049: Larry Ossei-Mensah | Radio Juxtapoz

Radio Juxtapoz

Just one look at curator and cultural visionary Larry Ossei-Mensah's "LinkTree" on his Instagram, and you can see the breadth of what the man is working on. And this was supposed to be the year for the "collective pause"! A break! As the co-founder of ARTNOIR and curator of various exhibitions, fundraisers and projects, the Ghanaian-American Mensah is an example of how independent curators and art's organizers can utilize their talents and skill set in a year that has had in the art world curious and wondering what to do next. From the pandemic to the immense spark created by the George Floyd murder, this contemporary art world needs new voices and relentless visionaries, and in many ways, individuals who can break down the almost "fantasy narrative" that is built around a curator. You know, that conversation you have had at a gallery when someone says they are a curator and you want to know what that entails and you want to be one, too. Mensah is the perfect art world navigator for these uncertain times.

In this wide-ranging interview, the Bronx-based Mensah talks to the Radio Juxtapoz podcast about how he got started in curation, his early forays into organizing art shows in Brooklyn and his ambitious projects that he has on display from anywhere to the web pages of Artsy to the halls of MOCAD in Detroit with the recent Peter Williams exhibition. His story is not just about what means to be an art lover with a good idea, but how to tell stories through curation, how to better equip the art world with new vision and voices from artists around the world and how to still be as active as possible as the art world itself goes through a transition. Mensah also talks about his recent foray into making art himself, and how cooking helped him through the earliest months of the pandemic. The conversation is both a blueprint for a younger generation to be involved in the arts, but also how to engage with contemporary art on every level. If you can't travel the world in 2020, you can still globetrot through the arts, and Mensah is the guide.
The Radio Juxtapoz podcast is hosted by FIFTH WALL TV's Doug Gillen and Juxtapoz editor, Evan Pricco. Episode 049 was recorded via Skype from San Francisco/London/Bronx, July 2, 2020. Follow Larry Ossei-Mensah at @youngglobal