NEW YORK, NY, April 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dr. Janine A. Sytsma, art historian and founder of Third Space Art Foundation, will curate 1922 Revisited, a live arts program presented during the preview week of the Venice Biennale (May 5–9, 2026).
The program brings together artists from across Africa and its diasporas to engage a historical moment in the Biennale’s exhibition history through contemporary performance.
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Sytsma’s scholarly and curatorial practice, developed over two decades, focuses on contemporary art of Global Africa and engages artists whose work activates Indigenous modes of thinking as critical frameworks. Her current research examines the history of Africa at the Venice Biennale and the ways African artists have exposed, disrupted, and countered the imperial order manifest of the exhibition while also extending, deepening, elevating, and redefining the discursive field of contemporary art.
1922 Revisited builds on this work, drawing from the fragmented archival record of the 1922 Biennale exhibition and approaching it as a point of departure for contemporary artistic practice. Through performance, the program creates space to engage this history and its relationship to the present moment.
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“In the hands of the artists involved in the program, the 1922 exhibition becomes a departure point for critically rethinking the past and its entanglement with the present.”
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In addition to her curatorial work, Sytsma is an Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Arkansas. Her writing has appeared in journals including African Arts and Critical Interventions, and her research has been supported by fellowships from institutions including the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Cambridge.
As founder of Third Space Art Foundation, Sytsma has developed a platform for curatorial projects, research, and collaboration centered on contemporary art of Global Africa. The foundation’s work brings together artists, scholars, and institutions to explore questions of history, cultural exchange, and artistic practice.
1922 Revisited is presented in collaboration with the African Art in Venice Forum (AAVF) and the European Cultural Centre (ECC), with additional academic and institutional partners supporting research and documentation.
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The program is developed in dialogue with the curatorial framework of the 2026 Biennale. Its theme, In Minor Keys, emphasizes attention to affective and sensory dimensions of artistic experience, creating space for reflection, listening, and encounter.
In parallel with the live program, Third Space Art Foundation is developing a companion publication, Harmonies of Repair, which will include artist contributions, curatorial essays, and archival research related to the project.
Through the integration of scholarship and curatorial practice, 1922 Revisited reflects an ongoing engagement with how historical moments are revisited, interpreted, and activated within contemporary artistic contexts.
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Key Facts
- Dr. Janine A. Sytsma is founder of Third Space Art Foundation and curator of 1922 Revisited
- The program will be presented May 5–9, 2026, during the Venice Biennale preview week
- Her research focuses on contemporary art of Global Africa and exhibition history
- The project draws on the fragmented archive of the 1922 Biennale
- Presented in collaboration with African Art in Venice Forum and European Cultural Centre
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About Third Space Art Foundation
Third Space Art Foundation supports artistic exchange and collective engagement through the cultivation of third spaces – dynamic zones of encounter, negotiation, and creative transformation. Drawing from the widely embraced concept of third space as a site for dialogue, and Homi Bhabha’s decolonial theory of third space as a liminal ground that challenges fixed hierarchies and dominant narratives, Third Space Art Foundation advances practices that expand cultural understanding and foster new frameworks for connection. Through exhibitions, residencies, and collaborative initiatives, it brings together artists and communities across geographic and cultural divides, working to catalyze critical inquiry, mutual understanding, and new structures of solidarity.
To learn more visit: https://thirdspaceartfoundation.org/
- Dr. Janine A. Sytsma in Venice Ahead of 2026 Biennale Program