American artist Derrick Adams has installed a monumental portrait of the late curator Koyo Kouoh on a building façade near the Arsenale in Venice, ahead of the 2026 Venice Biennale that Kouoh was to curate. The painting, titled "Heavy is the head that wears the crown (2026)," depicts Kouoh with a crown that transforms into the word "JOY" emitting golden light. The project was spearheaded by curator Francesco Bonami, who invited Kouoh to serve on the jury of the 50th Venice Biennale, and is intended as an accessible public homage rather than an exclusive art-world event.
This tribute matters because Koyo Kouoh was the first African woman to curate the Venice Biennale, and her death at age 57 in 2025 cut short a visionary career that championed African contemporary art globally. The installation honors her legacy of presenting Black joy as a site of resistance and beauty, while also highlighting the pressure and responsibility of major leadership roles. It connects Adams's signature joyful aesthetic with Kouoh's curatorial philosophy, and keeps her vision for the 2026 Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys," in public consciousness.