Zora Snake Activates “1922 Revisited” During Venice Biennale 2026 Preview Week

Cameroonian choreographer and MODAPERF founder presents ESCAPE THE BOXES, engaging memory, power, and repair through performance

NEW YORK, NY, May 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the 61st Venice Biennale Arte preview week gets underway, Cameroonian choreographer and performance artist Zora Snake presents ESCAPE THE BOXES as part of 1922 Revisited, a live arts program curated by Dr. Janine A. Sytsma and presented by Third Space Art Foundation from May 5–9, 2026 in Venice, Italy.

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Artist Spotlight

Zora Snake is a choreographer, performer, and founder of the Zora Snake Company and the pan-African festival MODAPERF (Movements, Dances & Performances). Drawing from his Bamiléké heritage and combining indigenous performance practices with urban dance and hip-hop, his work interrogates power, memory, and identity.

Presented across Africa, Europe, and South America, his immersive choreography centers social justice and collective transformation. His global practice includes works such as L’Opéra du Villageois, which confronts histories of imperial violence, past and present, and has been presented internationally, including in Venice as part of a European tour.

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Performance Feature: ESCAPE THE BOXES

In ESCAPE THE BOXES, Zora Snake and collaborator Wilfried Nakeu draw on the subversive narrative of 1922 Revisited to construct a performance that unfolds within a transformed spatial environment, incorporating visual, choreographic, and participatory elements.

The work engages the hierarchical display of artworks as a site of silence, one that obscures layered histories, and reimagines performance as a means of activating those suppressed narratives. Through embodied action and audience proximity, ESCAPE THE BOXES proposes a reclaiming of original meanings and functions, repositioning artistic objects and gestures within living frameworks of memory, repair, and continuity.

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ESCAPE THE BOXES, Collaboration

The performance is realized in collaboration with Wilfried Nakeu, whose practice contributes a structural and spatial dimension to the work. Together, the artists construct a shared performative environment that bridges movement and form, expanding the conceptual scope of the piece.

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Program Context; 1922 Revisited

Presented by Third Space Art Foundation, 1922 Revisited unfolds across Venice as a series of performances, a screening, and a panel discussion staged at venues including Hotel Monaco and the European Cultural Centre’s Marinaressa Gardens.

The program brings together an international group of artists to engage the 1922 Venice Biennale exhibition of African sculpture, revisiting its historical framing through contemporary artistic practices that foreground embodiment, memory, and alternative epistemologies.

Participating artists include Bernard Akoi-Jackson; ruby onyinyechi amanze; Jelili Atiku; Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi [aka crazinisT artisT]; Jermay Michael Gabriel; Tsedaye Makonnen; Wilfried Nakeu; Wura-Natasha Ogunji; Zora Snake; and Victoria-Idongesit Udondian.

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Key Facts

Artist: Zora Snake
Performance: ESCAPE THE BOXES
Date: Wednesday, May 6
Location: Hotel Monaco, Sala Corte, Venice
Program: 1922 Revisited
Presented by: Third Space Art Foundation

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Event Note

ESCAPE THE BOXES will be performed on Wednesday, May 6 during the Venice Biennale 2026 preview week at Hotel Monaco, Sala Corte.

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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 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.

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Media Contact / CTA

Follow @thirdspaceartfoundation or visit: https://thirdspaceartfoundation.org

For additional information, images, or interview requests, please contact: info@thirdspareartfoundation.org

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Escape the Boxes Performance Opens 1922 Revisited at Venice Biennale 2026

Zora Snake performs ESCAPE THE BOXES as part of 1922 Revisited, presented by Third Space Art Foundation during the Venice Biennale 2026 preview week (May 5–9).

Zora Snake Performance Close-Up from Escape the Boxes at Venice Biennale 2026

Close-up of Zora Snake during ESCAPE THE BOXES, a performance presented within 1922 Revisited at the Venice Biennale 2026 preview week.

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