NEW YORK, NY, April 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Third Space Art Foundation will present a performance by Wura-Natasha Ogunji (Nigeria/USA) as part of 1922 Revisited, a live arts program taking place during the preview week of the Venice Biennale, May 5–9, 2026.
Curated by Dr. Janine A. Sytsma, 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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Wura-Natasha Ogunji is a visual artist and performer whose work includes drawings, videos, and public performances. Her practice is shaped by the daily interactions and rhythms of Lagos, Nigeria, and explores the presence of women in public space, often engaging themes of labor, leisure, freedom, and intimacy.
Her work has been presented internationally, including exhibitions at Tate Modern; the 23rd Biennale of Sydney; the Lagos Biennial; Kochi-Muziris Biennale; and the Museum of Modern Art, Paris. Ogunji has also exhibited at institutions such as the Brooklyn Art Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and has received support from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, The Dallas Museum of Art, and the Idea Fund.
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Within 1922 Revisited, Ogunji will present The Dash, a performance created in collaboration with artist ruby onyinyechi amanze.
The work features two runners who move in slow motion over the course of one hour, traversing a defined space such as a room, corridor, or open plaza. Spectators serve as vocal timekeepers, collectively marking the beginning, midpoint, and conclusion of the performance.
Through restraint and repetition, the work engages gesture as a central element. Facial expressions, hand signals, and subtle shifts in movement function as choreographic structures, reflecting Ogunji’s ongoing interest in embodied interaction and the dynamics of public space.
The title The Dash carries multiple meanings, including a short run, a punctuation mark, or, in Nigerian usage, a gift or offering. These overlapping interpretations shape the temporal and conceptual framework of the work.
As the performance unfolds, it forms what the artists describe as a “runners’ procession,” emphasizing shared movement and collective presence. Viewers are not asked to take sides; instead, the work centers on the experience of “feeling-together” through time and motion.
The Dash contributes to 1922 Revisited, activating the archival fragments of the 1922 exhibition of African art at the Venice Biennale through contemporary artistic practices.
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The program is presented in collaboration with the African Art in Venice Forum and the European Cultural Centre, and takes place in dialogue with the curatorial framework of the 2026 Biennale. Titled In Minor Keys, the Biennale emphasizes listening, affect, and the power of intimate, embodied experience.
Key Facts
- Wura-Natasha Ogunji presents The Dash in collaboration with ruby onyinyechi amanze
- Performance takes place during Venice Biennale preview week (May 5–9, 2026)
- Two performers move in slow motion over one hour
- Audience serves as collective timekeeper
- Work engages gesture, repetition, and shared presence
- Ogunji’s practice explores public space, interaction, and the presence of women
- Presented by Third Space Art Foundation
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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/
Attachments
- Wura-Natasha Ogunji Performance Portrait, 1922 Revisited Venice Biennale 2026
- The Dash Performance by Wura-Natasha Ogunji and ruby onyinyechi amanze at Venice Biennale 2026
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