Advancing Contemporary Art from and about Africa and its Diaspora

American Friends of Zeitz MOCAA (AFOZM) is a non-profit non-political organization aligned with Zeitz MOCAA, the preeminent contemporary art museum on the African continent.

American Friends of Zeitz MOCAA (AFOZM) was founded in 2017 alongside Zeitz MOCAA's opening in South Africa. Our mission is to advance contemporary art from and about Africa and its Diaspora.

We do this by advocating for and supporting African creativity and its production through our membership and granting programs. We are Americans who support contemporary art from and about Africa.

Press Release

2024 Annual Report

2023 Annual Report

“We are turning the dialogue of contemporary art from and about Africa and its Diaspora on its axis.”

Koyo Kouoh, Exective Director and Chief Curator, Zeitz MOCAA

Follow @afzeitzmocaa

Still smiling from last night’s dinner in Kigali hosted by Kami Gahiga.

Zeitz MOCAA visits Rwanda in preparation of our annual Curated Art Tour from September 15-20 led by Koyo Kouoh - details coming soon. The dinner, in Koyo’s honor, was hosted at Atelier, a space designed by architect Amin Gafaranga, and brought together an inspiring group of artists, collectors, business leaders. We learned so much through in-depth conversations around Kigali’s burgeoning contemporary art community.

Guests saw sculptures of Claude Nizeyimana and Feline Ntabangana’s paintings and enjoyed music by Dawidi. Thank you Kami- we are so excited to have you as a co-host in September…

📸 by Dave Kwizera

An unforgettable evening celebrating Zeitz MOCAA’s highly anticipated Gala in support of the museum’s mission to advance contemporary art from Africa and its Diaspora
#ZeitzMOCAA #zeitzmocaagala2025

Zeitz MOCAA Friends and Patrons began the day with an exclusive curator-led tour, offering participants a deep dive into Zeitz MOCAA’s curatorial programme and educational initiatives. An inspiring start to another day of engaging collateral programming! 🖼️🔍
#ZeitzMOCAA #ZMCollateralPro2025

As part of the talk series entitled ‘Cartography: A Poem of Black Geographies’, @zeitzmocaa hosted an inspiring conversation with renowned New York-based artist @torkwasedyson and @stellenboschtriennale curator Khanyisile Mbongwa, which was moderated by prominent journalist @siddharthamitter. This lively session had the crowd engaged in conversation about Dyson’s use of imagery of the ocean and engagement with abstraction as a means to express her understanding of the slave trade and its influence on Black identities, and much much more. #zeitzmocaa

A beautiful gathering at the home of Zeitz MOCAA Global Council member Pulane Kingston in Johannesburg to celebrate the appointment of Koyo Kouoh as the next Venice Biennale Curator. The first African woman and first Black woman to be appointed to this role in more than 120 years. At this gathering of friends and esteemed colleagues, Koyo shared some of her mantras….people are more important than things, and art is a reflection of life, amongst other gems.

Zeitz MOCAA’s immense growth in to an international museum in just eight years would not have been possible without our key supporters, and the Global Council is central to this. Thank you to Pulane for hosting this wonderful tribute and for our Global Council Chair Acha Leke for traveling for the occasion.
Thank you also to @o2bfree and Bloomberg LP for their continued support, among many others.

@pulanekingston
@acha_leke
@madamekoyo
@zeitzmocaa

American Friends of Zeitz MOCAA announced today a major donation by philanthropists and art collectors Dr Anita Blanchard and Mr Martin Nesbitt. The significant contribution aided the acquisition of an artwork by globally acclaimed Ethiopian American artist Julie Mehretu for Zeitz MOCAA’s permanent collection.

Titled “Femenine in nine, part 6” (2023), a painting part of a nine part series, carries Mehretu’s characteristic marks which find themselves adrift in deep chasms of darkness.

Zeitz MOCAA Executive Director and Chief Curator Koyo Kouoh shares, “With groundbreaking contributions such as this major gift by Anita and Martin and the support of thought leaders like Julie, we are rewriting and recontextualizing an art canon of our own.”

Artwork: Julie Mehretu, “Femenine in nine, part 6”
2023, Ink and acrylic on canvas, 84 x 96 in. (213.4 x 243.8 cm). By kind donation of Dr. Anita Blanchard and Martin Nesbitt. 📸 courtesy the artist.

Julie Mehretu portrait: 📸 Matthias Ziegler

#juliemehretu
#zeitzmocaa
#zmfriends

“When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting” opens at Bozar in Brussels on February 7. Originated @zeitzmocaa and curated by @madamekoyo and @tandazani the exhibition of work by 120 artists spanning the globe traveled to Kunstmuseum Basel, opens at Bozar, and continues to Sweden… watch this space for details….

We are excited to see this iteration in Brussels at this ever important time to forefront Black creative dialogues, ideas and expressions.

@bozarbrussels
@novitapr

Zeitz MOCAA is pleased to announce key new additions to our Global Council in 2024…

Celebrated USA-based artist Simone Leigh; South African entrepreneur and media personality Jo-Ann Strauss; London-based art professional and collector Emma Menell; as well as LA and Cape Town-based creative entrepreneur, actress and model Stephanie Thomas who joins her fiancé Michael Silver on the Council.

The Global Council of Zeitz MOCAA is an international group of experienced art philanthropists including collectors, artists, curators, and related professionals who participate in the growth of Zeitz MOCAA, and who advocate for the museum’s mission of presenting and preserving contemporary art and art historical knowledge from Africa and its Diaspora.

Other Global Council members include: Acha Leke, Chair (SA, Nigeria, Cameroon), Bame Pule (SA, Botswana), Carsten Höller (Germany, Sweden, Ghana), Hanneli Rupert (SA), Joanna Masiyiwa (UK, SA), Julie Mehretu (USA, Ethiopia), Liese van der Watt (SA, UK), Michael Silver (USA, SA), Michèle Sandoz (Zimbabwe, Switzerland), Oscar Murillo (Colombia, UK), Pulane Tshabalala Kingston (SA), Samallie Kiyingi (Uganda, Egypt, Australia), Wangechi Mutu (Kenya, USA) and Yinka Shonibare (UK, Nigeria).

Look out for an announcement of more 2024/2025 new Zeitz MOCAA Global Council members in the New Year!

Learn more at zmfriends.org and Zeitzmocaa.museum

Urgent and heart-felt support for African and African Diasporic creativity was felt at our annual celebration hosted by The Miami Beach EDITION during Art Basel Miami Beach—inarguably the event to be at!

This year, Zeitz MOCAA had the honor of collaborating with Black Trustee Alliance. Together, we celebrated our achievements with 200 patrons and friends, and Zeitz MOCAA Executive Director & Chief Curator Koyo Kouoh and BTA Executive Director Diane Jean-Mary welcomed guests with words underpinning the importance of strengthening Black creative voices both in the USA and globally. The time for Africa has always been, and the time to ensure Black voices are boldly present is now!

The event preceded the exciting and historically significant announcement that Koyo Kouoh has been named the 2026 Curator of the Venice Biennale— the first African woman to take this role… and certainly not the last.

Thank you to all those who joined us and thank you so much to The Miami Beach EDITION and @mailebaile for making this gathering possible. Thank you to @novitapr for your ongoing sponsorship and support and all of our patrons and members.

@zeitzmocaa
@miamibeachedition
@novitapr

📸 @jhardmanphoto and @miamibeachedition

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Advancing Contemporary Art from and about Africa and its Diaspora

“We are turning the dialogue of contemporary art from and about Africa and its Diaspora on its axis.”

Follow @afzeitzmocaa

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American Friends of Zeitz MOCAA

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