Live Arts Program “1922 Revisited” Opens May 5th to Kick Off Preview Week, 61st Venice Biennale 2026

Curated by Dr. Janine A. Sytsma, the program brings together international artists to engage the 1922 Biennale archive through performance and dialogue

NEW YORK, NY, May 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With the 61st Venice Biennale Arte preview week approaching, Third Space Art Foundation will present “1922 Revisited,” a live arts program curated by Dr. Janine A. Sytsma, taking place May 5–9, 2026 in Venice, Italy. The program brings together an international group of artists to engage the 1922 Venice Biennale exhibition of African sculpture, revisiting its historical framing through contemporary performance, film, and discussion.

The program is presented as part of the opening week of the Biennale, one of the most closely watched moments in the global contemporary art calendar.

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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 which is 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 from the widely embraced concept of third space as a site for dialogue, and Homi Bhabha’s decolonial theory of third space as a liminal ground that challenges fixed hierarchies and dominant narratives, Third Space Art Foundation advances practices that expand cultural understanding and foster new frameworks for connection. Through exhibitions, residencies, and collaborative initiatives, it brings together artists and communities across geographic and cultural divides, working to catalyze critical inquiry, mutual understanding, and new structures of solidarity.

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Call to Action

Follow @thirdspaceartfoundation or visit: https://thirdspaceartfoundation.org

For additional information, images, or interview requests, please contact: info@thirdspareartfoundation.org

Attachments

Mike Verano
NEWMEDIA.COM
pr@newmedia.com
212-220-6200

Waves of Ash Performance Opens 1922 Revisited During Venice Biennale 2026

Tsedaye Makonnen and Jermay Michael Gabriel perform Waves of Ash as part of 1922 Revisited, presented by Third Space Art Foundation during the Venice Biennale 2026 preview week (May 5–9).

ESCAPE THE BOXES Performance at Venice Biennale 2026 Preview Week

Zora Snake and Wilfried Nakeu perform ESCAPE THE BOXES during 1922 Revisited, staged across Venice as part of the Biennale 2026 preview week.

The Dash Performance Featured in 1922 Revisited at Venice Biennale 2026

Wura-Natasha Ogunji and ruby onyinyechi amanze perform The Dash during the Venice Biennale 2026 preview week as part of 1922 Revisited.

Jelili Atiku Performance Opens 1922 Revisited in Venice Biennale 2026

Jelili Atiku performs Eyes No Dey Forget Wetin Heart See as part of 1922 Revisited, presented during the opening week of the Venice Biennale 2026.

Bernard Akoi-Jackson Performance Featured in Venice Biennale 2026 Program

Bernard Akoi-Jackson presents Untitled: Flaggings IN MEMORIAM… as part of 1922 Revisited, taking place during the Venice Biennale 2026 preview week.

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