Zeitz MOCAA

This public not-for-profit contemporary art museum collects, preserves, researches and exhibits 21st century art from Africa and its diaspora, hosts international exhibitions, develops supporting educational and enrichment programs, encourages intercultural understanding and guarantees access for all.

The largest contemporary art museum in Africa, Zeitz MOCAA serves as a ͚platform for Africans to tell their own story and participate in the telling of that story.͛

Zeitz MOCAA was founded by Jochen Zeitz, former CEO of Puma, a German philanthropist who has built his world-class collection with Mark Coetzee, the executive director and chief curator.

A beacon for art– the Foundation’s vision drives its strategy: to collect artists’ works to enable the museum to tell the artists’ stories.

The Zeitz MOCAA collection is centred around Zeitz’s own private collection and includes works by eminent arts such as Chris Ofili, Kudzanai Chiurai, Kehinde Wiley, Glenn Ligon, Marlene Dumas, Wangechi Mutu and Julie Mehretu.

In addition to the one hundred galleries dedicated to the permanent collection, there are temporary exhibitions, centres for photography, performing arts and the moving image, a dedicated arts education program, a costume institute and a curatorial training program.

.Zeitz MOCAA is located in Cape Town in a converted grain silo overlooking the Atlantic on the Victoria and Albert waterfront and is housed in 9,500 sq metres of custom designed space, spread over nine floors, carved out of the monumental Grain Silo Complex which has been transformed by the internationally acclaimed English architect, Thomas Heatherwick.

Set on the edge of a natural historic working harbor with the iconic Table Mountain as its backdrop and with sweeping views of the ocean, city bowl and mountain peaks, Thomas Heatherwickaimed to conserve and celebrate the original structure’s industrial heritage while at the same time excavating large open space from the 42 densely-packed concrete cylinders from which it was comprised.Its sheer scale is a statement with undulating walls like a mountain fortress.

While located in Cape Town, Zeitz MOCAA is in dialogue with all 54 African states and is designed to encourage local access and visitors, as well as those from across the world.