Set against the enduring pull of Italy’s cultural capital, where ideas of art, history, and identity are constantly reinterpreted, Strauss & Co returns to Venice this May with a continued commitment to shaping how African art is seen, understood, and discussed on a global stage. Their presence coincides with the opening week of the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia – but their focus is deliberately more considered and more sustained.
For the fifth consecutive year, Strauss & Co supports the African Art in Venice Forum (AAVF), a platform conceived not as a once-off event, but as an evolving space for dialogue. Hosted at Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal on 5 May, the Forum brings together artists, curators, collectors, and institutions over breakfast for an exchange that sits alongside the intensity of the Biennale yet purposefully slows the conversation down.
“The Forum recognises the lack of African country pavilion representation at the Biennale and therefore creates a space of coming together for artists, curators, and art enthusiasts from Africa and its diasporas dedicated to dialogue and shared inquiry,” says Kate Fellens, Head of International Business Development at Strauss & Co.
That intention reflects a broader philosophy within the company. Beyond working with collectors, Strauss & Co actively invests in education and market development across the continent, helping to address gaps left by limited public funding and institutional support. Their long-term involvement has helped the Forum grow into a credible and consistent voice within the international art calendar.
The 2026 edition’s theme, Beyond Visibility: A Method of Inquiry, is a concept that shifts the conversation from simply being seen to what that visibility enables. As Neri Torcello, Founder and Co-Head of the Forum, explains: “African art is approached not as a closed or segmented field, but as a living and evolving one, shaped by overlapping temporalities, multiple cultural affiliations, and practices that often resist fixed categorisation.”
In practical terms, this means creating the conditions for deeper engagement – for curators, artists, and institutions across Africa and its diasporas to open new lines of enquiry and sustain them over time.
This year also marks a notable expansion of the Forum’s reach, with the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art joining as co-sponsor. “The National Museum of African Art seeks to serve as an artist-centred platform for discussions about the meanings of ‘Africa’ and ‘art,’” said curator Kevin D. Dumouchelle. “As such, we could not be more delighted to support the African Art in Venice Forum, which has built a global reputation as a place in which conversations about African creative achievement occur under the eyes of the global art world.”
Within the wider context of the Venice Biennale – on from 9 May to 22 November under the late Koyo Kouoh’s theme In Minor Keys – the Forum offers a quieter, more deliberate form of engagement. As Neri concludes, “In doing so, it affirms Beyond Visibility as a method of inquiry – one that values collaboration, sustained dialogue, and mutual listening as essential tools for engaging African art in the present.”
Visit straussart.co.za and aavforum.com for more updates.
