Folasade Ologundudu

1-54 African Art Fair Takeover! Our next stop is Dana Robinson’s work at Kates-Ferri Projects booth. . Here, Folasade Ologundudu meets Dana to discuss her latest works in the show. . Dana Robinson is a Brooklyn-based artist, unearthing relics of the Black American Dream, and suspending them in moments of joy, power, and potential. As an artist drawn to the spaces between social movements, her work engages with a period of post-civil rights pre-crack epidemic optimism, when social mobility felt attainable and progression seemed inevitable. . Kates-Ferri Projects is a contemporary art gallery in New York City's Lower East Side, founded by Natalie Kates and Fabrizio Ferri, that focuses on emerging and underrepresented artists with an international scope. Originally a nomadic residency program, it now operates from its main location at 561 Grand Street, with a second space at 573 Grand Street for special projects, showcasing diverse media like painting, sculpture, and textiles through exhibitions and art fair participation. #154Africanartfair #ferrikatesprojects #lightworkco

1-54 African Art Fair Takeover! Folasade Ologundudu (@sadeolo ) heads to Picture Theory (@picture.theory ) to see a suite of new paintings by Madjeen Issac (@madjeenisaac ) that continue her investigations of Haiti’s history and culture where her family is from. ⁠ .⁠ Presented by Picture Theory, Madjeen Isaac is a first-generation Haitian-American artist based in New York. She holds a BFA in Fine Art from the Fashion Institute of Technology and an MA in Art + Education & Community Practice from New York University. Her practice explores notions of home, diaspora, and belonging through hybrid pictorial landscapes shaped by the lived geographies of Brooklyn and Haiti.⁠ .⁠ In addition to her presentation with 1-54 this year, Madjeen also participated in "Free the Land", an exhibition about climate change and land back justice from October - December 2025 at MoCADA. . She has exhibited at institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum, the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, and the Frost Art Museum. In 2023, she collaborated with KITH, expanding her visual language into a broader cultural field, and in 2024 she was awarded the NYSCA/NYFA Fellowship in Painting. Her work is held in numerous private collections.⁠ .⁠ Now on view through Sunday, May 17, 2026 at 1-54 African Art Fair (@154artfair ) ⁠ .⁠ #MoCADA #154AfricanArtFair #madjeenissac #LightWorkCompany picturetheory

MoCADA Museum (@mocada_museum ) heads to this year’s edition of 1-54 African Art Fair in New York, in partnership with Light Work.🗽 Founder Folasade Ologundudu (@sadeolo ) is taking over our feed with exclusive previews from the 12th edition of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair — the leading international fair dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora, on view now at the Starrett-Lehigh Building in Chelsea through May 17.⁠ ⁠ Expect gallery walks, artist encounters, and curated highlights from across the fair's 26 exhibitors — including the debut of Brazil Beyond Brazil, a groundbreaking section centering Afro-Brazilian art and expanding the conversation around transnational diasporic practice.⁠ ⁠ Folasade is a Brooklyn-born writer, curator, and founder of Light Work — a creative platform at the intersection of art, education, and culture amplifying emerging and established voices through collaborations with artists, curators, academics, and cultural practitioners. ⁠ #mocadamuseum #154africanartfair #artweek #nyc #contemporaryart

Venice Art Biennale Takeover ! Our next stop is Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo’s (@amoakoboafo ) first solo exhibition in Italy entitled ‘It Doesn’t Have To Always Make Sense’ which draws inspiration from the Renaissance atmosphere of Museo di Palazzo Grimani (@museopalazzogrimani ), featuring a series of new and recent works, many of which directly reference the unique architecture and historical context of the site, which is part of the Musei archeologici nazionali di Venezia e della Laguna. . Here, writer & curator Folasade Ologundudu (@sadeolo ) goes up close with the artist, known for his expressive portraits of Black subjects and his signature technique of applying paint with his fingers. Presented in collaboration with Gagosian (@gagosian ), these compelling pieces, which continue Boafo’s exploration of identity and style, are installed on the second floor of the palazzo, establishing a dialogue between contemporary Black representation and the enduring legacy of Venetian artistic masterworks. . The show is on view until November 22, 2026 . #manjujournal #AmoakoBoafo #VeniceArtBiennale #VenicwBiennale #blackartist

Venice Art Biennale Takeover ! Visual activist Zanele Muholi (@muholizanele ) brings a powerful independent presence to the Venice Biennale with the series ‘Faces and Phases 20’ presented by Southern Guild Gallery (@southernguildgallery ). The exhibition marks two decades of her groundbreaking photographic series, one of the most significant ongoing visual archives of Black LGBTQIA+ lives worldwide. . Folasade Ologundudu (@sadeolo ) closely examines over 200 of the artist’s black-and-white portraits selected from 2006 to the present as the exhibition foregrounds the cumulative scale of Faces and Phases as a living document. . Now on view at the residence of Trisja Malisoff and Tony Podesta in the Castello district, the exhibition runs until 10 May. Conceived as an off-site activation, it brings a potent South African artistic presence to the Biennale at a moment when the official South African Pavilion has been withdrawn. . #manjujournal #ZaneleMuholi #VeniceArtBiennale #VeniceBiennale #FacesandPhases20 (@lightworkcompany )

Venice Art Biennale Takeover ! Folasade Ologundudu (@sadeolo ) heads to artist Ibrahim Mahama’s (@ibrahimmahama3 ) solo exhibition ‘A Shea Garden’, where clay vessels traditionally used for storing shea in Ghana are reimagined through Murano glass. . Presented by Galleria Barovier&Toso (@galleriabaroviertoso ) in collaboration with A Palazzo Gallery (@apalazzogallery ), the exhibition brings Mahama’s material-driven practice into dialogue with the centuries-old tradition of Murano glassmaking. At its centre are vernacular clay vessels from northern Ghana, objects rooted in agricultural and domestic life, transformed into luminous glass forms that carry histories of labour, utility and cultural memory. . The exhibition also draws connections between Mahama’s long-standing exploration of trade, labour and material circulation and the fragile legacy of Murano glassmaking. Both are shaped by histories of global exchange and sustained through generational knowledge, while confronting the pressures of economic and industrial change. . Now on view at Galleria Barovier&Toso pop-up, Rio Terà della Carità 1046, Dorsoduro, until July 18, 2026. (@lightworkcompany ) . #manjujournal #IbrahimMahama #ASheaGarden #VeniceBiennale #VeniceArtBiennale

MANJU Journal heads to Venice this week for a special takeover in collaboration with Folasade Ologundudu (@sadeolo ), presenting exclusive previews and highlights from the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. Across a curated lens, we will share key moments and programme insights from selected exhibitions & pavilions across Africa and its diaspora, tracing the conversations, gestures, and practices shaping this year’s edition in Venice. . Folasade Ologundudu is a curator, podcast creator, and writer based in New York whose practice seeks to uncover ideas related to the universal human condition. She has written art criticism, profiles, interviews, and essays for Vogue, Essence, Artforum, ARTnews, Cultured Magazine, and Frieze. As founder of Light Work (@lightworkcompany ), a US-based creative platform operating at the intersection of art, education, and culture, she collaborates with artists, curators, academics, and cultural practitioners through dialogue that engages contemporary art, cultural production, and the shifting conditions of our time. . #InMinorKeys, shaped under the visionary and profoundly influential curatorial direction of the late Koyo Kouoh, marks a significant moment for African representation. This year’s edition brings together 12 national pavilions from across the continent, including Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Republic of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Four of these countries participate for the first time, signalling a meaningful shift in the visibility and presence of African perspectives within the Biennale, and underscoring Kouoh’s enduring legacy in expanding and reimagining the contours of global contemporary art discourse. . The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia is on view from May 9 to November 22, 2026. . #LaBiennaleDiVenezia #BiennaleArte #manjujournal #venicebiennale

I love rites of passage ceremonies where mark making happens on skin. I like to create textures on my body. Textures hold memory. —Manyaku Mashilo⁠ @manyaku_mash ⁠ In this episode, Manyaku Mashilo reflects on how mark-making extends beyond the canvas—onto skin, into ritual, and across memory. From childhood ceremonies to tattooing, her work considers texture as a living archive, carrying emotion, ancestry, and the quiet imprints of where we’ve been.⁠ ⁠ Want to hear the full episode? Comment yes pls and we'll send you the full episode now! ⁠ ⁠ #EverythingIsConnectedPodcast #lightwork #manyakumashilo #southafrica #artpodcast

In a new feature for Vogue, Folasade Ologundudu traces Southern Guild’s journey from Cape Town to New York, capturing the gallery’s collaborative ethos, commitment to material experimentation, and the expanded vision behind its Tribeca opening. Spending time with the Southern Guild team and artists in Cape Town during the 2026 Investec Cape Town Art Fair, she offers an intimate look at the ecosystem behind the gallery – from the GUILD Residency to the close working relationships that shape its program. Thank you, Vogue and Sade! Read the full article via the link in bio (under NEWS). @voguemagazine @sadeolo #SouthernGuild #SouthernGuildNewYork #Vogue #ArtPress #ContemporaryArt

Everywhere I go in the arts I see women working alongside one another, developing artistic practices and building creative lives. Cape Town was no different. If anything, it reinforced this fact. I found myself drawn to the work of many emerging women artists. I was particularly drawn to artists for their uses of material, experimentation within established practices, and a willingness to try new things and attempt new modes of expression. Artists in video: @zizipo_poswa @manyaku_mash @yagazieemezi @also_known_as_bojj @deborah_jayde @mellaney.coza Galleries: @southernguildgallery @ko_artspace @bermancontemporary @thedadagallery During the week Studio Ameila @studioamelia heels paired perfectly with my day-to-night looks and offsite events. #Capetown #southafrica #artfair #artmarket studioameli

Folasade Ologundudu (@sadeolo ) seeks to uncover ideas related to the universal human condition. The New York-based writer, curator and creator of the podcast, Everything is Connected, produced through her creative studio, Light Work (@lightworkcompany ) brings this spirit of inquiry to her incisive articles for leading publications like Vogue, Cultured Magazine and Frieze.  Her mindset – toward writing and life – is equally as intentional. In our recent conversation with Folasade, she reflects on staying true to one’s ethos as a writer, why accessible art writing matters and trends she’s looking out for in 2026.

Over the years, founder of Light Work, Folasade ‘Sade’ Ologundudu has interviewed and written about more than 100 artists. This year, five artists she’s interviewed have been selected to participate in the 61st Venice Biennale’s In Minor Keys. Conceived by Koyo Kouoh, the first African woman appointed to lead the Venice Biennale, In Minor Keys features 111 invited participants selected with particular attention to resonances, affinity, and possible convergences between artistic practices. Congratulations to all the participating artists! Tap the Link in bio to check out Sade’s interviews with them. @lindagoodebryant @otobongnkanga @kalokinyamaistudio @rajniperera @kennedyyanko @themuseumofmodernart @galerie_barbara_thumm @jamescohangallery @salon94 #venicebiennale #koyokouoh #contemporaryart #venice #inminorkeys