogic complex of Timenkar, in Morocco, by the aforementioned Salima Naji. Or the reconstruction of the big Central Market of Kinshasa, imagined by the French studio Think Tank following the principles of tropical brutalism.

The African School of Architecture and Urban Planning Professions (Togo) and the Ain Shams University (Egypt) both presented their studies and propositions, respectively, on the issue of marine submersion in the Ivorian city of Grand-Bassam and the noise pollution in Cairo. While the French University of Egypt showcased Siwian House: a contemporary vision responding to the aspects of extreme heat and the threat of salinization.

Yet another demonstration, if needed, that African architecture has potential. Even if it is often easier to showcase it abroad or capitalize on it when working on projects involving transnational teams, than to get the recognition it deserves in one’s own country.
It is another paradigm, that of mentalities, that it’s definitely time to change.

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