Welcoming 2025 Museum Fellows

In February the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) welcomed six fellows from across the African continent to participate in the fourth year of the Zeitz MOCAA & UWC Museum Fellowship Programme. The fellowship programme centres on contemporary art, curatorial practice, art education, conservation, heritage and museology in Africa and its Diaspora.

This year’s cohort consists of Arafa C. Hamadi, a multidisciplinary artist and curator based in Tanzania and Kenya; Evyn Bileri Banawoye, a Togolese American curator and inter-disciplinary artist based in New York City; Keamogetse Mosienyane, a social geographical researcher and emerging interdisciplinary curator and writer from Botswana; Deborah Olatunji is a Nigerian American storyteller, writer, and curator based in Philadelphia; Myles Tarentaal is an emerging museum practitioner from Cape Town, South Africa; and Esinam Damalie is an artist-curator based in Accra, Ghana.

Launched in 2022, the programme is co-convened by Dr Greer Valley, Senior Curator & Head of Curatorial Affairs at Zeitz MOCAA, and Prof Rory Bester in the Department of Historical Studies at UWC. As an active agent that caters to and nurtures society, Zeitz MOCAA is proud to once again join hands with the University of the Western Cape to nurture a new generation of art and museum professionals from across the continent.

Dr Greer Valley: “It brings me great joy to welcome the 2025 cohort. This accomplished group is set to shape the future of curatorial practice and arts research across the African continent and beyond. The programme offers them exposure to museum practice facilitated by Zeitz MOCAA senior staff and is underpinned by academic rigour in art, heritage, and museum scholarship facilitated by the UWC’s Department of Historical Studies. The fellows will study and work with both institutions towards an accredited postgraduate degree."

Prof Rory Bester: “UWC’s innovative and engaging curriculum, coupled with the first-hand experience and insight gained at a world-class museum such as Zeitz MOCAA, offers fellows an intellectually rich exploration of the fundamental networks and systems that contribute towards the continent’s art and heritage ecosystem."

Fellows gain practical work experience at Zeitz MOCAA in the Curatorial, Registrar & Collection Management, Exhibition Design, Art Education, and Institutional Advancement departments. After an initial orientation and rotation period within these departments, each member of the cohort will be placed in their respective department starting in early May. They actively contribute to the research, planning, execution, and management of Zeitz MOCAA projects, ranging from exhibitions, publishing and public programming to art education and fundraising. Fellows also complete a postgraduate degree at UWC, taking courses in historiography, curatorship, museology and public history.

This year, the cohort’s shared project focuses on Spring is Rebellious: Resistance, Liberation, and Transformative Humanism in the Life and Art of Albie Sachs, an exhibition that explores South African and Mozambican artistic and political histories through the lens of Sachs' lifelong engagement with art and activism. Led by the 2025 cohort, the shared theme is realised in a public programming initiative at the museum and in research essays produced as part of their university degree.

Zeitz MOCAA and UWC are also pleased to announce the open call for the 2026 Museum Fellowship Programme, inviting aspiring contemporary art and museum professionals in Africa to join this transformative year-long journey. The closing date for applications is 30 June 2025. Only the first 100 applications will be considered. Successful applications will be contacted by 4 August 2025. Visit our website for updates on the programme.

Follow along on the journey via Zeitz MOCAA’s official social media channels and newsletter.

The Zeitz MOCAA & UWC Museum Fellowship Programme is presented in partnership with the University of the Western Cape and generously supported by the Mellon Foundation.