All you need to know about the prestigious 2024 Zeitz MOCAA Gala
Marked as a celebration of contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora, the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA) Gala returns for another inspiring edition on Sunday, February 11.
This year, award-winning singer and songwriter Simphiwe Dana, along with Nobuhle Ashanti Trio, are set to perform at the grand celebration.
South African model and businesswoman Jo-Ann Strauss will MC the event.
Each year the gala is hosted with an aim to raise funds to support the museum’s curatorial and education programming, many of which are free and open to the surrounding communities.
For this edition of the annual gala, Zeitz MOCAA invited renowned South African artist Athi-Patra Ruga to transform the spaces of the museum with his uniquely camp and polychromatic style.
A statement from the museum read: “Drawing from his rich artistic oeuvre and adding a layer of aesthetic depth to an event that promises to be an enchanting experience.”
Ruga’s work also features at the Zeitz MOCAA Permanent Collection and includes iconic pieces such as “The Night of the Long Knives” (2013–2014), a series of dazzling photographic mise en scènes, the ornately bloomed “Proposed Model for Tseko Simon Nkoli Memorial” (2017) and the cinematic “Over the Rainbow” (2016–2017), which is a centrepiece in their new collections exhibition, “Sala”.
Also on the programme is an exclusive auction facilitated by Strauss & Co that will see works by some of the greatest artists working today, including William Kentridge, Senzeni Marasela, Mary Evans, Zandile Tshabalala, Unathi Mkonto, Kemang Wa Lehulere, Abdoulaye Konaté and Alfredo Jaar.
The museum will also offer its esteemed Zeitz MOCAA Honorary Awards for Philanthropic Achievement and Artistic Excellence, which honour a remarkable person in each category for their great contributions to the art environment.
“This is a time to pay tribute to the trailblazers who have helped to shape the vibrant field of contemporary art in Africa,” read the statement.
The gala also includes a special invite-only Collateral Programme for select VIP guests hosted by Koyo Kouoh, Zeitz MOCAA executive director and chief curator.
The five-day curated VIP programme runs from February 10 to 15 and brings together some of the world’s most significant art collectors, museum directors and other influential players in the global arts industry to engage with local art ecology.
To purchase tickets, please visit: https://zeitzmocaa.museum/zeitz-mocaa-gala-2024/.