December 12-13 2025
Speakers SAS 2025.
Keynote:
Education & Knowledge -
How do we learn?
Henry Mzili Mujunga
Visual Artist & Writter
Mzili is a Ugandan painter and printmakers who’s work draws from his natural and urban surroundings to create vivid, symbolic scenes of heroism that celebrate human resilience and empathy. His compositions bring together many seemingly unrelated objects within intimate, layered spaces, each painting titled to reflect both the interactions depicted and their wider associations.
By assembling objects, spaces, and their cultural meanings, Mzili mirrors the ways identity is formed in Uganda—through appearance, possessions, environment, and the interactions that shape how people see themselves and others. His richly autobiographical works aim to evoke awe and pleasure through color, form, and subject.
A celebrated painter and printmaker, Mzili describes himself as an indigenous expressionist, guided by intuition, childhood memories, and years of refined practice. He graduated with honors from the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial Fine Art at Makerere University and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from the same institution.
Mzili was a finalist for the inaugural Norval Sovereign Art Prize in 2022 and previously won the Royal Overseas League Art Scholarship in 2003. His work appears in major collections and has been exhibited internationally, including at Addis Fine Art London (Eastern Voices, 2023), South-South Veza, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair (New York and London), ARCO Lisbon, INVESTEC Cape Town Art Fair, Art X Lagos, and FNB Joburg Art Fair.
Keynote:
Community & Collecting - How do we Belong?
Dr. Myma Belo-Osagie
Corporate Governance
Dr. Myma Belo-Osagie is a renowned legal and corporate governance leader with over 30 years of experience. She co-founded and led Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie (UUBO), one of Nigeria’s top law firms, guiding its growth, succession, and transition into a 15-partner institution.
She currently serves on several high-level boards, including as Chair of Africa Opportunity Fund, Melieshades Nigeria Ltd., and the Advisory Board of the Harvard University Center for African Studies. She is also a Director at Pensions Alliance Ltd. and Boston Investments, a member of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art Advisory Board, Co-Chair of Women Corporate Directors (Nigeria), President of the Corona Schools Trust Council, and Chair of the Climate Governance Initiative Nigeria.
Her previous roles include directorships with African Fabrics BV, FSDH Merchant Bank, and serving as Trustee of the Africa Wildlife Foundation.
Drawing on extensive experience across business and corporate sectors, she advises boards on governance, sustainability, mergers and acquisitions, and organisational strategy.
Dr. Belo-Osagie holds an LL.B from the University of Ghana, an LL.M and SJD from Harvard Law School, and is admitted to the Ghana, New York, and Nigeria bars.
Photo: Chris Schwagga
Keynote:
Archive, Value & Heritage - How do we Remember?
Sir David adjaye
Architect
David Adjaye is a Ghanaian-British architect who has received international acclaim for his impact on the field. In 2000 he founded Adjaye Associates, which today operates globally with studios in Accra, London, and New York. Adjaye’s most well-known project to date is the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, which opened on the National Mall in Washington DC in 2016 and was named Cultural Event of the Year by The New York Times.
In 2017, Adjaye was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and was included in TIME’S 100 Most Influential People List. Adjaye is also a recipient of the 2021 RIBA Royal Gold Medal, considered one of the highest honours in British architecture for significant contributions to the field internationally.
In 2022, Adjaye was appointed to the Order of Merit, selected by Her Majesty the Queen, in recognition of distinguished service in his field. He is also the recipient of the World Economic Forum’s 27th Annual Crystal Award, which recognizes his “leadership in serving communities, cities and the environment.
Keynote:
Transmission: How do we move forward?
Raphael Chikukwa
Executive Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe
Born in Zimbabwe, Raphael Chikukwa is the Executive Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. He joined the institution in 2010 after more than a decade as an independent curator and is the founding Curator of the Zimbabwe Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, overseeing editions from the 54th to the 58th. He is also a 2021 MoMA/CCL Fellow, a Chevening Scholar, and a 2025 Norval Sovereign African Art Prize Jury Member.
Chikukwa holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts and Culture Management from the University of the Witwatersrand Business School and an MA in Curating Contemporary Design from Kingston University.
His international commitments include serving on committees such as the High Line Plinth (New York), DAAD, the Delfina Foundation, and the Future Generation Art Prize, and he has been a juror for the Dakar Biennale (2018). He has spoken at global forums including Art Basel Hong Kong, Art Basel Miami, and the Joburg Art Fair, and has contributed to several key publications, including African Art Reframed and multiple Zimbabwe Pavilion catalogues.
Chikukwa’s curatorial practice began in earnest at the 2nd Johannesburg Biennale (1997), where he volunteered under Okwui Enwezor. His major curated exhibitions include HIFA (2000–2004), Lime Transmission (Manchester, 2004), Visions of Zimbabwe (Manchester City Art Gallery), and African Heroes (Imperial War Museum North, 2006). He was also a founding staff member of the PUMA-funded Creative Africa Network (2008–2009).
His extensive qualifications and global experience continue to shape his vision for transforming Zimbabwe’s visual arts landscape.
Keynote:
Platforms & Presentation: How do we Show?
Kim Kandan
Art Director FNB Art Joburg
The current art director running FNB Art Joburg and previously the gallery director at KZNSA, Kandan is a cultural practitioner invested in nurturing and championing contemporary African art.
Over the past three years Kandan has mounted and curated three successful editions of FNB Art Joburg, Africa’s longest running contemporary art fair and its related properties. These include The BMW Young Collectors Co. which nourishes imminent art collectors through experiential social education as well as the Open City initiative that, over 16 days activated with more than 50 events across Johannesburg, fulfills FNB Art Joburg’s quest for culture-focused economic stimulation, inclusivity and better access for all. Parallel to maintaining and expanding the above, in 2023 he conceptualised and launched a new platform known as The BMW Art Generation. A space to explore the unforeseeable future of contemporary African art, The BMW Art Generation facilitated discourse and discovery on African soil, through conversations that usually take place in the abstract of the continent.
Parallel to running FNB Art Joburg, Kandan is creative director at Content Bloc — a Johannesburg-based communications agency that uses art and culture to help brands and organisations create meaningful change. Working with innovators and thought leaders to develop cultural communications, brand strategies, digital campaigns, and special events. With 17 years of experience in the arts sector, Content Bloc specialises in connecting cultural elements with business objectives to drive innovation and transformation.
Keynote:
SAS Closing remarks
Simon Njami
Independent curator, lecturer, art critic and novelist
Simon Njami is a Paris-based independent curator, writer, and critic. He co-founded and served as editor-in-chief of Revue Noire and has directed major art platforms including the Bamako Photography Biennale (10 years), Dak’Art (2016/2018), and the first Johannesburg Art Fair. He co-curated the first African Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale and has held roles at World Press Photo and Documenta 16’s Finding Committee.
Njami has curated landmark exhibitions such as Africa Remix, The Divine Comedy, Afriques Capitales, Metropolis, and Something Else (Cairo). Recent projects include Awakenings (Louvre Abu Dhabi, 2024) and Il Sole Nero and Maschere (Naples, 2025).
He created the Pan-African Masterclasses in Photography and the AtWork critical thinking program, has advised major museums and collections, and has taught at UCSD. Njami has published widely, including biographies of James Baldwin and Léopold Sédar Senghor, several novels, and Stories Histories (2021). He studied literature, law, and philosophy at the Sorbonne.
Our Partners.
Programme
| Time | Topic & speaker |
|---|---|
| 08:00 – 09:00 | Arrival of guests & registration |
| 09:00 – 09:15 | Welcome speech – Daudi Karungi |
| 09:15 – 09:45 | Keynote 1: Henry Mzili Mujunga – “Education & Knowledge: How do we learn?” |
| 09:45 – 10:15 | Open floor discussion |
| 10:15 – 10:45 | Keynote 2: Myma Belo-Osagie – “Community & Collecting: How do we support and share?” Livestream |
| 10:45 – 11:15 | Open floor discussion |
| 11:15 – 11:45 | Tea break |
| 11:45 – 12:15 | Keynote 3: Raphael Chikukwa – “Transmission: How do we connect to art and audiences?” |
| 12:15 – 12:45 | Open floor discussion |
| 12:45 – 13:00 | Closing remarks – Daudi Karungi |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Networking and end of Day 1 |
| Time | Topic & speaker |
|---|---|
| 14:00 – 14:30 | Arrival of guests |
| 14:30 – 14:45 | Welcome and recap of Day 1 |
| 14:45 – 15:15 | Keynote 4: Kim Kandan – “What do we show? How do we show?” |
| 15:15 – 15:45 | Open floor discussion |
| 15:45 – 16:15 | Tea break |
| 16:15 – 16:45 | Keynote 5: Sir David Adjaye – “Archive, Value & Heritage: How do we remember?” |
| 16:45 – 17:15 | Open floor discussion |
| 17:15 – 17:45 | Closing remarks – Simon Njami |
| 17:45 – 18:00 | Appreciation speech – Daudi Karungi |
| 18:00 – 19:00 | Cocktail and networking – End of Day 2 |
| After party | The Alchemist – Bugolobi |
