The sudden death of the Cameroon-born curator Koyo Kouoh, at the age of 57 and at the height of her career, has shaken the art world. Her passing has left a void in the African arts scene, one which extends far beyond the continent. Born in 1967 in Douala, she spent her teenage and early adult years in Zurich, Switzerland before returning to the continent and settling in Senegal. She lived in Cape Town, South Africa from 2019. There she was executive director and chief curator of the Zeitz MOCAA museum. It holds the continent’s largest collection of contemporary art. At the time of her death, she was due to become the first African woman to lead the prestigious Venice Biennale, dubbed the “Olympics of art world”. She described her practice, as a creative manager of art spaces and exhibitions, as being deeply rooted in:

A pan-African, feminist, ancestral, activist perspective, but also one that is generous, inclusive and welcoming.

Kouoh was unapologetic about her commitment to promoting Africa and Africanness on the global stage. Her decorated career included serving in global roles as curatorial advisor for leading exhibitions and art events. As a researcher of modern and contemporary arts of Africa, I first met Kouoh in 2015 when she facilitated a curatorial workshop I attended. I would work with her at Zeitz MOCAA, specifically helping research her landmark show, When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting. Beyond these achievements, Kouoh mentored countless artists and art organisers, especially women. She leaves a legacy of building sustainable art institutions, critical curating with care, uplifting artists and cultural workers, and educating through art.

Institution building

In her own words:

My motto has always been, You have to set up your own house and build your own home as opposed to trying to get into someone else’s castle.

One of the lasting legacies Kouoh left is teaching how to build African arts institutions, which help give creatives the chance to be seen and heard, and to make independent decisions free of the demands of funders. The RAW Material Company that she established in Dakar stands as testimony of that. Through the artist residency and exhibition space, she was able to bring many independent and emerging artists, curators and gallerists to Senegal. There she published books on art from the continent, helping nurture and shift the Africa art ecosystem as it began to play an increasingly visible role in global art markets.

Her role in reviving the unstable ship that was the Zeitz MOCAA at the time she took over and steering it to becoming one of Africa’s leading cultural institutions and a global competitor says a lot about her vision. As she said:

I’m a fixer, I like to take complicated institutions and make them sustainable.

Education

The exhibitions she led were thoroughly researched and tended to generate critical discourse and public dialogue. When We See Us, for example, comes with an education programme that includes a webinar series. Each exhibition of the show as it tours globally comes with a symposium and a publication with contributions from critical thinkers in the art industry. Even more impressive is how she managed to bring together people from different sectors, including respected academics, cultural workers and captains of industry. We cannot talk about Kouoh’s contributions to art education without mentioning the Zeitz MOCAA & University of the Western Cape Museum Fellowship Programme, geared to grow “curatorial practice as well as advance scholarship on contemporary art discourse from the continent”. In my tenure, I observed that the museum’s Centre for Art Education and its outreach programme were closest to her heart.

Celebrating African artists

At Zeitz MOCAA, Kouoh was more drawn to research-based solo exhibitions or select surveys which offered in-depth insights into “individual practices, with retrospectives and monographs”. In her time at the museum it shone a spotlight on African artists like Senzeni Marasela, Johannes Phokela, Tracey Rose, Mary Evans, Otobong Nkanga and others.

Through the museum’s ongoing Atelier programme, a studio residency which is open and experimental in nature, audiences gain insights into an artist’s practice, process, thinking and intentions. So far, artists like Thania Petersen, Igshaan Adams, Unathi Mkonto and Berni Searle have shared these processes, which normally remain invisible to those who only see the final work. She did all this in just over five years in Cape Town.

Uplifting generations

Kouoh believed in people’s potential and saw infinite possibilities in each one of us. This can be seen through the many peers and young talents she mentored and provided space to flourish. The young team of mostly Black female curators she has left in place at Zeitz MOCAA is proof of that. She cared about the welfare of the people around her.

Of the need to elevate women, she stated:

The importance, or rather the urgency, of focusing on women’s voices cannot be highlighted enough.

Curator of the Venice Biennale 2026

Recently appointed as the next Venice Biennale’s artistic director, Kouoh was due to present the exhibition’s title and theme in Venice on 20 May. Those who have known her practice, as well as her obsessions and values, keenly anticipated the day, knowing African voices would take centre stage. I hope her team will be allowed to execute her ideas to the end.

Legacy

Kouoh belonged to a pioneering generation of African curators who worked hard for the recognition of African voices and creativity on the global stage. Although that recognition started to be earned in the 1990s, she realised a lot more still needed to be done, which is why she never stopped working, even at the most difficult of times.

She shared her vision of building strong independent institutions, encouraging others to do the same. She led in documenting and critically engaging artistic processes, and in producing African knowledge. May her legacy and her spirit live on. As she said:

I do believe in life after death, because I come from an ancestral black education where we believe in parallel lives and realities.

Barnabas Ticha Muvhuti, Nancy and Robert J. Carney Postdoctoral Associate in Art History, Rice University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Aditi Verma, University of Michigan and Katie Snyder, University of Michigan Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course:

Socially Engaged Design of Nuclear Energy Technologies

What prompted the idea for the course?

The two of us had some experience with participatory design coming into this course, and we had a shared interest in bringing virtual reality into a first-year design class at the University of Michigan. It seemed like a good fit to help students learn about nuclear technologies, given that hands-on experience can be difficult to provide in that context. We both wanted to teach students about the social and environmental implications of engineering work, too. Aditi is a nuclear engineer and had been using participatory design in her research, and Katie had been teaching ethics and design to engineering students for many years.

What does the course explore?

Broadly, the course explores engineering design. We introduce our students to the principles of nuclear engineering and energy systems design, and we go through ethical concerns. They also learn communication strategies – like writing for different audiences. Students learn to design the exterior features of nuclear energy facilities in collaboration with local communities. The course focuses on a different nuclear energy technology each year. In the first year, the focus was on fusion energy systems. In fall 2024, we looked at locating nuclear microreactors near local communities. The main project was to collaboratively decide where a microreactor might be sited, what it might look like, and what outcomes the community would like to see versus which would cause concern. Students also think about designing nuclear systems with both future generations and a shared common good in mind. The class explores engineering as a sociotechnical practice – meaning that technologies are not neutral. They shape and affect social life, for better and for worse. To us, a sociotechnical engineer is someone who adheres to scientific and engineering fundamentals, communicates ethically and designs in collaboration with the people who are likely to be affected by their work. In class, we help our students reflect on these challenges and responsibilities.

Why is this course relevant now?

Nuclear energy system design is advancing quickly, allowing engineers to rethink how they approach design. Fusion energy systems and fission microreactors are two areas of rapidly evolving innovation. Microreactors are smaller than traditional nuclear energy systems, so planners can place them closer to communities. These smaller reactors will likely be safer to run and operate, and may be a good fit for rural communities looking to transition to carbon-neutral energy systems. But for the needs, concerns and knowledge of local people to shape the design process, local communities need to be involved in these reactor siting and design conversations.

What materials does the course feature?

We use virtual reality models of both fission and fusion reactors, along with models of energy system facilities. AI image generators are helpful for rapid prototyping – we have used these in class with students and in workshops. This year, we are also inviting students to do some hands-on prototyping with scrap materials for a project on nuclear energy systems.

What will the course prepare students to do?

Students leave the course understanding that community engagement is an essential – not optional – component of good design. We equip students to approach technology use and development with users’ needs and concerns in mind. Specifically, they learn how to engage with and observe communities using ethical, respectful methods that align with the university’s engineering research standards.

What’s a critical lesson from the course?

As instructors, we have an opportunity – and probably also an obligation – to learn from students as much as we are teaching them course content. Gen Z students have grown up with environmental and social concerns as centerpieces of their media diets, and we’ve noticed that they tend to be more strongly invested in these topics than previous generations of engineering students. Aditi Verma, Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan and Katie Snyder, Lecturer III in Technical Communication, College of Engineering, University of Michigan This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.