South African curator Koyo Kouoh has died at the age of 57, according to BBC News. The Cameroon-born art legend was set to become the first African woman to lead the 2026 Venice Biennale, an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. The icon passed away in Switzerland, according to reports.
On May 11, Kouoh’s sudden death was announced via the Venice Biennale Instagram page. The art event said that she passed away between the “9th to 10th of May,” but did not provide a cause of death for the prestigious curator, who was an advocate for African artists. However, the New York Times noted that Kouoh passed away on Saturday, May 10, in a hospital in Basel, Switzerland. Her husband, Philippe Mall, revealed that she had only recently been diagnosed with cancer.
Kouoh served as the executive director and chief curator of Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, South Africa, where she resided.
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According to a statement published on the Venice Biennale website, the Board of Directors of La Biennale announced Kouoh’s appointment in December 2024 as the Curator of the 61st International Art Exhibition, set to open May 9, 2026. The Board commended her for bringing passion, intellectual rigor, and visionary leadership to the conception and development of Biennale Arte 2026. The official unveiling of the exhibition’s title and theme was scheduled to take place in Venice on May 20.
“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 statement added.
