You've got to dig to dig it, you dig?
Humanity supports […] vulnerable life.
The cycle of rupture and repair is a requirement of living, a cost of surviving, something that goes hand in hand with another reality of survival: that, throughout your life, you may not only lose people but also gain them.
they spend at least some of whatever time they have left stitching together small pieces that, eventually, might make something big enough to be meaningful.
In Defense of Despair, Hanif Abdurraqib
Absent from thee, I languish still;
Then ask me not, When I return?
The straying fool ’twill plainly kill
To wish all day, all night to mourn.
Dear, from thine arms then let me fly,
That my fantastic mind may prove
The torments it deserves to try,
That tears my fix’d heart from my love.
When, wearied with a world of woe,
To thy safe bosom I retire,
Where love, and peace, and truth does flow,
May I contented there expire!
Lest, once more wandering from that heaven,
I fall on some base heart unblest;
Faithless to thee, false, unforgiven—
And lose my everlasting rest.
Return, John Wilmot
perhaps, in all likelihood … small, necessary (iv)
Mahara+Co is pleased to present No Place is Far Away , a solo exhibition by Cuban photographer Evelyn Sosa, on view from May 10 – June 6, 2025. In this deeply intimate and political series, Sosa constructs a living archive of the migratory experience. The exhibition emerges from a project supported by the Cuban Migrant Artists Resilience Fellowship, granted by Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) and PEN International.
Rooted in a seemingly simple question — “What object did you take with you when you emigrated?“ — Sosa opens a window into memory, loss, and the emotional gravity of displacement. Each image in the series portrays a personal belonging filled with history and significance: a piece of clothing, a photograph, a letter, a seed. These modest, almost minimal objects serve as emotional anchors — fragments of home that persist across time and distance. They are not merely material remnants, but silent witnesses to identities that refuse to vanish.
Far from a purely documentary approach, No Place is Far Away delves into the sensory and emotional dimensions of migration. Photography becomes a mode of listening: portraits of objects are interwoven with fragments of real-life testimonies, creating a liminal space where past and present gently meet. As Paul Ricoeur once wrote, “memory is not a neutral archive,” a sentiment Sosa affirms in each image — each one an act of evocation, resistance, and care.
While firmly rooted in the Cuban migratory experience, the series resonates on a universal level. In a world increasingly shaped by displacement, this body of work asks: How does identity transform when territory disappears? What remains when everything else is gone?
Ningún lugar está lejos reviewed in Artburst, 050725.
When the planet is galloping through space and you gallop after it through light and dark with your time-drunk brain, nothing can end. There could be no end, there can be only circles. (Samantha Harvey)
In terms of the development of “democracy,” it is difficult to overestimate the enormous gain Western governments managed to consolidate when they successfully advanced democracy as the opposing counterweight to communism. They had actually gained control of the entire word for themselves, leaving nary a trace of its former emancipatory resonance. Indeed, democracy had become a class ideology justifying systems that allowed a very small number of people to govern—and to govern without the people, so to speak; systems that seem to exclude any other possibility than the infinite reproduction of their own functioning. To be able to call an unchecked and deregulated free market economy, a ruthless, no-holds-barred opposition to communism, a right to intervene, militarily and otherwise, in countless sovereign nations and their internal affairs—to succeed in calling all this democracy was an incredible feat. To successfully present the market as an evident condition of democracy and to have democracy viewed as inexorably calling forth the market, is an astounding accomplishment. (Kristin Ross)
Koyo Kouoh, the esteemed Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), has passed away at the age of 58. Her death marks a profound loss for the global art community, where she was celebrated as a transformative leader and a pioneering advocate for African contemporary art. Her passing was announced by Zeitz Mocca on Instagram.
Born in 1967 in Douala, Cameroon, Kouoh spent her formative years in Switzerland before embarking on a career that would see her become one of the most influential figures in the art world. In 2008, she founded RAW Material Company in Dakar, Senegal—a dynamic center for art, knowledge, and society that became a cornerstone for critical discourse and artistic innovation across the continent.
In 2019, Kouoh took the helm at Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, South Africa, Africa’s largest museum dedicated to contemporary art. Under her leadership, the institution underwent a significant transformation, emphasizing inclusivity, scholarly excellence, and a pan-African perspective. She curated landmark exhibitions such as When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting (2022), which was lauded for its profound exploration of Black self-representation in art.
Kouoh’s curatorial vision extended beyond exhibitions. She was instrumental in establishing programs that nurtured emerging African curators and artists, including a fellowship scheme aimed at creating a new generation of museum specialists . Her commitment to fostering African philanthropy and expanding the museum’s global reach was evident in initiatives like the formation of a Global Council comprising international art luminaries.
In recognition of her contributions, Kouoh was appointed as the curator for the 61st Venice Biennale, set to take place in 2026. This historic appointment made her the first African woman to lead the prestigious international art exhibition, reflecting her status as a trailblazer in the field .
Beyond her professional achievements, Kouoh was known for her unwavering dedication to amplifying African voices in the global art narrative. She leaves behind a legacy that will continue to inspire and influence the art world for generations to come.
Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away)
Main Artist: Charles Mingus
Composer: Billy Moll, Harry Barris, Ted Koehler
