The way in which art fairs are perceived in conversations that centralise the argument that the visual arts is not as important as other art forms is wide open for all sorts of arguments. One could argue that the views shared can be distorted for someone who has not been to any art fairs in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Miami. Luckily for many, who attend, the art fair in Cape Town are privileged to see the tone being set for what is to be expected from galleries, artists and curators, alike, in 2022. At the same time, we can also understand that as an artist creates in the midst of such an enormous puncture in our reality, the reigns of power, drastically change, bringing a new dawn of works. 

Cinthia Sifa Mulenga

No one could have prepared us for the rise of Cinthia Sifa Mulenga. She has continued from strength to strength. Her mixed media works of sensual images of black women, moving forward through their lives, navigating ‘beauty’ and its contradictions has catapulted Mulenga as a maverick in her own right. Unlike most creatives, her social presence is consistently showcasing her ability to engage multiple audiences and remain relevant to communities of a broad spectrum.

Black women remain active in her art – making, bestowing dignity, respect and substance for many to witness at this year’s fair. A debut showing at this year’s fair, Mulenga presents 3 works, in collaboration with Botho Project Space as well as Latitudes Online. Botho Project Space was created by Nelson Makamo in 2019, to provide a natural transition for artists such as Mulenga, who choose to create on their own terms. Mulenga, a young force has been absolutely certain of her trajectory and talent through their mentoring.

The investment value of Mulenga’s work is increasing with each exhibition, project and her participation in international shows, which Latitudes Online has enabled for close to 2 years. Mulenga’s works encourage the viewer to see the parallels in which she draws from, pursuing a narrative,unique to her own heritage, background and experiences.

Mavis Tauzeni

A masterful, magical combination of figurative and abstract painting imparted by Tauzeni cannot be missed in 2022. One is immediately captured by her use of colour surrounded by patterns of grand size. Not a single of Tauzeni’s pieces leaves you not desiring to surrender to a tone of a world with harmonious rapture.

The point of Tauzeni’s work is to denote much more than the technique, which may very well be an outstanding feature to also be one of the Cape Town Art Fair’s Tomorrow /Today Art Prize recipients, however it is also to marry enormous ideas of pleasure and freedom and also mourn many other parts of Zimbabwe’s unpredictable circumstances. A word that comes to mind while witnessing Tauzeni’s works is omniscient. Mavis Tauzeni is part of the artist roster for the Harare – based, First Floor Gallery.

Luyanda Zindela

It’s no surprise to see Zindela honouring narratives of safe spaces, friendships, kindred spirits and times that represent kin when moments require such bonds. Much of Lindela’s body of work is steeped in memory and archiving the messages from encounters he has had with his peers. A Sepedi reference to this kind of creation would be the word, “Thake”, denoting someone who can be or is your peer. Life takes shape and is real within the margins of conversations with those we choose to be family and that is something Zindela does so well in his work. The artist is at ease with the people he profiles, capturing each and every comment, without fail..

As a curator and an artist, Zindela references his friends to enter a space of unadulterated territory, taunting the viewer to interrogate the ways in which they measure the depth of each conversation they are able to have with their own “people’. How real are these conversations? What is the main purpose of the conversations? Do they ever become more than just conversations? And when can it be that these conversions become reality? In 2021, Zindela had his solo show at SMAC Gallery and continues to be part of the artist roster. 

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

18 < 20 February 2022

CTICC, Cape Town (South Africa)

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Always pushing the against the odds, in 2020 1-54: Contemporary African Art Fair was one of the only fairs to continue to stage physical editions as most retreated to the digital sphere during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. Touria El Glaoui, its determined founder and director, forged ahead and staged physical editions in Marrakech, Paris, and London—the only in-person fair to take place in the British capital in October 2020. This time last year it opened its doors as a hybrid digital-cum-physical event in its regular location of Somerset House with only 20 exhibitors staging booths—close to half of its normal participation. This year, its returned to its London birthplace for its ninth edition stronger than ever—with a record 48 exhibitors, among which 20 are from Africa. 

The UK’s relaxed pandemic travel restrictions made it finally possible for many to travel to London without having to undergo the previous mandatory 10-day quarantine. The return of Frieze London and Frieze Masters also meant that footfall to the British capital soared during the week of 11-17 October, with many scuttling between the African fair, Frieze and other exhibitions and events in London. 

“It feels like a celebration,” El Glaoui told Artskop. “People are just so happy to be back. Artists from Africa and the African diaspora are having a real moment because you can see that most of the galleries outside the fair are now presenting artists from African descent. There’s something about this moment—whether it is due to Black Lives Matter or something else—

There is definitely an engagement that we have not seen before in terms of VIP collectors booking in advance to buy.”

Strong Sales and Record African Galleries at 1-54 London’s Ninth Edition 

Sales were swift and strong, with many galleries having sold artworks even before the VIP’s opening day—a fact El Glaoui admitted that left many collectors disappointed and surprised as they eagerly rushed to the fair to buy during the fair’s first few hours. 

“Many of the collectors were upset because many of the works were sold already,” said El Glaoui. “People are selling early because the times are difficult, and dealers want to be sure that there is a real return.”

The first work guests confronted was “Nothing Can Separate Us,” the vibrant commissioned installation by London-based artist Lakwena Maciver placed in the courtyard of Somerset House of 20 paintings showcasing full-sized basketball courts—each roughly 3 x 1.5 meters—painted in acrylic with powerful messages in both English and African languages. While guests relished in moments to take a pause on the works before entering to the main exhibition, most were unaware that half of the sculptures, from the series “I’ll bring you flowers,” had already been sold in the realm of $27,400 by Vigo Gallery.

Fridman Gallery from New York almost sold out on the first day, selling a $50,000 work by Nate Lewis to a museum in Cardiff, Wales as well as another work by the artist for $28,000 to a collector on the Tate Acquisitions Committee, and two works by Ethiopian Hana Yilma Godine for $25,000 to a Paris-based collector.

London and Accra-based Gallery 1957 sold several works in the opening hours of the fair for between $4,800 and 27,500. The gallery showed works by Serge Attukwei Clottey, Godfried Donkor, Afia Prempeh, Lord Ohene, Arthur Timothy and Cornelius Annor. 

Long-time 1-54 fair participant Addis Fine Art from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was on a roll this year. The gallery, which recently opened a new permanent 2,000 square foot space in London on Eastcastle Street, in the heart of Fitzrovia’s gallery district, was in addition to 1-54, also participating in Frieze London for the first time. It sold out its booth at Frieze, showcasing works by Biomorphic abstractionist painter Merikokeb Berhanu and at 1-54 they sold out works by Tesfaye Urgessa for approximately $13,700 each. 

“For 1-54 we decided to showcase works by four artists from the Ethiopia diaspora, who each broach topics of migration and race from their own personal lens,” Rakeb Sile told Artskop. The gallery’s booth at 1-54 showcased a multidisciplinary display of sculpture, minimalist abstract painting, collage, and figurative monotypes.

“For our first time exhibiting at frieze which is a major milestone for us, we are exhibiting the works of painter Merikokeb Berhanu who has been with us since the beginning, and we have always felt her work should be seen on the art world’s biggest stages, so we are delighted to be exhibiting her work at frieze London,” added Sile. 

Other sales included four sculptures by Donald Wasswa priced between $4,800 and $10,300 and two hangings by Dickens Otieno for between $8,900 and $10,293 at Circle Art Gallery from Nairobi, Kenya, and three oil paintings on fabric by Bunmi Agusto from newcomer DADA Gallery from Lagos, Nigeria. The paintings sold for approximately $11,000 to a London-Nigerian-based collector. “Agusto“, says El Glaoui, “is an artist to watch.”

“We’ve had a great start to our fair season at 1-54,” said Linda Pyke, director of Cape Town-based THK Gallery. “It’s good to be back in a vibrant London, reconnecting with collectors, institutions and new art enthusiasts.” South Africa’s has had a particularly challenging run of coronavirus restrictions, with the country only taken off the UK’s red list on October 11, allowing entry for full-vaccinated South Africans.

“Our young artists are accessibly priced in the $6,900 to $15,000 range, we’ve had strong sales, including five Lulama Wolf paintings, five hand-made tapestries by Pierre Le Riche, four Lerato Motaung paintings, and three sculptures by Jake Michael Singer,” added Pyke. 

A Tune of Success for African Art at 1-54 London 

For a market that is still relatively new to the art world, 1-54 London’s success is testament to the fact that art from Africa and its diasporas remains one of the art market’s most in demands segments. The 48 galleries hailed from 19 countries across Europe, Africa, and North America, including Angola, Belgium, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Switzerland, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States. “We had the biggest number ever of applicants—around 100,” said El Glaoui. “This was a real surprise given that we were still dealing with coronavirus restrictions.”

This year the fair welcomed galleries from Brazil for the first time, marking a new venture into the African diaspora. “There’s a new trend towards Afro-Brazilian art now,” said El Glaoui. Participating galleries from Brazil included HOA Gallery from São Paulo.

Always at the cutting-edge of the art world’s latest ventures while bringing them home to Africa, 1-54 also staged, as part of its special projects, a collaboration with Christie’s: the Osinachi x Christie’s NFT Series. The fair is pairing up with Christie’s in an auction of Different Shades of Water, an NFT series by Nigerian crypto-artist Osinachi. The NFTs will be offered in Christie’s First Open: Post-War and Contemporary Art Online auction sale, which is open to bidding until 19 October. 

Osinachi’s dreamy works could be seen at the end of Somerset House’s east wing. Born Prince Jason Osinachi Igwe, the visual artist explores personal experience within a technological environment and known as one of Africa’s leading crypto artists. “Aesthetically and through their creation, the artist’s work explores visible existence “as an act of protest,” according to a statement at the fair.

This year’s success and vibrancy signaled once again the intellectual, visual, and creative powerhouse that is art from Africa and its diasporas. Yet the journey is still ongoing as art from the continent and beyond now takes its rightful place in the international art world game. It’s a place as so many agree and as the wealth of new collectors, galleries, and artwork sales show, is here to stay.

“I always try to remind people that the value we put on art from the continent is still not at the level of western artists yet,” added El Glaoui. “Let’s not forget that the journey is still ongoing.”

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The ninth edition of the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair at Somerset House will take place from 14 to 17 October 2021 and will feature work from 48 leading international galleries from 23 countries across Europe, Africa and North America. Among the exhibitors this year are 20 galleries from Africa, a record number of galleries from the continent, and of the 48 exhibitors, 14 galleries will be welcomed to the London fair for the first time.

1-54 London 2021 Exhibitors:

• 31 PROJECT (Paris, France)
• 50 Golborne (London, United Kingdom)
• Addis Fine Art (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)
• AFIKARIS (Paris, France)
• Afriart Gallery (Kampala, Uganda)
• Beardsmore Gallery (London, United Kingdom)
• Berman Contemporary (Johannesburg, South Africa)
• Bubble’n’Squeak (Brussels, Belgium)
• Circle Art Gallery (Nairobi, Kenya)
• Claire Oliver Gallery (New York, USA)
• DADA Gallery (Lagos, Nigeria)
• EBONY/CURATED (Cape Town, South Africa)
• Ed Cross Fine Art (London, United Kingdom)
• Foreign Agent (Lausanne, Switzerland)
• Fridman Gallery (New York, USA)
• Galerie Atiss Dakar (Dakar, Senegal)
• Galerie Carole Kvasnevski (Paris, France)
• Galerie Dominique Fiat  (Paris, France)
• Galerie Eric Dupont (Paris, France)
• Galerie Le Sud (Zurich, Switzerland)
• Galerie Number 8 (Brussels, Belgium)
• Gallery 1957 (Accra, Ghana/London, UK)
• Guns & Rain (Johannesburg, South Africa)
• HOA Galeria (São Paulo, Brazil)
• Jack Bell Gallery (London, United Kingdom)
• Kalashnikovv Gallery (Johannesburg, South Africa)
• Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery (London, United Kingdom/Berlin, Germany/Nevlunghavn, Norway)
• La Galerie 38 (Casablanca, Morocco)
• Loft Art Gallery (Casablanca, Morocco)
• LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery (Abidjan, Ivory Coast)
• Luce Gallery (Turin, Italy)
• Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art (Cairo, Egypt)
• Montague Contemporary (New York, USA)
• Nil Gallery (Paris, France)
• Nuweland (Oosterzee, The Netherlands)
• OOA Gallery (Barcelona, Spain)
• October Gallery (London, United Kingdom)
• Retro Africa (Abuja, Nigeria)
• Richard Saltoun Gallery (London, United Kingdom)
• Sakhile&Me (Frankfurt, Germany)
• SMO Contemporary Art (Lagos, Nigeria)
• Sulger-Buel Gallery (London, United Kingdom)
• THIS IS NOT A WHITE CUBE (Luanda, Angola /Lisbon, Portugal)
• THK Gallery (Cape Town, South Africa)
• UBUNTU Art Gallery (Cairo, Egypt)
• Vigo Gallery (London, United Kingdom)
• Wilde (Geneva, Basel, Zurich, Switzerland)
• Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix (London, United Kingdom)

1-54 Forum

The fair will be accompanied by 1-54 Forum, an extensive programme of artist talks, panels, screenings, performances and readings that will be curated by Dr. Omar Kholeif, Director of Collections and Senior Curator at Sharjah Art Foundation, and will take place both online and at Somerset House.

Entitled Continental Drift, the Forum is a choreography that will unfold in slow-motion over the course of 1-54 London 2021. Transmutations of time and the anxious hysteria of the free-wheeling present collide in an interwoven series of exchanges that unfold in conversation, song, and dance that echo across broad expanses of time. Across four days, hushed silences find their expression in intimate moments staged between artists and audiences; mediators and narrators, who collectively delve into themes of legacy, philanthropy, and digitality.

Exploring this interstitial moment in history, 1-54 Forum explores the concept of the drift as a moment for gradual reflection—a cumulative act of knowledge gathering, a dance from one end of the continent to another, oscillating gently: deep time in constant motion. Conceived as a symphonic reverie—a production of tessellating forms, movement, and action unfold as dissonant variations traveling through topics and themes that encompass ecology and ruin, antiquity and futurism. Conceived in fragments, Continental Drift is a modular concerto that explores the engine of empire; the jagged contours of history; the imagined scarcity of resources and how these various facets converge into resounding rendition—an imagined landscape for the future. Part ballad, part pop song; minor details and minor feelings rise to the surface—amplified into an interleaving chamber of resonant voices.

The ‘voice’ in this context is intended to embody a polyphonic spree of dissonant varieties, invoking concepts of Négritude and Black emotion; exploring solidarity movements; moments of rupture, fracture, and re-constitution to proffer a context for new forms of visual culture to emerge. In this regard, ‘the drift’ is conceived as a collective act of marching, in slow motion, towards the future. Discover the complet program of the 1-54 Forum here.

Specials projects and Christies x 1-54

Lakwena Maciver commissioned for 1-54 Courtyard Sculpture at Somerset House

London-based artist Lakwena Maciver, has been selected for the 2021 edition of the 1-54 Courtyard Sculpture Commission. With the support of Vigo Gallery, Maciver will be creating 20 large and interactive basketball paintings in her signature bold style.

Along with the basketball paintings that will take over the courtyard this fall, Lakwena Maciver’s powerful Nothing Can Separate Us flags will fill the Somerset House West Wing corridor. Each of the 12 flags is hand-stitched and boasts a unique colour combination. First conceived as a painting in 2020, the work evolved into a larger series that took on a wider meaning as the world witnessed the harsh reality of the coronavirus pandemic. As London, and the rest of the world, has slowly emerged from lockdown, the message on the flags still resonates deeply. The flag installation at Somerset House follows a public installation by the artist in Covent Garden, where flags bearing the same Nothing Can Separate Us message lined King Street and Henrietta Street. 

Redefining The Trend – Histories in the making

Additionally, as part of the programme of 1-54 Special Projects, the fair will once again be partnering with Christie’s to present REDEFINING THE TREND – Histories in the Making, an exhibition at the Duke Street space curated by art historian and art critic Christine Eyene. The exhibition explores how new artistic practices from Africa and the diaspora contribute to the defining of present aesthetics, discourses, and creative processes while opening new chapters in the continent’s art histories.

Bringing together works created over the past year, during what we have come to know as ‘unprecedented times,’ this exhibition looks at how artists navigate the unknown through artistic visions that reassert their creative approach and allow scope for experimentation. The selection of works emphasises the variety and richness of the materials used and techniques developed by the artists. Through this, coming to the fore are personal and collective histories, and societal issues, envisaged from reflective, abstract, and process-based perspectives.

REDEFINING THE TREND posits practices at a particular moment that is both contemporary and historical. It also anchors them in a context that is producing ruptures from which only something new can emerge.

Partnership with Christie’s + NFTs at 1-54

1-54 Online Powered by Christie’s will also return, providing a virtual experience where visitors will encounter additional works displayed by participating galleries as well as highlights from the fair itself.

From Thursday 14 – Sunday 31 October 2021, works from 1-54 will be available to purchase and view on Artsy for an extended period of time following the close of the official show.

1-54 in collaboration with Christie’s presents an auction of Nigerian crypto-artist Osinachi’s NFT series Different Shades of Water. For the first time, Christie’s will have a presence at an art fair with a booth showcasing Osinachi’s NFTs. The digital artworks associated with the NFTs will be on view at 1-54 London 2021, curated by Daria Borisova. The online NFT auction will mark the first NFT by a contemporary African artist offered by Christie’s in Europe and is the first NFT collaboration for 1-54. The digital artworks associated with the NFTs in Different Shades of Water will be exhibited at Somerset House during the fair, with the online-only auction for the NFTs, First Open: Post-War and Contemporary Art Online, taking place from 5 to 19 October. Christie’s partnership with 1-54 demonstrates the auction house’s commitment to showcasing contemporary African art to their global client base. This is in addition to the 1-54 Online Powered by Christie’s platform that enhances exposure internationally.

Considered Africa’s foremost crypto artist, Osinachi (born Prince Jacon Osinachi Igwe, 1991), is a Nigerian visual artist whose work explores personal experiences within a technological environment. Aesthetically and procedurally, Osinachi’s work explores visible existence as protest by depicting and reimagining how individuals and collectives engage in advocacy for freedom of identity by thwarting societal expectations. Find out more about the complet Special Projects here.

1-54 Annual book

Having published over 15 highly regarded and celebrated fair catalogues since its founding in 2013, 1-54 announces the creation of a new ouvrage which is set to be launched at their London edition: The 1-54 Annual Book.

The 1-54 Annual Book is quintessential of all the artists, galleries, programming and knowledge platformed at and presented by 1-54 over a single year. The inaugural 1-54 Annual Book is a substantial endeavour that will include four editions of the fair from 2020 – 2021: 1-54 London 2020; 1-54 Paris 2021; 1-54 New York 2021 and 1-54 London 2021. Alongside a biography and work for every artist presented (300+) and a profile about every gallery (60+), the book also includes transcriptions of three of the most impactful and memorable panel discussions at 1-54 Forum and unique artist interviews.

The 1-54 Annual Book, is a reflection of a year of challenges where adaptation was the keyword. It is a statement of creativity, innovation, resilience, and a commitment to the broader mission: the fair’s dedication to showcasing contemporary art from Africa and its diasporas. Pre-order now here!

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair

14 – 17 October 2021

Somerset House – London

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It’s hard to gauge the temperature of an online art fair. You don’t get to chat to gallerists or their staff on the floor, experience the throng on opening night or spy which gallery sold out before the fair ended. Online art fairs are different animals in every sense. Over a year into the online art fairs game, we also know now that they are not that effective at attracting sales. As the UBS Global Art Report 2021 indicated in 2020 art dealers only derived 13% of their income from fairs whereas a year previously they generated 43% of all sales from them. 

Given a degree of online fatigue is likely to have set in, and the glut of online art content that is out there and art buyers attention turning to real live art fairs – the recent Armory and upcoming Art Basel, Frieze London and 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair  – interest in online art fairs might be waning.

This is the context in which Investec Cape Town Art Fair (ICTAF) launched its first digital platform last week and by all accounts, from gallerists and the organisers themselves, there wasn’t as much engagement and sales as had been expected.

Owned by the Italian events company Fiera Milano, this fair is the largest and certainly the most ‘international’ one on the African continent.  Not only does this fair attract a large contingent of collectors from Europe, but almost 40% of the commercial galleries  that participated last year were European-based.

Their last live fair – which took place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in February 2020 – boasted over 100 exhibition stands and the participation of 72 commercial galleries – the rest were non-profits, media publications or printing studios. With all the ancillary events that have blossomed up around this art fair – with the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art, the Norval Foundation, the A4, Iziko South African National Art Gallery all putting on a strong programme to entertain all the art visitors to the city, this annual event has fast become a must-do one on the African continent.

How is it possible to translate this buzz, activity and all the sales it generates for the dealers on an online portal? It’s an impossible task and this may be why Fiera Milano were hesitant to launch an online version in February this year.   

“People are finding their way around the digital world and now that is part of the art world but we really wanted to host a physical fair,” commented Sophie Lalonde, head of VIPs and partnerships at ICTAF.

Visitors and number of sales

This online edition with technology facilitated by Art Shell was paired with the Milan-based Miart, another art event staged by the Italian Fiera Milano. “We wanted to leverage Fiero Milano-owned fairs and the database of VIPS…  we can give more access to other galleries (from outside SA) and allow our galleries access to their VIPs,” says Lelonde. 

Exactly how much ‘eye’ traffic flowed from Miart to ICTAF is not certain. Some of the South African galleries – Worldart, Ebony/Curated and Southern Guild  – all reported that they did virtually meet some new collectors. However, based on the figures, the majority of visitors to the website – 69% – were South African-based, while the rest – 31% – hailed from other parts of the world, according to Fiera Milano.

All in all, visitor numbers to the online fair were substantially lower than the foot-traffic at their 2020 live fair last year. While last year brought 22 000 visitors to the art fair, they only attracted 3415 unique users. This is unusual, given the Joburg-based Turbine Art Fair attracted double the number of visitors to their online version last year. 

These low visitor numbers reflected in a reportedly poor enquiry rate.

“Most of us have only had a handful of enquiries unfortunately,” observed Julie Taylor of the Joburg-based Guns & Rain. Danda Jaroljmek of the Nairobi-based Circle Art Gallery was very disappointed.“We had no interest, no contacts and no sales,” she reported. 

This may have been due to the live ‘chat’ device, which one gallerist, who wished to remain anonymous, observed had “confused a few visitors. Only experienced collectors knew to provide emails for follow up, and while we of course requested emails for everyone making requests, we lost some because those people where possibly not online at the time. I think an easier interface was required.’

Afronova, Ecletica, Suburbia, Smac, Ebony/Curated, Worldart galleries and the Arthrob non-profit platform, all reported sales, according to Fiera Milano. 

As of Monday, some galleries, Southern Guild, Melrose Gallery, MmArt House – reported that they had yet to secure a sale.

“It’s a bit soon to say anything or nothing sold but there was quite a lot of engagement and interest to get a preview VIP ticket,” said Trevyn McGowan of Cape Town-based Southern Guild.

Yet, some gallerists, such as Busi Tsiki, from MmArthouse, who have yet to participate in a live ICTAF event, found their participation as a useful means of testing out which artists they should bring to the fair when it takes place in real life in February 2022.

“It helped solidify our direction and strategy for the physical fairs and for the artists we work with,” said Tsiki. “There is a benefit in visibility to a client that you would not have otherwise reached. As a small gallery, participation also keeps us relevant in the art community,” she added.

Other gallerists seemed to concur with this view – that online fairs were less about sales and more about maintaining visibility. 

“Events like this present an opportunity to promote and actual sales realise over a longer period than just the actual fair days, so it is too early to tell how successful it was. I am happy with the result and it definitely was worth the effort,” said Charl Bezuidenhout, director of Cape Town-based Worldart. 

The content of the art on the online platform seemed to align with this perspective with many of the galleries, not bringing new works to the fair but rather using the platform to market existing shows being staged in their galleries. This was the case with Stevenson and Blank Projects among others from South Africa and Osart, the Milan based gallery, which all presented solo exhibitions that are currently or have been staged in their galleries. 

This to some degree has been a characteristic of online fairs – the works on offer are not new – having been shown on other online portals or exhibitions. This has perhaps contributed to less engagement and sales on these platforms as the drive to see and acquire new works under pressure is what has made live art fairs so successful. In the past, aside from solo booths, most galleries tend to offer works from all their ‘star’ artists at art fairs. 

The content of the fair

There was a lot of art and other content – videos and interviews – to view. This online fair accommodated 54 exhibitors of which 49 are bona-fide commercial galleries. In this way the online fair was almost half the size as the live one. There was a smaller contingent of European-based galleries. Artistic expression from Northern Africa was channelled through some new participants, African Arty (Casablanca/France), Mashrabia (Cairo) and Rhizome (Algiers). 

An abundance of black portraiture was to be found, given the heightened interest in this genre on the auction circuit and in the US. There was interest in some newcomers working in this vein such as by the young Zimbabwean artist Tafadzwa Tega whose use of flat pattern and colour generated sales for Ebony/Curated. 

African patterns and prints infused the portraiture of Angolan artist’s Osvaldo Ferreira’s paintings offered by This is not a White Cube. Cape Town-based Christopher Moller focussed on portraits of black subjects by a range of artists from different countries, such as Idris Habib  and Daniel Tetteh Nartey both from Ghana, Tjaša Rener from Slovenia and Barry Usufu from Nigeria. The pop aesthetic – flat, bold colours and stylisation dominated these artists approaches. 

Artists whose works do well on or are features of dedicated African auctions such as William Kentridge, Franck Kemkeng Noah, and Zemba Luzamba, Goncaldo Mabunda and Esther Mahlangu,  were naturally offered by galleries.  It was works and presentations by some newcomers to the art scene that were more interesting to discover such as Patrick Akpojotor’s (Nigeria) Escheresque charcoal drawings, or Marwan El Gamal’s (Egypt) dense utopian landscapes, or Bahati Simoens’s (Burundi) headless subjects presenting a wry twist on the portraiture theme. Daniel Malan was perhaps the only artist presenting an NFT (non-fungible token) work for sale on OpenSea via the fair. The animated underwater scene depicted in his NFT work related to his paintings offered by Plot Gallery, resulting in a viable integration between object and digital based art. 

This draws attention to perhaps one of the benefits of online art fairs in the African art market – due to the fact that there is less risk and costs involved in presenting new emerging artists work and there are less barriers for small upcoming galleries and spaces to participate in an established art fair such as this, they present the opportunity to really make some new discoveries. This is something that had become increasingly harder in the live events. 

Images in the slideshow:  Stella by Idris Habib featured on Christopher Moller’s virtual stand; ZiziphoPoswa’s Magodi Nokwanda offered by Souther Guild. Picture by Christof van der Walt.

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As per every February, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair should have taken place in Marrakesh. Due to the current pandemic circumstances, the fair exceeds itself and presents a hybrid format – for the first time at Christie’s Paris, opening for VIPS from the 18^th January, and for all public online (www.christies.com) from 20^th to the 23^rd January 2021. 

Under strict safety measures, the fair that specialises in contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora will be opening its doors to a French audience. 

“Following the postponement of the Marrakesh edition due to Covid regulations, we were formulating ideas for how we could still support our galleries and artists in this extremely challenging time. We realised we would have to move beyond our established model and take advantage of an opportunity offered to us by Christie’s Paris. So, this is a unique edition born out of the exceptional circumstances.” ^[1]

She offers space for 21 internationally renowned galleries, mainly from the African continent and Europe, including 68 artists by: Galleria Continua, Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Luce Gallery, Nil Gallery, Gallery 1957, This Is Not A White Cube, Galerie MAGNIN-A et Galerie Lelong & Co, among others.

This time, the exhibition programme will have a strong international audience as it will be fully available online on the Christie’s website, allowing for a wider opportunity to sell and deliver artworks around the world. 

“More than ever, we are dedicated to platforming contemporary artists from Africa and its diaspora, challenging the misconceptions laid upon artists from the continent by Western-based cultural institutions and encouraging sustainable and engaged collecting practices by all. For now, we are just doing this on a smaller scale and more adaptable format.” ^[2]

1-54 wants to be a platform hosting plural narratives by demonstrating a diversity of identities. Visitors will have the opportunity to discover or rediscover the works of Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien at the 50 Golborne. Her work presents a cultural syncretism of her identity between France, Guadeloupe and Ivory Coast. She presents hybrid representations of rituals and cultures, within her mixed media installations from textile to wood and copper to clay. There will be a key contribution from the Casablanca-based Loft Art Gallery that will be presenting the eclectic photographer Mous Lamrabat, the documentary photographer M’hammed Kilito and the visual artist and photographer Joana Choumali.

The latter depicts the African world that surrounds her daily, through photography; during her travels or from local scenes in her hometown, Abidjan, in Ivory Coast where she currently lives. Her photographic explorations further come to life with the use of colourful sewing on the print itself. A sewing element that has become a key meditative process in the production of her work. 

Not to be missed is the presentation by Nú Barreto at the Nathalie Obadia Gallery. The artist puts an accent on the continent with a focus on the denunciation of striking inequality, discrimination and oppressive systems that are deeply inscribed. He does so through drawings, paintings and video works – an urgent practicewhich offers a critical stance on current politics. 

Finally, another important stop is to be made to the Cécile Fakhoury Gallery to see the presentation of visual artist Roméo Mivekannin who closely works with ethnographic photography and classical paintings from the 19^th century – a key historical period in the articulation of a discourse on otherness in the dehumanising context of the slave trade and ravaging colonialism. His acrylic on bain d’élixir canvas strongly relate to two popular mediums capturing the black body, echoing very much with yesterday and today’s ongoing representations. 

In parallel to the exhibitions, it is within the online Forum 1-54 that Morocco remains present. The programmeCrafting wor[l]ds: for a vernacular economy of art, is curated by Le 18, an “independent platform of creation, dissemination and cultural and artistic exchanges based in Marrakesh” ^[1] which will be broadcasted from their space during the fair and throughout February. 

The discursive platform is fundamental in contextualising artistic, cultural, political and social discourses about the contemporary African scene, orchestrated with and by its main actors. The programme will be focusing on the theme of resonance, as they “propose to look at the ways in which new ecologies of cultural practices are emerging, drawing from vernacular principles and circular dynamics.” ^[2]

It will include long-term collaborators invited by Le 18 and their “proposal unfolds along seemingly diverging, and yet converging and intersecting lines, to explore some of the material and immaterial sites and infrastructures of cultural and economic production, reproduction and circulation, by establishing a protocol of diffused curatorship for each knot composing our canvas.” ^[3]For this unique edition, the 1-54 temporarily settle in the French cultural landscape, echoing the fair AKAA (Also Known As Africa) and coinciding with the AFRICA 2020 season (now 2021), among others – initiatives that are most necessary for the visibility of African artistic and cultural discourses in France

^[1] [2] Quote taken from an email conversation with Touria El Glaoui, Founding Director of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair.

^[3] This quote was taken from the Le 18 website, available at https://le18marrakech.com/about/

^[4] [5] This quote was taken from the fair’s website, available at https://www.1-54.com/paris/1-54-forum/

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Despite the cancellation of Frieze London and Frieze Masters, the pioneering art fair for contemporary and modern African art 1-54 decided to go ahead as planned. While the hassles arising from the unceasing global coronavirus pandemic have put a damper on most international art fairs, Touria El Glaoui, founder and director of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair decide to spearhead along as planned.

“We have a responsibility to our galleries and artists to support them and platform their work,” said El Glaoui. “This is even more so the case in challenging times when opportunities to do so are less accessible or unable to continue as they usually would. The contemporary African art scene is made up of numerous of art scenes that have each felt COVID-19 in different and, at times unpredictable ways. They need to have support.”

This year, there are 36 international exhibitors from across Europe, Africa and North America showcasing more than 110 in the fair’s physical and online edition. For the first time the fair has partnered with Christie’s to produce a simultaneous digital fair that opens it up to more exhibitors—those who may not wish to travel because of various restrictions. With Christie’s it will also host a 1-54 pop-up exhibition at the Duke Street Gallery in London. The fair’s regular 1-54 Forum talks program will also take place curated this year by Contemporary And (C&), titled “I felt like a Black guy from New York trapped in Peru” inspired by the productive networks of creatives of the Global Diaspora.

“For the first time the entire program will be focusing on creative ties between Afro-Latin America, The Caribbean and Africa,” explained El Glaoui. “Talks will be exploring a multitude of art scenes; the ‘Modes of Resistance’ panel will discuss current urgencies and strategies in the context of the Brazilian art scenes, while the panel ‘A View from the Other Side of Things’ will discuss notions of inequality and invisibility in Colombia’s creative art sector through afro-Colombian perspectives. There will also be a keynote led by Aldeide Delgado exploring the use of the expression ‘Latinx.’”

Other highlights of the fair include several solo exhibitions, including DuduBloom More at Berman Contemporary; Anya Paintsil at Ed Cross Fine Art and Ekene Maduka at Polartics.

There’s also a special free exhibition staged in collaboration with Somerset House by late French Moroccan photographer Leila Alaoui called Rite of Passage assembling a range of works from the artist’s rich body of photography portraying the cultural identities and resilience of societies facing difficult and uncertain circumstances. The subjects captured are those to which Alaoui dedicated her life to tell their plight. They are Syrian refugees fleeing civil war in Lebanon as well as North Africans seeking a new life in Europe. On show are three of Alaoui’s pivotal series of photographic works created between 2008 and 2014: Les Marocains (2010), No Pasara (2008) and Natreen (2013).

Alaoui was tragically killed in 2016 at the age of 33 while working on a photography project for a women’s rights campaign for Amnesty International in Burkina Faso.

“At a time when many peoples attentions are understandably focused at home, lives in other parts of the world can feel particularly distant,” said Grace Perrett, Exhibitions Manager at Somerset House and curator of the exhibition.

“Documenting the lives of migrants in No Pasara, and those fleeing the Syrian conflictin Natreen (We Wait), Alaoui’s photographs are a timely reminder that these global crises persist,” she added. “As documented in recent news reports, migrants are still making the dangerous journey across the sea to Europe and those already living in precarious conditions in refugee camps are vulnerable to outbreaks of COVID-19.”

1-54 is an art fair long committed not just to the buying and selling of art from the African continent, but to the dissemination of knowledge and a growth of understanding about Africa.

“Beyond the market and growth, the arts have a tremendous power to help society through tough times and to help us interpret and manage our world, arts are imperative to this moment,” added El Glaoui. “We all turn to some form of creative expression in times of difficulty, so if there was ever a time to support the arts, it is now.”

Tickets on sale now for the public day on Saturday 10 October, with 2-hour time slots available to book all day from 10:00-20:00.

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There are love stories that are written over the long term, which is the case of the one that Art Paris has established with the African continent over the last three years, when they put the spotlight on it. “The focus on African creation in 2017 has perpetuated this presence of the continent on Art Paris by putting contemporary African art in touch with galleries and artists from around the world,” says Guillaume Piens, the fair’s general curator, who continues “We are delighted with the strong African presence this year at Art Paris with more than twenty artists from 11 countries of the continent: South Africa, Algeria, Cameroon, Congo, Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and Zimbabwe. There will be famous names like Hamed Abdalle, Soly Cissé, Katherine Cooper or Hassan Hajjaj but also discoveries like Clay Apenouvon, Epheas Maposa or Moustapha Baidi Oumarou.” Furthermore this effervescence, let us note that some galleries are very young since they were created in 2019, which is the case for Véronique Rieffel, 31 project and Septieme Gallery or in 2018 for Afikaris. So many of these galleries are participating for the first time at Art Paris.

Clémence Houdart of 31 Project is very proud of the selection, along with Epheas Maposa, a young Zimbabwean painter who is starting to be on the radar internationally but who is being presented for the very first time in France (an expressionist painting where twisted bodies are a reference to the political situation in Zimbabwe), and two other artists who have had visibility in France only through the gallery’s exhibitions, Kelani Abass and Temitayo Ogunbiyi.

On the stand of the 193 Gallery, we will be pleased to find the dynamic, lively and colorful photographs of Hassan Hajjaj or the minimalist paintings of Sebastien Mehal which are as many reflections on architecture and the weight of urbanism. The A2Z gallery highlights an installation by Rachid Koraïchi from 2016, Les Priants, the Loft a monumental ankle of Yazid Oulab and the Provost-Hacker gallery proposes a solo show dedicated to Mahjoub Ben Bella who left us last June 11th, right before a tribute that will be dedicated to him by the Institut du Monde Arabe and a retrospective scheduled in October 2021 at the MUba of Tourcoing.

Many artists address social issues, as it is the case for Willys Kezi or Roméo Mivekannin at Éric Dupont who describes: “His preferred subject is the body, more particularly the black body and its representations throughout history. The artist speaks of the veil that separates individuals, those who do not share the same skin color, everything about him evokes this confrontation, as much his preoccupations as the very materiality of his works. He stands on this edge and through his practice, tries to attract to himself those who look at him, he solicits us and asks a fundamental question: that of the tearing of this veil.”

The discussion continues around slavery at the Chauvy gallery, which is exhibiting Soly Cissé’s Champs de coton, an installation questioning the role of the memory of slavery and its contemporary persistence. Wole Lagunju, whose country, Nigeria, paid a heavy price for this traffic, freely combines portraits of artistic sources from various eras of Western art with masks from Yoruba culture.

At Afikaris, we go into the current news with Asiko’s series ‘A black life matters’. His photographs are both beautiful and disturbing because of the overwhelming and suffocating weight of the American flag on the muscular body of the man photographed. His direct response to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Jean David Nkot comes to jostle us in our daily comfort assisted by smartphones and other electronic devices whose components come from mines whose exploitation is akin to slavery. His latest series, ‘Les creuseurs de sous-sol‘ (The underground diggers), shows us the workers whose sacrifice for our comfort is unknown to us.

Moustapha Baidi Oumarou offers an optimistic outlook on the situation, as does Grégory Olympio, the latter to be found on the stand of the Seventh Gallery.

Véronique Rieffel, who has chosen to settle in Ivory Coast, invites three artists from Morocco, Senegal and Togo to present together their works, some of them unpublished, made during or in the immediate post-confinement period, in a creative emergency. “As a counterpoint to the exhibition ”Soleils noirs” presented at the Louvre Lens in an exclusively Western perspective, it seemed appropriate to us to present here works offering a plastic exploration of the depth of the color black, sublimated by its association with gold, and the primary colors red, yellow and blue, through ”plastic paintings”, digital printing and photography,” she says.

There will be Najia Mehadji’s arabesques, syntheses between Sufism and abstract expressionism, the photographs of Alun Be’s EVOL project, which highlights the often hidden role of women left out of history, and the monumental works of Clay Apenouvon who developed the concept of “Plastic Attack” to challenge the public on the harmfulness of plastic. “Heir to Arte Povera, Christo, from whom he takes up the principle of art as packaging, or Soulages and his intense exploration of black, Clay Apenouvon sublimates materials such as plastic, black plastic film and the survival blanket that he transforms into precious gold. »

Finally, we will find Omar Ba at the Templon gallery presented by Anne-Claudie Coric, the executive director of the gallery: “Omar Ba, who has long worked between Europe (Geneva) and Africa (Dakar), has for the past two years been enjoying growing recognition in Europe as well as in America. In December at Art Basel Miami Beach all his paintings sold in a few hours. In 2018-2019, he had a wonderful retrospective in Canada (Power plant in Toronto and then the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) which made him famous across the Atlantic. He has been selected for the prestigious ISCP artist residency in Brooklyn which, even if it had to be interrupted due to the health crisis, should be a great boost to international recognition.

Omar Ba is Senegalese but refuses to be locked into the category of “African art”. His painting attempts a dialogue with the history of art, encourages links between continents, and his message, although rooted in an African political reality, is profoundly universal. He wonders about issues of globalization, ecology, information, the future of youth, the hybridization of cultures. I think this is also one of the reasons for its success. His work appeals to collectors of contemporary art in the broadest sense, not only those interested in African creation. »

Art Paris 2020

Open from 12 am to 8 pm, except on Fridays, from 12 am to 9 pm.

From September 10th to 13th

Grand Palais Avenue Winston Churchill

75008 Paris

Il y a des histoires d’amour qui s’écrivent sur le long terme, ce qui est le cas de celle qu’Art Paris a nouée avec le continent africain depuis trois ans, lorsqu’elle le mettait à l’honneur. « Le focus sur la création africaine en 2017 a pérennisé cette présence du continent sur Art Paris en mettant l’art contemporain africain en relation avec les galeries et des artistes du monde entier » analyse Guillaume Piens le commissaire général de la foire, et qui poursuit. « On se réjouit de la forte présence africaine cette année à Art Paris avec plus de vingtaine d’artistes originaires de 11 pays du continent : Afrique du sud, Algérie, Cameroun, Congo, Égypte, Guinée Bissau, Maroc, Nigeria, Sénégal, Togo et Zwinbabwe. Il y aura des noms connus comme Hamed Abdalle, Soly Cissé, Katherine Cooper ou Hassan Hajjaj mais aussi des découvertes comme Clay Apenouvon, Epheas Maposa ou Moustapha Baidi Oumarou. » Et dans cette effervescence, notons que certaines galeries sont très jeunes puisque créées en 2019, ce qui est le cas pour Véronique Rieffel, 31 project et Septieme Gallery ou en 2018 pour Afikaris. Donc beaucoup de ces galeries participent pour la première fois à Art Paris.

Clémence Houdart de 31 Project est très fière de la sélection, avec Epheas Maposa, un jeune peintre zimbabwéen qui commence à être dans les radars à l’international mais qui est présenté pour la toute première fois en France (une peinture expressionniste où les corps tordus sont une référence à la situation politique au Zimbabwe), et deux autres artistes qui ont eu une visibilité en France uniquement à travers les expositions de la galerie, Kelani Abass et Temitayo Ogunbiyi.

On prendra plaisir, sur le stand de la 193 Gallery, à retrouver les photographies dynamiques, pleines de vies et de couleurs de Hassan Hajjaj ou les peintures minimalistes de Sébastien Mehal qui sont autant de réflexions sur l’architecture et le poids de l’urbanisme. La galerie A2Z remet en lumière une installation de Rachid Koraïchi de 2016, Les Priants, le Loft une monumentale cheville de Yazid Oulab et la galerie Provost-Hacker propose un solo show dédié à Mahjoub Ben Bella qui nous a quitté le 11 juin dernier, juste avant un hommage que va lui consacrer l’Institut du Monde Arabe et une rétrospective programmée en octobre 2021 au MUba de Tourcoing.

Beaucoup d’artistes traitent de sujets de société, comme c’est le cas de Willys Kezi ou de Roméo Mivekannin chez Éric Dupont qui décrit : « Son sujet d’élection est le corps, plus particulièrement le corps noir et ses représentations à travers l’Histoire. L’artiste parle du voile qui sépare les individus, ceux qui ne partagent pas la même couleur de peau, tout chez lui évoque cet affrontement, autant ses préoccupations que la matérialité même de ses œuvres. Il se tient sur cette frontière et par sa pratique, tente d’attirer à lui ceux qui le regardent, il nous sollicite et pose une question fondamentale : celle du déchirement de ce voile. »

Le propos se prolonge autour de l’esclavage à la galerie Chauvy qui expose un Champs de coton de Soly Cissé, une installation questionnant le rôle de la mémoire de l’esclavage et sa persistance contemporaine. Wole Lagunju, dont le pays, le Nigéria a payé un lourd tribut à ce trafic, juxtapose librement aux portraits de sources artistiques de diverses époques de l’art occidental des masques de la culture Yoruba.

Chez Afikaris, on bascule dans l’actualité avec la série d’Asiko ‘A black life matters‘. Ses photographies sont à la fois belles et troublantes de par le poids écrasant et étouffant du drapeau américain sur le corps musclé de l’homme photographié. Sa réponse directe au meurtre de George Floyd à Minneapolis. Jean David Nkot vient nous bousculer dans notre confort quotidien assisté par les smartphones et autres appareils électroniques dont les composants proviennent de mines dont l’exploitation relève de l’esclavagisme. Sa toute dernière série ‘Les creuseurs de sous-sol’ sort de l’ombre des ouvriers dont nous ignorons leur sacrifice pour notre confort.

Moustapha Baidi Oumarou propose une vision optimiste de la situation tout comme Grégory Olympio, ce dernier étant à retouver sur le stand de la Septieme Gallery.

Véronique Rieffel, qui a fait le choix de s’installer en Côte d’Ivoire, invite trois artistes originaires du Maroc, du Sénégal et du Togo à présenter ensemble leurs œuvres, dont certaines inédites, faites pendant ou dans la période de l’immédiat après confinement, dans une urgence de création. « En contre point à l’exposition Soleils noirs présentée au Louvre Lens dans une perspective exclusivement occidentale, il nous semblait pertinent de présenter ici des œuvres offrant une exploration plastique de la profondeur de la couleur noire, sublimée par son association avec l’or, et les couleurs primaires rouge, jaune et bleu, à travers des ”peintures plastiques”, des impressions numériques et de la photographie » confie-t-elle.

Il y aura les arabesques de Najia Mehadji, synthèses entre le soufisme et l’expressionnisme abstrait, les photographies du projet EVOL d’Alun Be, qui met en évidence le rôle souvent occultés des femmes laissés à l’écart de l’histoire et les œuvres monumentales de Clay Apenouvon qui a développé le concept de « Plastic Attack » pour interpeller le public sur la nocivité de la matière plastique. « Héritier à la fois de l’Arte Povera, de Christo dont il reprend le principe de l’art comme emballage, ou encore de Soulages et de son exploration intense du noir, Clay Apenouvon sublime des matériaux tels que le plastique, film noir et la couverture de survie qu’il transforme en or précieux. »

Enfin, on retrouvera Omar Ba à la galerie Templon que présente Anne-Claudie Coric, la directrice executive de la galerie : « Omar Ba, qui a longtemps travaillé entre l’Europe (Genève) et l’Afrique (Dakar) bénéficie depuis 2 ans d’une reconnaissance croissante aussi bien en Europe, qu’en Amérique. En décembre à Art Basel Miami Beach toutes ses toiles se sont vendues en quelques heures. En 2018-2019, il a eu une formidable rétrospective au Canada (Power plant de Toronto puis Musées des Beaux-Arts de Montréal) qui l’a fait découvrir Outre-Atlantique. Il a été sélectionné pour la prestigieuse résidence d’artiste ISCP à Brooklyn qui, même si elle a dû être interrompue à cause de la crise sanitaire, devrait être un bel accélérateur de reconnaissance internationale.

Omar Ba est sénégalais mais refuse d’être enfermé dans la catégorie « art africain ». Sa peinture tente un dialogue avec l’histoire de l’art, encourage les liens entre les continents, et son message, certes ancré dans une réalité politique africaine, se veut profondément universel. Il s’interroge sur les questions de globalisation, d’écologie, d’information, sur l’avenir de la jeunesse, sur l’hybridation des cultures. Je pense que c’est aussi une des raisons de son succès. Son œuvre séduit les collectionneurs d’art contemporain au sens large, pas seulement ceux intéressés par la création africaine. »

Art Paris 2020

Ouvert de 12h à 20h, sauf le vendredi, de 12h à 21h

Du 10 au 13 septembre

Grand Palais Avenue Winston Churchill

75008 Paris

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Reinforced safety

This decision was not taken lightly and only after speaking with the 147 exhibiting galleries and an extensive number of collectors to get their opinion. The green light was also given by the authorities (both the government and scientists) to go ahead with organising the fair in September, as did the other major events at the Grand Palais. Special health measures will be implemented and the maximum number of visitors will be limited to around 3,000. The layout of the fair will be modified with wider aisles and less exhibitors . Thermal cameras will be installed at the entrances if necessary, opening times will be adjusted, the number of visitors at the preview will be limited and the fair will be open exclusively to professionals and collectors every day from 10 till 12 pm.

A solidarity edition

This edition of the fair, which can be qualified as an act of resistance, reflects the desire to support the galleries and showcase their work, at a time when they and the artists they represent are in particular need of help. Several measures have been put in place, for example the payment of the remaining balance will not be requested before the fair and exhibitors may even choose to pay in several instalments, up until the end of the year if necessary. Additionally Art Paris will create a support fund to which it undertakes to give all the proceeds of ticket sales. The fund will provide concrete help to young galleries exhibiting at the fair that are in difficulty because of the crisis. More than 80 French and international galleries have already confirmed with enthusiasm that they will be taking part in September (34 have turned down the offer and some 30 are still thinking about it). In addition, a number of new galleries that were denied the chance of exhibiting at fairs this spring would also like to apply.

A much-awaited upturn in activity

According to the owners of Art Paris, Julien and Valentine Lecêtre: “A large majority of galleries that we have talked to believe that September will be a period of intense activity and the ideal time to restart business. We are ready to take up this challenge with our galleries and we will put all our energy into making sure that Art Paris gets the autumn cultural events programme at the Grand Palais off to the best start possible this September. Paris is a major world capital that continues to attract a lot of visitors. Not only does it boast a large number of cultural institutions, its collectors are particularly active.” One of the advantages of Art Paris is that, in addition to its international scope, it is also a local and regional fair. It is a reassuring fact that 80% of visitors either come from the Paris region (Île de France) or other areas of France.

A local presence of African artists

” Promesses “, a project to support young galleries and emerging creation will host 14 young galleries, many of them dealing with contemporary African art. The galleries will each be presenting between one and three emerging artists – and benefit from financial sponsorship from the fair. We will find among others the gallery Véronique Rieffel representing the Togolese artist Clay Apenouvon born in 1970 as well as Najia Mehadji a Franco-Moroccan artist born in 1950 in France. Gallery 31 Project will also be present with the Nigerian artist Kelani Abass born in 1979.

Art Paris Art Fair

Contemporary Art Fair

From 10 to 13 September 2020

Grand palais

Paris, France

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Aspire Art Auctions and the French auction house Piasa collaborated for a second time to present a large scale auction of Modern and Contemporary African art – this time in Paris

A healthy and stable market

The auction took place last night, Wednesday 24 June, and although the fallout of COVID-19 has resulted in extraordinary social and economic changes and challenges the world over, the resounding strength of the auction demonstrates that despite present difficulties, the art market remains robust. Although the bullish prices that have peppered the market on occasion have declined, and which often obscure readings of the sector’s actual standing, the sale’s sturdy results indicate a healthy market holding steady. Moreover, it demonstrates that art trading has resumed successfully, and that borders reopening and restrictions being relaxed globally bodes well for the future of the market.

Aspire and Piasa have put together an impressive collection of 173 artworks by 85 artists from 19 African countries that went under the hammer last night.  

At a time when the world seems to be larger and more divided than before, this auction is a crowning example of what can be accomplished in these trying times, especially by virtue of innovation and collaboration. Not only did it grow Aspire’s reach and status as the first auction house on the African continent to champion modern and contemporary art from Africa in Europe, but also provides an unmistakable reminder that top-quality art remains resilient in the face of adversity.

Top lots

The auction was led by the cover lot; William Kentridge’ s important 1989 drawing from Johannesburg, 2nd Greatest City after Paris (Soho Eating) which sold for €234,000. Another mixed media work by Kentridge Electrical Industries (Rodchenko), Alphabet Coloré sold for €18,200, almost three times its high estimate.

Joseph Ntensibe’s large-scale dreamlike depiction of tropical greenery stole the show when it sold for more than double its high estimate at an impressive €67,600, the second highest price achieved at auction for this artist. The Ugandan artist’s concern with ecology and the changing environment, and in particular the disappearing forests in rural Uganda, resonated with many bidders.

Irma Stern’s exquisite 1943 portrait of Dora Sowden, the eccentric music and arts critic for the Johannesburg-based progressive newspaper The Rand Daily Mail during the 1940s and 1950s achieved €182,000. A rare and early bronze sculpture by Edoardo Villa, Figure with Drapery, attracted substantial interest realising a stellar €54,600 – a historic record for a work by this artist sold in his native Europe.

Records

A new world auction record (for a single work) by David Goldblatt was achieved for a rare platinum print – A miner waits on the bank to go underground, City Deep Gold Mine, 1996 – which sold for €32,500.

Zimbabwean artists fared well too. Kudzanai Chiurai’s mixed media work Untitled VIII (Auto and the Workers Movement) sold for €22,100 and Fountain by painter Misheck Masamvu, an artist relatively new to the secondary market, sold for €20,800, toppling his previous auction record also set by Aspire.

Highlitghs

Peter Clarke’s powerful triptych, The Crossing from 1987, impressed serious collectors and achieved a firm €37,700. This was the first time that a work by this prominent South African artist appeared on auction in mainland Europe.

Paintings by renowned Congolese painter Chéri Samba sold well – Lutte Contre Les Moustiques sparked competitive bidding and achieved €58,500 – almost double the high estimate.

Young starEddy Kamuanga Ilunga (from the DRC) proved that he remains one of the artists to watch when his impressive large scale painting sold for €50,700.

Contemporary African Art auction

On June 24th

Piasa Paris VIEW THE FULL RESULTS

118 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré

Paris, France

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Pioneering art fair 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair was the first to be affected. Its New York iteration, scheduled to take place in May alongside Frieze New York, was postponed until May 2021. The fair then turned to Artsy, an online platform for buying and selling art, and held the fair digitally as a last-minute resort. 1-54’s London edition is still due to take place from 8-11 October, but as all events scheduled this year, the remaining months of 2020 are shrouded in uncertainty due to the coronavirus.

On 20 May, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair held the first of a series of weekly online discussions on The Future of contemporary African Art Fairs in a Post-Covid World. Panelists included Tokini Peterside, founder and director of Art x Lagos; Victoria Mann, founder and director AKAA (Also Known As Africa) and Mandla Sibeko, founding director of FNB Art Joburg. 

Lockdowns around the world have provided galleries, artists, curators and fair directors with the opportunity of time—time to do what they previously didn’t have time to do. However, uncertainty still plagues the air. It’s been impossible to plan for the Autumn art season. “There’s more time now for galleries to rethink their stocks, their visibility online, their communication with artists and how to promote them,” said Mann. “But there’s also this weariness of the future and the lack of visibility. What if the virus comes back? It’s so hard to move forward in this very dark tunnel.”

“It’s so true,” agreed El Glaoui from quarantine in France. “We make numerous plans about what could happen or couldn’t happen. You make a decision and then have to change it.”

All the panelists agreed that pre Covid-19 the art world was moving at top speed and then, all of a sudden, it just stopped.

“It’s been quite a change for us in South Africa,” said Sibeko. “We are going through what the government has come to call ‘terms’ or ‘stages.’ We are now moving to stage four. There’s been a restrictive movement of people and no flights. It’s been a very tough period for South Africa, especially from an art perspective. All sectors have been affected. This virus has affected all of us—the poor, the rich, the wealthy, black and white. And that’s quite humbling.”

“The challenge is that we are all going to come out of this at different stages and that’s the scary part,” continued Sibeko, “Maybe when South Africa comes out of the coronavirus Nigeria might not be ready and Cameroon might not be ready or maybe Nigeria will be ahead of South Africa, you never know. It is looking like the ‘peak’ will be coming later in the year for South Africa.”

Peterside explained that Lagos had been placed on lockdown late in March and around two weeks ago the lockdown was eased.

“The government has called for an ‘intelligent lockdown’ meaning that because of the high population density that you have in Lagos, it was very difficult for the government to persist with a total shutdown. You have large masses within the population that were very badly affected by the lockdown. Today you have a situation where critical businesses are open—businesses where people could not work from home.”

“Sadly, for the art scene there are no shows,” added Peterside. “Galleries are unable to open at this time. It has been quite a trying period for the art industry here. What we are seeing is that the galleries are in a difficult position, but we are hopeful with regards to the peak. We do not know when the peak will come and we don’t believe we have hit the peak thus far. There’s an expectation in the city that in September and October events can start taking place again but we are still not 100 percent sure. We are hoping to see some movement around Q3 and Q4.”

The real issue, affirmed the panelists, lies in the financial state of the art galleries. “South African galleries have dominated the art industry in this part of the world,” said Sibeko. “They have been flying the flag for a long time for African art. With these galleries being so heavily affected it has such an impact in the way that they will participate in any international fairs going forward.” 

In Paris the so-called “peak” has been reached. On 11 May, after eight weeks of lockdown, France eased its restrictions and allowed businesses to gradually re-open. “We are now starting to de-confine,” said Mann. “The state of mind here is that yes, life is picking up again and businesses are re-opening but not everything: Restaurants, cafes, cinemas, and theaters remain closed. However, many businesses have been able to resume their activity, and this includes art galleries.”

“But we can’t just pick up from where we left off,” she continued. “There is this current state of mind that realizes that our attitude has to change. The virus is still here and we are still living with it until the world finds a vaccine or a treatment to cure it.” 

Adapting To A New Normal

The big questions on everyone lips are: How do we resume our lives and our activities while co-existing with this virus? “Everyone fears a second wave of lockdowns, which would be economically very dramatic,” said Mann. “However, there’s this new energy in the air—this positive thinking regarding how we change the way that we handle our businesses.”

As soon as September hits art fair season will be upon the art world once again. The respective fairs directed by each panelist continue to be scheduled for September through November. But questions remain regarding whether they will still run or have to be postponed. Each panelist stressed the need now to redefine how each fair operates. One of the challenges has to do with the lack of visibility for galleries and fairs for the upcoming months. How can galleries and fairs continue to promote their artists and their programming digitally as nations continue to struggle with re-opening? Communication, everyone stressed, is crucial, and in the absence of the physical gallery space, the digital sphere is where art viewing and discussions must take place, at least for now. 

Art Joburg, scheduled to take place from September 4-6, is the first fair dedicated to African art on the Autumn calendar. Sibeko will most likely be the first to make a decision as to whether or not to postpone this year’s fair.

“It’s been interesting to view the cycle of this virus,” he said. “As soon as things start to reactivate, things don’t actually happen in that way. Tourism has come to a standstill in South Africa. I don’t know if and how the government will find a way to revive this sector and South Africa has a big tourism industry.”

Witnessing what takes place for tourism Sibeko says helps him decide on whether to host Art Joburg in September. “We are looking at changing dates or at least a postponement,” he said. “The ideal situation is to still host the fair if our peak gets under control at some point in August or September. At this point, I don’t know what will happen as our economy is really suffering and many businesses, big and small, are starting to really struggle.”

One option Sibeko said was to host the fair online. “I think it’s a bridge. It’s obviously not the same as a physical art fair, but we will get there eventually. We need to see what stage we are in over the next few months. Right now, we are not allowed to have public gatherings.” 

El Glaoui stated that 1-54 was even considering hosting a more “local” fair with galleries who are unable to travel and not residing in countries with travel bans. “I have been imagining what could happen without a fair in October,” she said. “I still want to sustain the galleries who have been working with us one way or the other—perhaps by helping them share space with other galleries from the continent in London because some of them may not have galleries anymore by then. I have also thought of hosting a parcours in London of works by various galleries or bringing our guests to different spaces for shows in the city if we are unable to host the fair.”

Of Art X Lagos, which is still scheduled to take place November 6-8, Peterside said: “We are hopeful it can still happen. Our first priority is to make sure we are fully compliant in health and safety measures if we do go ahead.”

The Lagos fair has always sustained strong local and international support—last year it hosted over 30 people as part of the Tate Acquisitions of Contemporary African Art. “We hope that by November there will be a desire and a hunger for the kind of uplifting experience that Art X Lagos provides. When it comes to international travel, we can’t say 100 percent what will happen so to connect with people remotely via digital platforms, like Mandla stated, is crucial.” 

Battling Financial Crisis

“The safety is what is most crucial for everyone right now but there is also the question of economic health,” continued Mann. “Big and small galleries are suffering and that is something to take into consideration in terms of economics.“

As Peterside stressed, communication and collaboration are key: “It’s more important than ever today to communicate with one another—galleries and collectors and institutions—to find solutions that allow us to overcome not only the blocks that permit us to be physically present somewhere but also to overcome the fear that surrounds this situation that cannot go unnoticed.”

But what are the galleries saying about the crisis that has brought the art world to an utter standstill? Are galleries more sensitive now about committing to a fair? El Glaoui said that while 1-54 is usually strict on applications with galleries having to submit their applications in February and to receive their response by March, after what happened to its New edition the fair has loosened its deadlines. 

“Some galleries are excited about reopening and others are really worried about how they will make it through the next few months,” said El Glaoui. “We need to support each other as much as we can.”

“There’s no global consensus,” said Mann. “Because each gallery and each business is confronted with their own set of difficulties to overcome then it automatically impacts the way that they envision the future. For many of them what is perhaps the shared global concern is the lack of being able to make a decision regarding the fall calendar.” 

The biggest burden for everyone is the economic strain of the crisis. “In terms of economics there is a necessity of reducing risks,” added Mann. “We cannot expect a gallery today to confirm and pay for a booth for an event in November without having any idea of what the situation is going to be like then. We have to adapt to this situation, and this can only be done through communication.”

The Question of Mobility

The other big challenge is mobility. Today the borders are closed but what about tomorrow? How will international galleries near and far get to one another when we do not know when the borders will open again? How will the transporter prices be affected by the current crisis? What are going to be customs rules from now on? How will galleries work alongside art fairs to facilitate art transportation within a world where travel will be altogether a question and rethought by everyone?

All of these questions are crucial in making future plans.

“We have been rethinking everything on all dimensions. There is a plan A, B, C, D, E, F and G because certainty is the one thing that we all do not have at the moment,” said Peterside.

A Determined Spirit

Regardless, all panelists agreed that there’s also this unyielding spirit in the air to move forward and not just shut down. “We actors of the art world can’t just expect the art world to fall apart; we have to continue carrying it together,” said Mann.

This particularly pertains to the young African art market that has witnessed impressive growth over the last decade. “It’s more important now than ever now for us to keep developing the scene,” added Mann. “We need to find solutions for a not-so-near but not-so-distant future so that we can keep promoting the careers of these artists that we so fervently believe in.” 

“We have been in conversation with our galleries and they have really appreciated the outreach,” said Peterside. “We are not putting pressure on galleries at this point in time. A lot of galleries have struggled over the last few months and at Art X Lagos we are trying to see where we can alleviate some of that pain.”

Clearly, it’s all about survival during this period of unprecedent crisis. But survival doesn’t need to take place alone; on a collective level it ensures the survival not just of the individual but the African art scene as a whole. 

“Even being closed for a week is hard for the galleries in South Africa,” said Sibeko, “And being closed for two months is way too long. The big question is how will the galleries survive? My worry revolves around the work that we have been doing for art in this part of the world. I feel that an Africa that is weak from a collecting perspective is not a good one for the future of the scene.”

“It’s been quite devasting for me to see the amount of progress that has been made by a small group of galleries to just fly this flag at all costs for the African art market and then to suddenly have to stop,” he added. “Is the local market enough to sustain these businesses given that many have gone international and are participating in major art fairs all over the world?”

Collaboration Is Key

What about the artists? Who will take care of the artists who are having trouble selling and exhibiting their art during this period? “The vast number of artists on the continent are not exclusively represented by galleries,” said Peterside. “It’s so important to sustain the momentum of their work. But what will happen to those artists currently deprived of gallery shows and fairs? How are they going to be able to sustain their practices?”

Collaboration and supporting Africa’s burgeoning artists is key during this period. The panellists agreed that what needs to be done is to find ways to support young talent within the African art market. As Mann said, “Ultimately, it’s about joining together and working to progress all of creativity we have worked so hard to achieve.”

“Let’s open up the dialogue so that we can all come out of this stronger,” said Mann. “All the work that has been done over past few years is not about to vanish. On the contrary, it’s going to show what resilience we all have to surpass these types of world events. Today it is Covid but we don’t know what will be next and that’s part of the game: In this field we all need to come up with creative solutions.”

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