BONAVENTURE SOH BEJENG NDIKUNG

Podcast with Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung and moderator Awa Konaté with the title The Politics of Good Intentions and Delusions of Care. The session is recorded at OPEN25, 19th September 2025. Introduction by Lawrence Sprauge.

We need alternative paths for rehabilitation, restoration and care. But how do notions of care appear from a non-western perspective- what can be considered as care, and who gives care, and for what reasons? Must care primarily rest on a foundational care for justice – or through a more ordinary practice? The session touches upon how architectural elements embody collective memory, and how notions of the ordinary are understood from a non-Western perspective.

Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung is a highly influential figure in the global contemporary art scene. Born in Cameroon, he is an internationally recognised curator, writer, and biotechnologist. He is Director and Chief Curator at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin and served as Chief Curator of the 36th São Paulo Biennale. His interdisciplinary practice bridges institution-building and curatorial work, engaging with performative, installative, sonic, visual arts, and critical theory.

The OPEN conversation was recorded at the Aarhus School of Architecture during OPEN25 and moderated by Awa Konaté, Founder of Culture Art Society (CAS) and Assistant Curator at Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.

Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung is a highly influential figure in the global contemporary art scene. Born in Cameroon, he is an internationally recognised curator, writer, and biotechnologist. He is Director and Chief Curator at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin and served as Chief Curator of the 36th São Paulo Biennale. His interdisciplinary practice bridges institution-building and curatorial work, engaging with performative, installative, sonic, visual arts, and critical theory.
The OPEN conversation was recorded at the Aarhus School of Architecture during OPEN25 and moderated by Awa Konaté, Founder of Culture Art Society (CAS) and Assistant Curator at Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.