Africa Curated launches inaugural exhibition in Los Angeles
by Glory Onyekwusi Jun 10, 2026
Africa Curated has opened its first exhibition in Los Angeles with The Weight of Holding, marking the launch of a new curator-led platform focused on contemporary African art.
The initiative positions itself as an alternative to the traditional gallery model, with an emphasis on curatorial research, long-term artist development, and sustained engagement with contemporary practice.
The inaugural exhibition, presented at Honeypot L.A., features work by Thabiso Dakamela (Zimbabwe / Johannesburg) and Ugandan artist Yokanna.
Both artists work primarily in painting and employ figuration to explore themes including memory, identity, and lived experience. While their approaches differ, the works are connected by a shared focus on emotional and psychological states.
Dakamela’s paintings are characterised by layered surfaces and restrained palettes. The works resist immediate narrative clarity, instead emphasising atmosphere and ambiguity.
Yokanna’s practice foregrounds process, with visible marks of revision and material build-up forming part of the finished composition.
The exhibition title, The Weight of Holding, reflects the thematic focus of the presentation, referring to the experience of carrying memory, identity, and personal history.
The launch of Africa Curated in Los Angeles places the platform within a growing network of institutions and initiatives engaging with contemporary African and diasporic art in the city.
The exhibition is currently on view at Honeypot L.A.
image source : Africa curated Thabiso Dakamela – Dual Presence (detail). Image courtesy of Africa Curated Los Anaelesl
