Over the course of the last couple of years, there has been a serious push toward recognising and celebrating African talents and their art. In celebration of contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) will team up with its long-standing partner Gucci to present the first annual fundraiser event.
The event will take place on Saturday, November 19th, and is inspired by When We See Us, a new exhibition which will open at the institution on November 20th. The gala themed around Art & Opulence will feature notable figures from the art, fashion, film, and entertainment industries.
“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, Zeitz MOCAA. “We are thankful for our longstanding partnership with Gucci. At a time when many institutions across the globe are continuing to feel the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, this event provides Zeitz MOCAA with an opportunity to further its goals and continue to strive towards access for all and the education and celebration of art from Africa and its diaspora.”
The gala will coincide with the When We See Us exhibition, a large-scale, global exploration of Black self-representation through figurative paintings and portraits from more than a century. The gala, along with the exhibition, will address key themes such as perpetuation, essence and radicality of Black joy while at the same time celebrating the African continent, Africans, and African-ness in all forms. Leading up to the exhibition, Zeitz MOCCA will host a series of programmes that educate and speak about the Black experience. The partnership will also allow the exhibition to travel across major museums in Europe and the United States.
“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. We see this gala as a significant milestone in working towards this vision,” concluded Kouoh.
For more information, visit zeitzmocaa.museum.
