Meet this year's ten selected curators:

All the way from Ghana, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Nigeria and South Africa

Kezia Ouomoye Owusu-Ankomah is a Ph.D. candidate at the department of painting and sculpture, and an art practitioner (Writer, Curator, Artist, and Mentor). Her contribution to the field of Fine Art has been as a Guest Curator at Kwame Nkrumah' University of Science and Technology, Kumasi where she also later took on the role of a 'Graduate Assistant'.

She is currently the Gallery manager at ADA contemporary
art gallery in Accra Ghana. In her time there she has witnessed 14 successful shows. In July 2021, she curated an art exhibition titled Monologue of Voices which was held in 4 venues and hosted 16 artists at Sekondi, Ghana; a solo exhibition titled Hulu Shinyoo at the National Museum Accra, Ghana (November,2022); The comeback, a group exhibition at Tse Addo, Accra Ghana (November 2022); and Obaakofornsa II a solo exhibition at the National Theatre, Accra Ghana (December,2022). She is presently the Operations Advisor at The African Art Hub UK.

Carina Ubisse Capitine is a Mozambican artist, that works primarily with ceramic. Her work was showcased as part of collective exhibitions “Nossas, vossas vozes”, at Centro Cultural Moçambicano-Alemão - CCMA, and “Cidadão do Futuro” Associação Cultural Muenda, both in Maputo.

She is the founder of KAPPAUSSÊ - Atelier de Cerâmica Artesanal (Handmade Ceramic Atelier), a space dedicated to the practice and celebration of handmade, afro-centric ceramic in Maputo; co-organizer and co-facilitator of Maputo Figure Drawing, a community-sourced art initiative; and facilitator of #espelhonochão (mirroronthefloor) a feminist, women-centered, and art-based group reflection on sexuality.

This year she will join RMB CuratorLab 2023 and the Nesr Art Foundation Residency. With a Degree (Licenciatura) in Communication Sciences from Universidade Politécnica in Mozambique (2017), she completed her Master's in Communication and Development Studies from the University of Ohio, in the USA (2020), as a Fulbright Scholar.

Denzel ‘Denzo’ Nyathi is a passionate designer, writer, curator and creative. He obtained his Honours equivalent Bachelor’s degree in Communication Design from the Rhodes University School of Journalism. Having had his educational start in design in a journalism space, the need to combine effective communication with artistic expression has never been lost on him. Keeping that in mind, his philosophy of art – and life in general – is one which constantly comes back to the fact that we are a social people. Our lives and our work exists in a society, and should speak to and with that society, for the benefit of many. 

He approaches curation with the same design sensibilities that he approaches designing a magazine with. This relationship between multiple elements, such as image, text and space. Within that space, how are we made to feel? What is the golden thread with which all these possibly unrelated works are bound? Those are the questions which move the work. 

Before dipping his toes in the business of curating, Denzo worked for many years in the field of art journalism and criticism. Writing for major local publications such as Bubblegum Club Magazine and Mail&Gaurdian, he has also written for the National Arts Festival (2020, 2022) and for the journal Something We Africans Got, run from France. 

Having studied and practiced Visual Arts, Contemporary Dance, Creative Writing, Drama and Design, the throughline in Denzo’s professional and personal work is an admiration for the ways all the disciplines of art shine a light on the kaleidoscope of our soul.

Basadi Dibeela (She/Her) creates experiences that connect people with each other in an accessible and engaging manner. As an arts and culture curator, DJ, and freelance arts journalist, her work is centred around arts, innovation, and sustainability.

Drawn as much to villages as much a to cities, Basadi, is interested in an expansive and accessible art landscape that does not only look to-- but seeks to find new expressions and vocabularies outside of cities and metropolitan areas. She is exploring what critical cultural placemaking looks in the context of a village, and the role of the artist, the curator, and the community in shaping what that could look like.

Previously, Basadi had a role leading strategic planning and programme development, while serving on the board of the Kgosi Bathoen II Museum in her home village of Kanye, Botswana. As a social entrepreneur, Basadi started the Loselo Kultur Network, an organization devoted to operating a multi-disciplinary arts and innovation space that
encourages critical thinking, ideas exchange, experimentation.

Basadi holds a Masters in Arts Journalism from Syracuse University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Botswana.

Nonzuzo Gxekwa is a self-taught photographer, and a 2021 Jan Van Eyck Academie participant. Her optic is loving. It’s not simply that she chooses to focus on moments of self-love—the way people occupy themselves—but that in the taking, her subjects are never wholly circumscribed. There is always space to manoeuvre.

Gemma Hart is a curator, writer and facilitator based in Johannesburg. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with distinction, from the University of the Witwatersrand (2016). More recently, Gemma completed, also with distinction, an MA in Contemporary Curatorial Practice (2020) from the same institution. 

In her practice-based research, she explores the museum as a pedagogical platform. Gemma is interested in curatorial practice and the ideology of display, specifically focusing on immersive modes of exhibition making while also investigating the inherent power dynamics held within socially constructed space. Her research examines the persistent legacy of colonial ideology which continues to haunt museums in the contemporary moment.

Motheo Mamabolo is a South African interdisciplinary artist and curator. Her work asses and explores the integration of the human psyche into the new digital world. Through mediums such as culinary art, audio-making and visual art the artist investigates and envisages human existence parallel to technological evolution.  Her core interests are based on food inequality in South Africa, the systematic disparities exacerbated by private institutions using 4IR and speculative art that investigates Africa’s role in spirituality and mental health practices. 

Her induction into the creative industry began with her first theatre play performed at the Market Theatre in 2016. Her plays have been recognised by the Wits School of Drama, receiving the Best Script, Best Ensemble and Best Direction for a One-Act Play by the Repertory Amateur Players Society in 2016.

The artist has moved from institution to agency exploring new technological methodologies and how the people of South Africa are integrating into the fourth industrial revolution. Her collaborative work with Basetsana Maluleka, Brisbane-based photographer, has been exhibited at the AfroPunk x Umuzi RINGA! Group Exhibition in 2018. Her work has also been selected to be showcased at the Imperfections of The City group exhibition by The hART in Troyeville.

Laschandre Coetzee is a Namibian creative, strategist and curator. Drawing from the skills of her day job in branding, communication, and design thinking her curatorial work primarily focuses on extending the impact and stories of Namibian artists and communities. 

The most notable curatorial project which she developed has been the Blind Photography Project, which aims to explore new ways of looking at the city, build bridges between the blind and sighted, and challenge common assumptions about blindness. The project serves as a communication tool through the interactive exhibition called, I am blind, in which the photographic works of blind participants are presented. Thus far the project has taken place in 6 cities (Vienna, Berlin, Caracas, Windhoek, Abidjan, Nairobi) and exhibited in 3 (Vienna, Windhoek, Nairobi), the most recent being Nairobi Design Week 2020. Additionally, she has curated the works for two art publications, namely Namibia Unique by photographer Hentie Burger (2017) and Stein ist Stille an oevre of sculptor Doerte Berner (2020).

Laschandre is a partner in the local gallery The Project Room (Windhoek), a space for Namibian arts and artists. Beyond offering a consistent year-round exhibition programme of upcoming and established artists, the gallery also works closely with corporates and collectors to establish their strategy, contributions, and investments to the local arts industry. This strategic dreamer sits on the board of the Namibian Arts Association (NAA) and holds a MA in Social Design from the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

I am an artist, curator and anthropologist born and based in Lagos, Nigeria. I completed my BA (Hons.) in Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, focusing on museum studies and visual culture (2016-2021).

My career has been marked by projects completed with institutions and organizations such as UBC’s Laboratory of Archaeology, The Museum of Anthropology (Vancouver), SMO Contemporary Art, and ‘Failed State’. My experience extends from working on collections-based research projects to working on curatorial projects of varying scales.

My curatorial perspective is informed by theories of memory, consciousness and existentialism, as they relate to time, place, objects, and people. My curatorial goal is to document the emergence of these themes through the mobilization of thought which extends beyond the gallery space and into the daily lives of artists and non-artists alike. For me, this means the implementation of traditional and contemporary mediums that focus on experimental and collaborative approaches.

Tsholofelo Radebe is passionate about purpose and connecting with people. I've connected people to causes, brands and each other to create a powerful team or strong network. I have experience in multiple fields such as Drama, Literature, Music and of course Visual Art.

Papa Woke is a spiritual manifestation conjured by Tsholofelo Radebe who uses his talents in art curation, music, poetry and dance to connect with people through art exhibitions and music festivals

W.O.K.E Arts is the conscious art renaissance of Southern Africa.