Pour la 61e Biennale de Venise, une quête de beauté malgré un monde troublé
Koyo Kouoh, the Swiss-Cameroonian curator who was set to become the first African woman to direct the Venice Biennale, died suddenly on May 10, 2025, at age 57, just weeks before the opening of the 61st edition she had conceived. Titled "In Minor Keys," the exhibition at the Giardini and Arsenale will proceed posthumously based on her detailed directives, featuring 111 artists including Laurie Anderson, Wangechi Mutu, and Kader Attia, with a focus on beauty, resilience, and radical emotional connection amid global turmoil.
This edition matters because Kouoh's death transforms the Biennale into both a tribute and a test of institutional continuity, raising questions about how a major exhibition can honor a curator's vision without her presence. Her emphasis on "minor keys"—melancholy, blues, and quiet repair—offers a deliberate counterpoint to the cacophony of contemporary crises, positioning art as a space for healing and subjective experience rather than political commentary. The event also underscores the ongoing marginalization of African curatorial leadership in global institutions, even as Kouoh broke barriers.