Victoria-Idongesit Udondian to Present Live Performance of “Kayeyei: Archive embodied” During Venice Biennale Preview Week

The durational performance examines labor, migration, material circulation, and the global afterlives of secondhand clothing

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.

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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.

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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.

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“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.”

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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.

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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

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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.

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1922 Revisited Participating Artists Include

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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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Victoria-Idongesit Udondian Participates in 1922 Revisited During Venice Biennale Preview Week

Artist Victoria-Idongesit Udondian, whose durational performance Kayeyei: Archive embodied examines labor, migration, textile circulation, and embodied archives as part of 1922 Revisited during Venice Biennale preview week in Venice, Italy.

Kayeyei: Archive embodied Explores Global Textile Waste and Material Circulation

Reference image from Victoria-Idongesit Udondian’s Kayeyei: Archive embodied, a durational performance presented during Venice Biennale preview week through 1922 Revisited, examining secondhand clothing circulation, labor, migration, and environmental burden.

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