Yusuf Essop

Co-curator of As Natural As Daylight: Plants, Memory and The Edge of Belonging (Group Show) | 20.11.25 - 24.01.26

Yusuf Essop is a curator and art consultant with over 5 years of experience across various roles within the art world, including curation, project management, programme development, production, and communications. His practice is primarily focused on modern and contemporary African art, with a strong emphasis on works from South Africa.

Curatorially, his interests are diverse, spanning themes of identity and belonging, particularly relating to South African Indian communities, concepts of diaspora, post-colonialism, decolonialism, and explorations into materiality and process-based practices.

Between June 2021 - January 2024, he worked for the NIROX Foundation, a Non-Profit Art Foundation nestled in the heart of the Cradle of Humankind, Gauteng. During this time he curated four exhibitions (and assisted on many more), including one major exhibition - the 2022 Winter Sculpture Exhibition, showcasing the works of over 35 artists. Additionally, he was involved in the successful execution of various workshops, symposiums, events, and marketing campaigns.

From September 2021 to October 2022, he served as Programme Director at Project 58, a regenerative hospitality project adjacent to NIROX. Here, he laid the groundwork for innovative programming, merging art with retreats and workshops, further enriching the cultural landscape.

In 2024 he completed a Curatorial Fellowship at the Venice School for Curatorial Studies, culminating in a group exhibition which he co-curated along with other participants, at the A Plus A Gallery in San Marco, and showcased works by Lebohang Kganye.

More recent curated exhibitions include ‘The Becoming Subject: An Intimate Gaze into the Career of Ayana V. Jackson’ at Boschendal x Brundyn (2025), and ‘Blurred Lines’, a solo exhibition by Gabrielle Kruger at the Silo Hotel.

He is currently based in Cape Town, South Africa.

Instagram: @yusufessop