NEW YORK, NY, May 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Third Space Art Foundation will present Kayeyei: Archive embodied, a new durational performance by Nigerian-American artist Victoria-Idongesit Udondian, as part of 1922 Revisited, the Foundation’s live arts program unfolding during preview week of the 61st Venice Biennale.
The performance will take place Thursday, May 7 at the European Cultural Centre, Giardini Marinaressa, in Venice, from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM CEST.
_____
Drawing from histories of migration, labor, consumption, and material circulation, Kayeyei: Archive embodied transforms the body into what the artist describes as a living repository of memory and burden. Throughout the performance, participants continuously layer secondhand garments onto themselves, inspecting, tagging, and wearing each piece as though cataloguing an evolving archive.
As the garments accumulate, movement becomes increasingly restricted, identities obscured, and the body physically strained under the weight of embedded histories. Over time, the archive collapses outward into the surrounding space, forming sculptural residues from discarded clothing and accumulated material.
The work draws specifically from the global secondhand clothing trade and its afterlives in places such as Kantamanto Market in Accra, Ghana, one of the world’s largest secondhand clothing markets and a critical site within contemporary global textile circulation.
_____
The title references the “Kayayei,” women head porters in Ghanaian markets who migrate from northern Ghana in search of labor opportunities in the south. In Hausa, kaya means load, luggage, or burden; a linguistic root that becomes both conceptual framework and embodied metaphor within the performance.
Udondian’s multidisciplinary practice spans painting, sculpture, installation, textiles, and performance, frequently examining systems of labor, migration, environmental extraction, and material memory through the lens of cloth and garment circulation. Her work has been exhibited internationally at institutions including the Bronx Museum, MASS MoCA, the Whitworth Gallery, Museo Textil de Oaxaca, and the Venice Biennale. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and Pollock-Krasner Grant.
_____
“Victoria’s work confronts systems that are often invisible within everyday global consumption,” said Dr. Janine A. Sytsma, curator of 1922 Revisited. “The performance makes material histories physically present, not as abstraction, but as something carried directly on the body. It transforms clothing into archive, burden, residue, and witness.”
_____
Presented by Third Space Art Foundation, 1922 Revisited unfolds across Venice from May 5–9, 2026 through performances, screenings, and public conversations engaging the historical legacy of the 1922 Venice Biennale exhibition of African sculpture through contemporary artistic practice.
_____
Event Information
Performance: Kayeyei: Archive embodied
Artist: Victoria-Idongesit Udondian
Date: Thursday, May 7, 2026
Time: 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Location: European Cultural Centre, Giardini Marinaressa, Venice, Italy
_____
Key Facts
- Part of 1922 Revisited during Venice Biennale preview week
- Explores migration, labor, textile circulation, and embodied archives
- Draws from Kantamanto Market and the global secondhand clothing trade
- Presented at European Cultural Centre, Giardini Marinaressa
- Curated by Dr. Janine A. Sytsma
The program is presented in collaboration with the African Art in Venice Forum and the European Cultural Centre. Additional partners include The Africa Center, the Centre for Contemporary Art Lagos, the Foundation for Contemporary Art Ghana, and the School of Art at the University of Arkansas.
_____
1922 Revisited Participating Artists Include
- Bernard Akoi-Jackson
- ruby onyinyechi amanze
- Jelili Atiku
- Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi
- Jermay Michael Gabriel
- Tsedaye Makonnen
- Wilfried Nakeu
- Wura-Natasha Ogunji
- Zora Snake
- Victoria-Idongesit Udondian
_____
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 on both widely recognized and decolonial interpretations of the “third space,” the Foundation advances practices that challenge fixed hierarchies and foster new frameworks for cultural understanding. Through performances, exhibitions, residencies, and collaborative initiatives, the Foundation brings together artists, curators, and scholars across geographies to catalyze dialogue, critical inquiry, and new forms of solidarity.
Media Contact / CTA
Follow @thirdspaceartfoundation or visit: https://thirdspaceartfoundation.org
For additional information, images, or interview requests, please contact: info@thirdspaceartfoundation.org
Attachments
- Victoria-Idongesit Udondian Participates in 1922 Revisited During Venice Biennale Preview Week
- Kayeyei: Archive embodied Explores Global Textile Waste and Material Circulation
Mike Verano NEWMEDIA.COM pr@newmedia.com 212-220-6200
