Phokeng Setai is a cultural scholar and independent curator, holding a Master’s in Sociology from the University of the Free State. He recently completed his doctoral dissertation at the University of the Western Cape, undertaking it through the Centre for Humanities Research (CHR) and Anthropology Department, in the roles of doctoral fellow and Ph.D. candidate, respectively. Setai's research focuses on African and African diasporic artistic modes of knowledge production, with a particular emphasis on curatorial practice as an expanded field of intellectual inquiry and creative practice. He is an alumni of RAW Material Company and the Independent Curators’ International (ICI). Previously, Setai worked as a researcher at Zeitz MOCAA, served as a curator at Norval Foundation, and held a board position at the Association of the Visual Arts in Cape Town, South Africa. Noteworthy curatorial projects in his portfolio include About00Time; MuthaShip Landing; This Stays Between You and Me; Art, Memorials and Monuments; Quiet Dog Bite Hard: Clandestine Networks of Revolutionary Papers; Exhibition Match; and most recently, Famakan Magassa: Witness of My Time. Phokeng's written contributions have been featured in various publications, including the Qualitative Sociology Review, The Sole Adventurer, The Thinker, and the catalogue publication of the 2023 edition of FNB ART Fair Joburg.
