African Curators Are Reimagining African Societies

EDITORIAL

Three Emerging Curators of African Art You Should Know

There has been some upward and remarkable movement in the curatorial practices and research focus of curators in the African art scene. Coming up with new perspectives and new ways of reimagining the African reality, these three African curators are reimagining African societies, fostering inclusivity in contemporary art spaces, and shaping the future of contemporary African art.

Installation view of Chord Notes: Body Rhythms in the City, curated by Chinyere Obieze and Orinayo Odubawo at Center for Contemporary Art Lagos, 2026. Image courtesy of Goethe Institut, Lagos.

Chinyere Obieze

Chinyere Obieze is a Nigerian curator and cultural producer who investigates the material negotiations of knowledge systems across technology, nature, culture, and economy. Their practice interrogates how these interconnected forces shape and inform artistic production, with a focus on fostering critical thinking, interdisciplinary practices, and inclusivity in contemporary art spaces. Their work actively engages with artists to co-create spaces of dialogue and empowerment, challenging conventional narratives while opening new avenues for cultural and artistic expression. She is currently building frameworks to understand Africa’s evolving presence in digital environments.

Chinyere Obieze. Image courtesy of Tilley-Gyado Bemuter Victor.

Obieze curates Klub der Weishet (KDW), an ongoing project that works to animate philosophical ideas with performance art; she has also curated Dreaming New Worlds (2023), Kedu Lagos (2024), Chord Notes (2026), and was a curatorial assistant for Lagos Biennial (2024). They will curate the 5th Lagos Biennial.

Aisha Aliyu-Bima

Aisha Aliyu-Bima is a Nigerian curator, writer, researcher, and photographer. She is the Director of Arts at the African School of Economics, Abuja, Nigeria. Her work mainly focuses on Africa’s contemporary arts through a geographical and anthropological lens. Her research subjects include the Hausa Language, its influence and counter-influences across the Sahel, and the interconnections in this region, the past and present cultures of Nok Valley, and material and ecological functions in African Art.

Aisha Aliyu-Bima. Image courtesy of Raw Material Company.

Aliyu-Bima has been published in the Republic Journal, Radr Africa, and Za! Magazine. She has been a Curatorial resident at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and at Angels and Muse in Lagos. Her exhibition “Arewa?” (2024) presented a nuanced tour of Northern Nigeria through the works of its three generations of contemporary artists at the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Lagos.

Ng’onga Silupya

Ng’onga Silupya is a curator, cultural practitioner, arts administrator, and art writer based in Lusaka, Zambia. Her curatorial perspective is informed by theories of mediation, cultural studies, visual studies, and art history. Her research interests lie in reimagining societies and communities by embracing indigenous and culturally sustainable practices through contemporary art to address socio-political and environmental issues. Silupya associates her work with narratives, prejudices, superstitious practices, natural phenomena, and physical constructions connected with various ethnic groups in Zambia and across the globe.

Ng’onga Silupya. Image courtesy of Joseph Mvula.

Recent roles include Curator at the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Historical Museum (2024), Curator-in-Residence at Hordaland Kunstsenter in Bergen, Norway (2024), and participant in the 2024 Latitudes Online Curatorial Lab. She currently serves on the Executive Board as Vice-National Secretary of the Zambia National Visual Arts Council and heads the exhibitions committee at the Henry Tayali Art Gallery. In 2022, she started Imvelo Studios, a space created to champion Zambian arts and foster a creative community. She is a 2025 TheMuseumsLab Fellow.