Meet the woman set to lead Zeitz MOCAA into its next decade

Internationally respected curator Elvira Dyangani Ose will take over as artistic director at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA) in October, bringing formidable global experience, a pan-African outlook and an approachable warmth that left a memorable first impression.  

I can still clearly remember the opening of Zeitz nearly a decade ago.

It was one of the most anticipated museum launches of its time: an architectural landmark carved from the V&A Waterfront’s historic grain silos and a bold new home for contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora. Yet, for a layperson, the artistic experience sometimes felt intense, unexpectedly dark and rather hard to engage with beyond its undeniable academic excellence.  

The years that followed brought several turbulent chapters.

Inaugural executive director and chief curator Mark Coetzee resigned in 2018 following an inquiry into his professional conduct.  

Koyo Kouoh took over in 2019, ushering in a transformative new era and becoming the first African woman appointed to curate the Venice Biennale. Her unexpected death in May 2025, before the 2026 edition opened, sent shock waves through the international art world.

Now, as Zeitz MOCAA prepares to enter its second decade, another chapter is beginning.

Internationally respected curator and museum leader Elvira Dyangani Ose has been appointed the museum’s new artistic director. She officially takes up the position on October 1, 2026, overseeing all aspects of the institution's exhibitions and its relationships with artists and audiences.   

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Who is Elvira Dyangani Ose?

Dyangani Ose arrives in Cape Town with deep-rooted artistic credentials.

She has served as director of Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona and The Showroom in London, and has held curatorial roles at Tate Modern and Creative Time in New York. She is currently the artistic director of the second Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, running from 2026 to 2027.  

Yet my first impression of her was defined by something less easily captured in a professional biography: her deft approachability.

I watched a heart-hug moment between her and critically acclaimed artist Sue Williamson. It was an open expression of admiration and joy at Dyangani Ose's appointment.  

I was surprised by the decline in one-on-one interviews, given the appointment announcement of the occasion. However, she did speak candidly about wanting to do so when taking up the position in October. She said she also carefully weighed the demands of the role against her ability to remain a good, present mother to her young daughter before accepting it.  

The Bantu ties that bind

Our brief exchange also revealed Dyangani Ose's openness to artistic possibility.

I shared how deeply I had been moved by Nossa Vida Bantu – or Our Bantu Life – at the Museu de Arte do Rio during a recent visit to Brazil. This exhibition explores the profound influence of Bantu peoples from several African countries on Brazilian culture, language, identity and the arts. It was arresting in every aspect for me, from the floor-to-ceiling velt-lined exhibition space to the use of mixed media to expand the lens of understanding how slavery shaped the world we live in today.

She immediately responded by sharing her connection with Pablo Lafuente, the artistic director of Rio de Janeiro’s Museum of Modern Art, who also served on the advisory committee at MACBA during her tenure.

It was a fleeting conversation, but it captured something important.  

Dyangani Ose appears instinctively alert to the connections between African and diasporic cultures - and to the possibilities that can emerge when museums, curators and audiences engage meaningfully.

Whether we'll see her bring the exhibition to Cape Town is a tantalising thought.  

Building on Koyo Kouoh’s legacy

Dyangani Ose takes up the position at an emotionally significant time for the institution. Asked how she would build on Kouoh's legacy, she recalled seeing the late curator in Chicago just a month before her death.

"When you lose someone you are very close to – someone who has been a mentor to you in many ways – it reminds you of the lessons you learnt from them," she said.

She also reflected on losing her own father on the day she opened an exhibition of South African artists titled Erase Me From Who I Am in Gran Canaria.

"It also asks you to consider what you will take from those lessons into your future life."  

Kouoh’s legacy will continue through programmes including the Koyo Kouoh Atelier, which works with artists living and practising in Cape Town, and MOCAA On The Move, which extends the museum’s educational work to communities beyond its physical walls.   

But Dyangani Ose also intends to bring her own curatorial thinking to the institution.

"We are also our own beings, and we will create new projects and introduce new ideas,’ she said. ‘I feel incredibly proud to be able to continue Koyo’s legacy while also beginning my own journey and building upon the foundations she established."

Zeitz MOCAA co-founder and co-chair David Green said her appointment reflected the museum’s ambition to remain ‘rooted in Africa, while connected to the world’.

Dyangani Ose certainly has the artistic experience to take on that task.   

Zeitz MOCAA has never been a quiet or uncomplicated institution. It has invited excitement, debate and at times, controversy.

But Dyangani Ose’s combination of artistic rigour, international experience and candid humanity suggests that its next decade could be a particularly interesting one to watch.

It has left me excited about what she might bring to this beacon of creativity – and about the importance of sharing African art, culture, and heritage storytelling with the world. 

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