Venice Biennale honours legacy of groundbreaking curator Koyo Kouoh

The 61st Venice Art Biennale has opened to the public, serving as a celebration of contemporary art and a tribute to pioneering curator Koyo Kouoh.

Kouoh became the first African woman appointed to curate the prestigious international exhibition before losing her battle with cancer last year. Organizers say her vision of inclusion, diversity and dialogue continues to shape this year's Biennale.

Titled "In Minor Keys," the exhibition was designed to give marginalized communities a voice.

Born in Cameroon and raised in Switzerland, Kouoh worked as an investment banker before becoming one of the leading figures in contemporary African art. She later lived in Senegal, where she founded the Raw Material Company arts center, before going on to serve as director of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town. 

Her appointment to lead the Venice Biennale was widely seen as a landmark moment for African representation in the global art world.

Among the artists personally selected by Kouoh for the Biennale is Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, whose installation features both Kouoh and Toni Morrison - the first Black woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Speaking to CGTN, Campos-Pons described Kouoh as "an incredible force, very gracious with a contagious happiness," while also being "very determined and very firm in her opinion and her vision."

Campos-Pons told CGTN that Kouoh's influence remains visible across the exhibition.

"You can see it and feel it everywhere, the diversity of voices here," she said. "She was an avid embracer of difference and she tried to find equalisers for all of us in the world."

Greater African representation is also reflected in the launch of new national pavilions, with Somalia and Guinea among the countries making their Biennale debut this year.

The Biennale preview was marked by protests over the participation of Russia and Israel, highlighting broader geopolitical tensions surrounding the event. However, organisers say those debates reinforce Kouoh's belief that art cannot be separated from the realities of the world around it.

"In whichever moment the Biennale is living, the event confronts the issues of the time," Massimiliano De Martin, assessor for the City of Venice, told CGTN. "The important role of the curator and the artists is to find a way to provide dialogue, respect and tolerance."

For many attending this year's Biennale, the exhibition reflects Kouoh's enduring belief that art has the power to unite people across borders and cultures.