Independent curator Brice Arsène Yonkeu has organized "Ever So Present II: Between Home and Elsewhere," the second installment of a two-part exhibition at Gagosian's Park & 75 space in New York. The show features four emerging artists of African descent—including Emma Prempeh and Josèfa Ntjam—whose works in painting, photomontage, and assemblage explore themes of diaspora, memory, migration, and belonging. Yonkeu is the first curator invited to participate in dot.ateliers' new residency program, a foundation and exhibition space launched by Ghanaian painter Amoako Boafo in Accra in 2023. The exhibition expands on questions raised in the first iteration held in Accra, asking what remains "ever so present" in diasporic art across borders and cultures.
This exhibition matters because it represents a significant cross-continental collaboration between a major blue-chip gallery (Gagosian) and a young African foundation (dot.ateliers), highlighting the growing visibility and institutional support for emerging artists of African descent. Yonkeu's curatorial approach—framing the show as a visual conversation rather than a themed showcase—offers a nuanced model for presenting diasporic art that resists simplification. The inclusion of artists like Prempeh, whose work draws on personal and intergenerational memory, and Ntjam, who layers archival and family imagery, underscores the depth and complexity of contemporary African diasporic practice. The show also signals the increasing role of independent curators and residency programs in shaping global art discourse.