Riason Naidoo
Riason Naidoo is pursuing a PhD in Art History at the University of Cape Town. His research focuses on Simon Njami and the writer as a curator of contemporary African Art. He holds a BA and MA in Fine Arts from the University of the Witwatersrand. He received fellowships from l'Institut Français, l'Institut français d'Afrique du Sud (IFAS), Cité Internationale des Arts, and l’Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art (INHA). He held a solo exhibition of his paintings entitled "Bridging the Gap" at the KwaZulu-Natal Society of the Arts (KZNSA) gallery in Durban. He was co-curator of the 10th edition of the Dak'art biennale in Senegal in 2012 and directed the South African National Gallery (2009–2015); and directed the 'South Africa-Mali Project: Timbuktu Manuscripts' (2003–2009); managed artistic projects for the French Institute of South Africa (2001-2003); lectured in drawing and painting at the University of the Witwatersrand (1999-2000); managed the art education programme at the Durban Art Gallery (1996–1999). In 2016 the French Ministry of Culture decorated him with the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters). Naidoo has published widely on modern and contemporary South African and African art in diverse publications internationally.