The internationally respected curator and museum leader will take the helm of Zeitz MOCAA’s artistic vision as the Cape Town institution approaches its 10th anniversary.
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) has announced the appointment of Elvira Dyangani Ose as its new Artistic Director, marking a significant new chapter for one of Africa’s most prominent contemporary art institutions.
Dyangani Ose will officially join the Cape Town museum on 1 October 2026, taking responsibility for its curatorial vision and artistic direction as it enters its second decade.
Her appointment brings an extensive international career back to a city and continent that have long featured in her practice. A specialist in modern and contemporary African art, Dyangani Ose has held senior roles at institutions including Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), The Showroom in London and Tate Modern, as well as working with Creative Time in New York.
Most recently, she served as Director of MACBA from 2021 until April 2026 and is currently Artistic Director of the second Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, running from 2026 to 2027.
Her connection to South Africa goes back much further. In 2006, while working as a curator at the Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Dyangani Ose co-curated Olvida Quien Soy / Erase from who I Am with Gabi Ngcobo, Tracy Murinik and Khwezi Guli. The exhibition brought together 14 emerging South African artists and explored how artists were using self-representation to question identity and develop new forms of aesthetic reflection.
That longstanding engagement with artists and ideas from Africa and its diaspora has become a defining part of Dyangani Ose’s career. Her curatorial work has included major exhibitions such as Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica, Bouchra Khalili: Between Circles and Constellations, Betye Saar: Uneasy Dancer and Ibrahim El-Salahi: A Visionary Modernist.
At Zeitz MOCAA, she will build on the foundations established during the museum’s first decade, while helping shape its next phase across exhibitions, research, collections and public engagement.
The appointment also comes at an important moment for the institution. Zeitz MOCAA is approaching its 10th anniversary and is continuing to build on the legacy of its late Executive Director and Chief Curator, Koyo Kouoh, whose leadership helped establish the museum as an important platform for contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora.
“Dyangani Ose’s appointment reflects who we are as an institution—one rooted in Africa, while connected to the world,” said Zeitz MOCAA co-founder and co-chair David Green OBE. “She will oversee the Museum’s curatorial vision and direction, leading the institution through its next chapter as it approaches its second decade.”
“She will oversee the Museum’s curatorial vision and direction, leading the institution through its next chapter as it approaches its second decade.” – Zeitz MOCAA co-founder and co-chair David Green OBE
For Dyangani Ose, the role represents an opportunity to continue developing an institution with both local grounding and international reach.
“It is a privilege to join Zeitz MOCAA,” she said. “I am thrilled to come on board at this moment to continue its journey as a leading African institution with global reach.”
“I am thrilled to come on board at this moment to continue its journey as a leading African institution with global reach.” – Dyangani Ose
She added that she looks forward to working with the museum’s team, artists, supporters and communities to build new collaborations and artistic exchanges across cultures and geographies.
With her experience spanning major museums, biennials and independent art spaces across Europe, Africa and the United States, Dyangani Ose arrives at Zeitz MOCAA with a distinctly international perspective and a long-standing commitment to African artistic production.
Her tenure begins on 1 October, setting the stage for a new era at Zeitz MOCAA as the museum looks towards its second decade.
