Larry Ossei-Mensah is a Ghanaian-American curator, writer, and cultural critic whose practice amplifies artists across cultures and geographies while fostering dynamic global exchange. Known for building resonant dialogues between artists, institutions, and audiences, he has organized exhibitions in cities including Athens, London, Rome, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, and São Paulo, collaborating with artists such as Ana Mendieta, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Sanford Biggers, Firelei Báez, Sarah Zapata, Judy Chicago, Amoako Boafo, Rashid Johnson, and Catherine Opie, among others.
He has held key curatorial roles, including Susanne Feld Hilberry Senior Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and Curator-at-Large at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. His projects have been presented at leading institutions including the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), The Metropolitan Museum of Manila, MASS MoCA, the Denver Art Museum, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, the Seattle Art Museum, Oolite Arts in Miami, ICA San Francisco, and Storm King Art Center, as well as at galleries such as Almeida & Dale and Simões de Assis in São Paulo.
Ossei-Mensah is the co-founder and president of ARTNOIR, a cultural platform dedicated to supporting artists of color through exhibitions, programming, and storytelling. Recent initiatives include Watering a Black Garden, a transatlantic exhibition developed in collaboration with the Open Space Contemporary Art Museum (OSCAM) in Amsterdam, bringing together artists across the African diaspora to explore joy, lineage, and creative sovereignty. Across his curatorial practice, writing, and public engagement, Ossei-Mensah advances artist-centered frameworks while actively shaping conversations around patronage, collecting, and cultural stewardship on a global scale.
