British-Ghanaian curator and author Osei Bonsu has been named a 2023 VIA Curatorial Fellow, with 25,000 USD in funding to support curatorial research and travel.
Currently the Curator of International Art at Tate Modern in London, Osei Bonsu is also a critic and art historian based in London and Paris. He is in charge of organizing exhibitions, developing the museum’s collection, and expanding the representation of African and African diaspora artists in Tate’s collection and public programme. He has developed projects focused on transnational histories of art, collaborating with museums, galleries and private collections internationally. As a leading curator of contemporary art, he has advised museums, art fairs and private collections internationally and mentored emerging artists through his digital platform, Creative Africa Network. He has developed projects focused on transnational histories of art, collaborating with museums, galleries and private collections internationally. Bonsu has worked as a contributing editor for Frieze magazine and has contributed to a number of exhibition catalogues and art publications including ArtReview, Numero Art and Vogue. His most recent show, ‘A World in common contemporary African photography’ is on view till January 2023, and will address how photography, film, audio, and more have been used to reimagine Africa’s diverse cultures and historical narratives.
Osei Bonsu says, “In my role as a Curator of International Art (Africa) at Tate Modern in London, I am dedicated to supporting the ever-expanding role of arts and culture in contemporary society. At Tate, I am responsible for helping to expand the museum’s outstanding collection of international modern and contemporary art. As a curator and writer specialising in art from Africa and its global diaspora, I am interested in the multifaceted role of art as a catalyst for alternative cultural, social, and historical narratives.”
The VIA Art Fund was started by an international coalition of individuals and private foundations who believe in the central role arts play in society. They encourage creative, ambitious, and rigorous works of art and undertakings with broad public effect accomplished in various formats such as institutional creation and acquisition, exhibitions, public installations, curatorial research, publications, and symposia. The VIA Art Fund awards grants in three categories – Artistic Production Grants, Incubator Grants, and an annual Curatorial Fellowship grant. They support artists, curators and arts organizations that demonstrate VIA’s core values of artistic creation, thought leadership, and public engagement.
Brooke Davis Anderson, Executive Director of VIA Art Fund says, “In 2022, VIA Art Fund once again contributed $1 million to strengthen our shared cultural landscape. Travelling to a range of geographic locations and spreading our support across the country and abroad, we recognised eminent artists who have been active for decades and creators new to us. This past year I was consistently struck by exciting non-traditional aspects of our grantees; for example, we awarded projects in a wax figure collection, atop urban rooftops, on an industrial pier, and in historic homes. These places were selected by artists and curators to do a few things: raise awareness about lesser-known sites overlooked by the art world, attract new audiences to contemporary art, and encourage artists to work outside of an expected cultural map. These sites also indicate interest on the part of our grantees to tackle persistent inequalities around access to contemporary art, especially within communities of colour and places of class diversity.”
The VIA Art Fund will celebrate 10 years and a decade of supporting contemporary artists, curators, museums, and organizations with more than $7,000,000 in grantmaking and service in 2023.
