Elvira Dyangani Ose Named Zeitz MOCAA’s New Artistic Director

Elvira Dyangani Ose has been appointed the new Artistic Director of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town. She will resume on October 1, 2026 after a 15-month search for a successor.

Dyangani Ose is an astute curator and an experienced museum director. This appointment comes a year before the museum celebrates its 10th anniversary. 

She was a director of the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona for five years. She left the role after accepting the position of art director of the second Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial. 

Photo: Instagram/@zeitzmocaa

She has occupied senior positions at The Showroom in London, Creative Time in New York and Tate Modern in London. At Tate, she worked with the institution’s African Acquisitions Committee. Her work examined areas that have been ignored in many art institutions. 

Dyangani Ose was born in 1974 to a family with roots in Equatorial Guinea. She attended the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Cornell University.

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The former director, Kouoh, spent six years at the museum and  improved the institute’s curatorial goals. She presented in major exhibitions such as When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting. Her death was felt at the institution. kuooh chose Dyangani Ose to serve on the Biennale’s international jury 

As Artistic Director, Dyangani Ose will oversee Zeitz MOCAA’s art direction, including exhibitions, research, and collections. David Green, co-founder and co-chair of Zeitz MOCAA, said: 

“Dyangani Ose’s appointment reflects who we are as an institution—one rooted in Africa, while connected to the world. “

Photo: Instagram/@edyanganiose

Dyangani Ose said she was thrilled to join the museum and described the opportunity as a privilege. She said:

“It is a privilege to join Zeitz MOCAA.  I am thrilled to come on board at this moment to continue its journey as a leading African institution with global reach. I look forward to working alongside the museum’s remarkable team, artists, supporters, and the local and global communities.. “ 

The museum was founded to preserve, research and exhibit contemporary art from Africa. Since then, it has become a cultural landmark in the country. 

Dyangani Ose is now charged with guiding the museum to a greater height. Her international experience in African art makes her appointment a significant development for the wider African contemporary art scene.