Dubbed to be a night of ‘Art & Opulence’ the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) x Gucci gala aims to celebrate Black experience.
The glitzy event will take place in Cape Town, South Africa on 19 November and is expected to be attended by the ‘who’s who’ of the art world.
“The Zeitz MOCAA Gala and its theme is a celebration of excellence, triumph and affirmation of the global Black experience, and is true to our relationship with the larger art and culture field,” says Koyo Kouoh, executive director and chief curator of Zeitz MOCAA.
The gala has been inspired by the ‘When We See Us’ exhibition, which will open at the museum on 20 November. It will showcase the work of artists from across the continent, including Jacob Lawrence, Kehinde Whiley, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Chéri Samba, Helen Sebidi, Ben Enwonwu, Peter Clarke, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.
A Celebration of Black Excellence
The ‘When We See Us’ exhibition is a large-scale, global exploration of Black self-representation
through figurative painting and portraiture spanning more than a century. In the lead-up to the opening of the exhibition the museum launched a series of programmes including webinars that speak about global Black experience.
“The project locates ‘black excellence’ within an exploration of the significant output and contributions of artists of African descent to the important and diverse scope of narratives of the Black experience, both on the continent and across its vast diaspora,” says senior curator, Storm Janse van Rensburg.
In addition to supporting ‘When We See Us’ as a travelling exhibition, the funds raised from the gala will enable Zeitz MOCAA to continue casting the spotlight about art from Africa.
“In its role as a site for public dialogue, exhibitions, research and collection, and storytelling that contemporary art enables, the institution promotes narratives that are important to the building of communities and we see this gala as a significant milestone in working towards this vision,” adds Koyo.
Storm explains that over the past three years the museum has increased its publishing footprint, expanded audiences both locally and abroad, and are creating exhibitions that are travelling.
“Our aim is to create solid foundations for our institution, which we understand is crucial in the ecosystem of the African art landscape – to have a strong globally respected home for contemporary art from our context,” he adds.
Visit www.zeitzmocaa.museum for more information.
