Manifesto

Azu Nwagbogu is an internationally acclaimed curator, Founder and Director of the African Artists’ Foundation and LagosPhoto Biennale in Lagos, Nigeria. Nwagbogu is an Explorer at Large with the National Geographic Society and has been listed on the ArtReview Power 100 (2021–2026) and was recognized as Art Basel Medalist in 2026. In 2024, he curated the first-ever Benin Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale. 

Jérôme Sans is an internationally renowned curator and artistic director, co-founder of the Palais de Tokyo in Paris and the first director of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in Beijing. He has also led the artistic programme at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in the UK and LagoAlgo in Mexico City, before becoming Artistic Director of Cookie Factory in Denver in 2025. He has curated major international events, including the Taipei and Lyon Biennales and Noor Riyadh, and has played a significant role in shaping the international contemporary art scene.

Miriam Bettin is a curator and writer, and Director of the Mönchehaus Museum Goslar in Germany since September 2025. Previously, she held curatorial positions at the Kölnischer Kunstverein and Kunstverein Braunschweig, working with artists including Jasmin Werner, Hannah Weinberger and Hassan Khan. Her practice focuses on contemporary art, with an emphasis on queer-feminist and decolonial perspectives.

TAK Contemporary is a trio of art curators of Indian origin based in Paris. Founded in 2023, the initiative aims to encourage and promote artists from South Asia and its diaspora in the West, while introducing international artists to India through artistic collaborations, curated exhibitions, and events.

Andy Dixon is a Canadian-born artist based in Los Angeles, whose vibrant paintings explore the intersections of art history, popular culture, luxury and the art market. Drawing on historical imagery and contemporary visual culture, his practice reinterprets traditional iconography through a bold, irreverent visual language. In 2024, he curated How It’s Going at 193 Gallery in Paris, bringing together an international group of artists in a dialogue on the appropriation and transformation of art-historical imagery.

Paula Nascimento is an Angolan architect and independent curator whose practice explores the intersections of architecture, urbanism and contemporary art. She co-founded Beyond Entropy Africa and co-curated the Angolan Pavilion at the 2013 Venice Biennale, awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation. Since 2019, she has curated the African Galleries at ARCOlisboa and was Associate Curator of the 7th Lubumbashi Biennale in 2022. She is a recipient of the Okwui Enwezor Fellowship Research Grant from Independent Curators International.

Oyindamola (Fakeye) Faithful is a curator, educator and cultural leader whose practice explores the intersections of contemporary art, learning and wellbeing. She is Acting Managing Director of Res Artis, the international network for artist residencies, and Education Director of Àsìkò Art School. Previously, she served as Executive and Artistic Director of the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos. Her curatorial projects include the Lagos Biennial (2019) and the 14th Bamako Encounters (2024).

Alejandra Josefina Paz is a Salvadoran-French artist and researcher whose practice explores borders, contested territories, embodied knowledge and the legacies of colonialism. Working across artistic disciplines, languages and geographies, her research examines how identities, memories and systems of belonging are shaped and negotiated. A doctoral researcher in artistic research at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, she has developed an international practice through residencies at Villa Albertine in Marfa, Texas, the Centro Cultural de España in El Salvador, and the Serendipity Arts Foundation in New Delhi.

Manuela Rayo is born in Colombia. She has a Master’s degree in Cultural Management from ICART (Paris). Her professional experience includes working in public relations for institutions the Louvre Museum and the Grand Palais, as well as participating in international art fairs such as Art Paris, FIAC, and Paris Photo. She founded the MIRA Art Fair in Paris in 2024.

Mary-Lou Ngwe-Secke is a French/Cameroonian independent curator whose work focuses on contemporary African art and emerging artistic scenes. She has collaborated with 193 Gallery on several projects, including Dicokam (2022), an exhibition showcasing eight contemporary artists from Cameroon. Her curatorial practice seeks to highlight underrepresented artistic voices and bring greater international visibility to contemporary African art.