Beyond Visibility – A Method of Inquiry | Morning

10 am – Opening Remarks

10:15 am – Africa In Minor Keys – Conditions of Visibility

Grounded in the context of the Biennale’s main exhibition and national pavilions, this panel reflects on the frameworks that shape visibility. It asks not only who is seen, but how narratives are constructed, histories written, and meanings framed, examining how visibility can both open new possibilities and reinforce existing structures.

Kemang Wa Lehulere, In Minor Keys artist (South Africa)
Beya Gille Gacha, Artist, Cameroon Pavilion Curator (France/Cameroon)
Myles Igwebuike, Designer and Diplomat (USA/Nigeria) (TBC)
Moderated by: Ntshepe Tsekere Bopape, Artist, Curator, DJ, Writer (South Africa)

11:45 am – Beyond Here: Queering African Art History

What’s next? This panel builds from the National Museum of African Art’s launch of its Here Project–the largest museum initiative of its kind to date to research, exhibit, collect, and to integrate artists from Africa making work connected to their experiences as out individuals. An opportunity to meet artists and thinkers both in and beyond the Project, the panel seeks to further the conversation about what it means to study, exhibit, and participate in an art history in which queer African voices are not only acknowledged but centred.

Ṣọlá Olúlòde, Here Project artist (UK/Nigeria)
Buhlebezwe Siwani, Here Project artist (South Africa)
Khookha McQueer, Here Project artist (Tunisia)
Damien Ajavon, Here Project artist (Norway/France/Senegal/Togo)
Pamina Sebastião, Here Project artist (Angola)
Moderated by: Kevin D. Dumouchelle, Here Project director and exhibition co-curator (USA, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African Art)