KEVIN OSEPA OPENS THE FINAL CHAPTER OF BURO STEDELIJK WITH ‘THE BELLY OF MOMO’

words by PHOEBE GIBSON-DOUGALL

For the resonant final chapter of Buro Stedelijk, Curaçao-born, Amsterdam-based artist Kevin Osepa will transform the space into an immersive Caribbean landscape with his exhibition The Belly of Momo. A powerful statement about Caribbean identity, spirituality, and resistance within the context of contemporary Dutch art, The Belly of Momo resists cultural simplification. Here, Osepa celebrates the complexity of Curaçao through disruptive photography, sound, and ritual, bridging the gap between celebration and protest, body and landscape, and personal and collective memory.

images courtesy of the artist:
Kevin Osepa.
Manifestation #80: the Belly of Momo

At the centre of this exhibition is Curaçao’s King Momo—the mythical carnival figure whose hollow belly serves as a liminal space for ancestral spirits. Within this symbolic belly, Osepa invites visitors to share in and confront a full spectrum of emotions, moments of joy, mourning, and renewal. It’s an invitation to reclaim the space, both literally and spiritually.

"The Belly of Momo is a place where the unspoken and the hidden dwell. It's about existing within contradictions and embracing impossibilities—a space where colonial power no longer holds meaning. Buro Stedelijk feels the same way: a place within an institution that dares to dream. Where hierarchies blur and where collective making becomes the voice. At the final show, we will shout 'Ayo Momo.' A farewell, a cleansing, and a reminder that even erased spirits rise again," says Kevin Osepa.

Osepa’s art and its powerful themes is a fitting choice to conclude this influential period of Buro Stedelijk lead by co-founding curator Rita Ouédraogo, under whose leadership it grew into a platform that inextricably links art, politics, and community.

Manifestation #80: The Belly of Momo
November 20, 2025 – January 8, 2026
Open daily with Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam ticket

image courtesy of the artist:
Kevin Osepa.
Manifestation #80: the Belly of Momo