In Minor Keys: African Presences at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia

As the Venice Biennale returns, Venice once again becomes a space where the world’s artistic energies converge. In this shifting landscape, the vision of Koyo Kouoh sets a distinctive tone, one that privileges nuance, complexity, and what she has described as working “in minor keys.” Rather than amplifying dominant narratives, her approach invites attention to quieter, layered practices, those that unfold over time and resist simplification.
Within this framework, the presence of artists from across Africa and its diasporas feels particularly resonant. Their contributions are not framed as a singular story or category, but as a multiplicity of positions that move across histories, geographies, and imaginaries. Koyo’s vision creates space for these voices to exist in relation, subtle, sometimes dissonant, yet deeply interconnected.
Across exhibitions and pavilions, artists engage with questions of memory, identity, and belonging, often navigating the tension between inherited histories and speculative futures. Ecological concerns, material experimentation, and evolving cultural forms emerge as key threads, reflecting both local urgencies and shared global conditions. What becomes visible is not a fixed identity, but a field of practices in constant transformation.
There is also a noticeable shift in how these works inhabit the Biennale. No longer positioned at the margins, African perspectives increasingly shape the core of the conversation, contributing to a broader rethinking of what constitutes the contemporary and who defines it. In this sense, Koyo’s curatorial direction does not simply include these voices; it reframes the entire exhibition as a space where multiple centers can coexist.
 
A Map of African Pavilions
From Cameroon, Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, the African pavilions at this year’s Biennale trace a rich and layered geography. 
Each pavilion articulates its own narrative and sensibility, yet together they form a constellation of artistic positions that extend beyond national frameworks. Moving between them, one encounters a network of ideas shaped by movement, exchange, and dialogue echoing the broader curatorial vision of working across registers rather than within fixed categories.
Through stories, materials, and perspectives that challenge linear readings and encourage deeper attention, African contemporary art emerges not as a defined territory, but as an evolving and influential force within the global cultural landscape.
 
The Cameroon Pavilion, NZƎNDA, is curated by Beya Gille Gacha and hosted at Palazzo Canal (Dorsoduro 3121).
 
The Democratic Republic of Congo presents Simba Moto ! Seize the fire ! Saisis le feu !, curated by Nadia Yala Kisukidi at the Antico Refettorio – Scuola Grande di San Marco.
 
At the Giardini, the Egypt Pavilion presents Silence Pavilion: Between the Tangible and the Intangible, curated by Armen Agop.
 
Equatorial Guinea presents THE FOREST THE UNDERGROWTH, curated by Joan Abelló at Palazzo Donà dalle Rose (Cannaregio 5038 / 5101).
 
Ethiopia participates with Shapes of Silence, curated by Abebaw Ayalew at Palazzo Bollani (Castello 3647).
 
Guinea presents Le Son de l'Art: l'Écho de la Matière, curated by Carlo Stragapede on the Island of San Servolo.
 
At the Arsenale, the Morocco Pavilion presents Asǝṭṭa, curated by Meriem Berrada.
 
Senegal presents « WURUS* » - What the Earth provides us with..., curated by Massamba Mbaye at Palazzo Navagero (Riva degli Schiavoni 4145).
 
Sierra Leone participates with Mondi Presenti / Worlds of Today, curated by Sandro Orlandi Stagl and Willy Montini at the Liceo Guggenheim (Dorsoduro 2613).
 

Somalia presents Saddexleey, curated by Mohamed Mire and Fabio Scrivanti at Palazzo Caboto (Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, 1645, Castello).

 

Tanzania is represented by Minor Frequencies: The Inner Life Of A Nation, curated by Lorna Benedict Mashiba and Martina Cavallarin, presented across the Gervasuti Foundation – Palazzo Canova (Calle Longa Santa Caterina – Cannaregio 4998 – 5001/A), and Antica Perleria (Cannaregio 3218/A).

 

The Uganda Pavilion, KAMPALA, is curated by Taga Francis Nuwagaba at Palazzo Navagero Gallery (Riva degli Schiavoni 4147).

 

Zimbabwe presents Second Nature|Manyonga, curated by Fadzai Veronica Muchemwa at Santa Maria della Pietà (Castello 3701).
 

Since 2016, AKKA Project has been committed to supporting African contemporary art and creating space for intercultural dialogue in Venice and beyond. On the occasion of this year’s Venice Biennale, we would like to extend our sincere congratulations to the artists, curators, and commissioners of the African Pavilions.

Their work not only enriches this edition of the Biennale, but also contributes to shaping the broader international artistic landscape in lasting ways. Through their practices, new paths for collaboration, research, and shared knowledge continue to emerge, opening meaningful connections across geographies and contexts, and reinforcing the vital role of African contemporary art within today’s global discourse.

27 March 2026