Third Space Art Foundation presents performances engaging the 1922 Biennale archive through contemporary African and diasporic practices
NEW YORK, NY, NY, UNITED STATES, May 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Third Space Art Foundation has announced “1922 Revisited,” a live arts program curated by Dr. Janine A. Sytsma, to be presented during the preview week of the 61st Venice Biennale Arte (May 5–9, 2026) in Venice, Italy. The program brings together an international group of artists to engage the historical 1922 Venice Biennale exhibition of African sculpture, reexamining its legacy through performance, film, and critical dialogue.
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*Program Overview*
Staged across multiple venues in Venice, including Hotel Monaco and the European Cultural Centre’s Marinaressa Gardens, 1922 Revisited unfolds as a series of live performances, a screening, and a panel discussion. The program positions performance as a critical method for engaging archival material and confronting the imperial frameworks that shaped early presentations of African art within the Biennale context.
Through embodied, time-based practices, participating artists move between archive and action, drawing out tensions within the 1922 exhibition while proposing new conceptual frameworks grounded in African and diasporic epistemologies. In dialogue with the curatorial vision of the 61st Biennale, the program aims to open space for reflection, reinterpretation, and new narrative pathways.
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*Participating Artists*
Participating artists include:
Bernard Akoi-Jackson; ruby onyinyechi amanze; Jelili Atiku; Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi [aka crazinisT artisT]; Jermay Michael Gabriel; Tsedaye Makonnen; Wilfried Nakeu; Wura-Natasha Ogunji; Zora Snake; Victoria-Idongesit Udondian.
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*Key Facts*
• Program: 1922 Revisited
• Dates: May 5–9, 2026
• Location: Venice, Italy
• Format: Live performances, screening, panel discussion
• Presented by: Third Space Art Foundation
• Curator: Dr. Janine A. Sytsma
• Artists: 10 international artists across Africa and the diaspora
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*Context / Historical Framing*
The program takes as its point of departure the 1922 Venice Biennale exhibition of African sculpture, which presented works drawn from Italian museum collections within a colonial interpretive framework. While acknowledging artistic ingenuity, the historical archive reflects the racial hierarchies and epistemological limitations of its time.
1922 Revisited engages this fragmented archive not as a fixed record, but as a site for critical inquiry—one that can be reactivated through contemporary artistic practice to challenge inherited narratives and propose alternative modes of understanding.
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*Partners & Collaborators*
1922 Revisited is presented by Third Space Art Foundation.
In collaboration with:
• African Art in Venice Forum (Venice, Italy)
• European Cultural Centre (Venice, Italy)
Additional partners include:
• The Africa Center (New York, USA)
• Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos (Nigeria)
• Foundation for Contemporary Art, Accra (Ghana)
• School of Art, University of Arkansas (USA)
• NEWMEDIA.COM (USA)
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*Events*
Highlights from the program include performances by Jelili Atiku; Wura-Natasha Ogunji and ruby onyinyechi amanze; Zora Snake and Wilfried Nakeu; Tsedaye Makonnen and Jermay Michael Gabriel; Bernard Akoi-Jackson; and Victoria-Idongesit Udondian, as well as a screening and panel discussion moderated by Tsige Tafesse.
A full schedule of events is available in the press materials available to download here:
https://thirdspaceartfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1922-Revisited-Live-Arts-Program__2026-Venice-Biennale__Press-Announcement.pdf
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*About Third Space Art Foundation*
Third Space Art Foundation supports artistic exchange and collective engagement through the cultivation of “third spaces” — dynamic zones of encounter, negotiation, and creative transformation. Drawing on both widely recognized and decolonial interpretations of the “third space,” the Foundation advances practices that challenge fixed hierarchies and foster new frameworks for cultural understanding.
Through performances, exhibitions, residencies, and collaborative initiatives, the Foundation brings together artists, curators, and scholars across geographies to catalyze dialogue, critical inquiry, and new forms of solidarity.
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Follow @thirdspaceartfoundation or visit: https://thirdspaceartfoundation.org
For additional information, images, or interview requests, please contact: info@thirdspaceartfoundation.org
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