2026 Perkins Lecture: Larry Ossei Mensah

Larry Ossei-Mensah is a Ghanaian-American curator, cultural critic, and global advocate for contemporary art whose dynamic practice amplifies diverse voices and fosters cultural exchange across continents. He has organized exhibitions and projects in cities such as New York, London, Athens, São Paulo, Manila, Hong Kong, and Rome, collaborating with leading artists including Steve McQueen, Catherine Opie, Judy Chicago, Rashid Johnson, Melissa Joseph, and Chase Hall. He has also written about artists such as Genesis Tramaine, Antonio Obá, Tomashi Jackson, and Amoako Boafo.

Ossei-Mensah has served as Susanne Feld Hilberry Senior Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) and Curator-at-Large at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). His curatorial impact extends to major institutions including the Museum of the African Diaspora (San Francisco), MASS MoCA, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Artpace San Antonio, MCA Denver, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Denver Art Museum.

A co-founder of ARTNOIR, a nonprofit supporting artists and curators of color, Ossei-Mensah continues to shape the field through ambitious projects such as The Poetics of Dimensions at ICA San Francisco, The Fabric of Being with Almeida & Dale in São Paulo, and Sonia Gomes: Abre Alas at Storm King Art Center. 

The Perkins Lecture will take place on Thursday, April 2, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. in Nevins Theater in the Powell Campus Center. This year's lecture will be a conversation between Ossei-Mensah and current exhibiting artist at the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum Eugene Ofori-Agyei.