GQ South Africa – September 2019

gq.co.za september 2019 /^61

Photogra

Phy by Karabo Moo

K i

GQ: What was the thought

process behind rebranding

the event from FNB Joburg

Art Fair to FNB Art Joburg?

Mandla Sibeko: We’re using

this moment to rework our fair’s

structure, and we’re making some

significant changes in order to best

promote our galleries and their

artists. In implementing these

changes, we wanted to align with

international trends and position a

different narrative around Joburg,

focusing on its robust collector

base and creative economy.

WeasSouthAfricanshavea

mandatetocelebrateourartistsinorder

fortheworldtotrulyappreciatethem

GQ: What other changes

can we expect to see,

and what’s your vision

going forward?

MS: An art fair by nature is

a platform to bring gallerists,

art patrons, collectors and those

passionate about contemporary

art together. For us, we want to

achieve not only that with each

edition but also have a mandate

to showcase the best of our South

African and African artists,

on African soil. This year, we

streamlined the fair with fewer

exhibitors and have given a focus

on stronger content from our

galleries. Going forward, we’ll

build our way up from here, always

considering how we can best serve

our South African and African

artists while highlighting Joburg’s

diversity and spirit.

GQ: FNB Joburg Art Fair

has played an instrumental

role in developing and

sustaining a commercial

industry for the visual

arts in South Africa since

its inception. How do you

plan on expanding on

this positive trajectory to

empower local artists as

FNB Art Joburg?

MS: Our artists are now part

of important dialogues and

discourse around the world,

which is so exciting. However, we

want to make sure that excitement

always begins and is nurtured

from home first, so empowering

local artists is at the core of the

fair. We work with both local

and international journalists and

curators to make sure they know

of our exciting content each year.

Our sponsors and partners also

support the fair in order to not

only introduce new initiatives but

also continue growth.

GQ: How important is it

to have a brand like FNB

sponsoring this initiative?

MS: FNB’s support is key to our

success, and without them we

couldn’t stage a platform of this scale.

GQ: What new and

exciting features can art

lovers look forward to?

MS: Viewers can look out for

a new presentation style with

quite standardised booth sizes

and a few new sections we will

introduce. One will be a section

of large-scale works that would

be impossible (because of scale,

format, or otherwise) to exhibit

in a traditional art fair booth

• a format you see overseas at
  international fairs that we want to
  bring to South African audiences.
  The other addition to the fair
  will be Gallery Lab. A first of its
  kind, Gallery Lab will be a space
  for galleries and hybrid spaces
  to propose work relevant to
  contemporary African dialogues.

GQ: What’s the importance

of the Gallery Lab?

MS: It’s a pioneering concept very

much in line with international

trends – we’ve structured

participation fees in the Lab to

be a fraction of the main section

and include amenities such as

furniture with their booths. The Lab

comprises many young galleries

and/or international galleries

that incur hefty expenses to travel

and ship work to Joburg, so it was

important for us to acknowledge

the investment they make in our fair

(and their artists and businesses,

as well as their commitment to

exhibiting in Joburg).

GQ: FNB Art Joburg will

pay a tribute to the

legendary Hugh Masekela.

What’s the relationship

between jazz and art?

MS: In SA, there’s always been

a relationship between art and jazz.

Sam Nhlengethwa, Kemang Wa

Lehulere and many other artists can

attest to that. Hugh Masekela was

a significant cultural ambassador

to the world for us, and it’s exciting

that we’ll work with the Hugh

Masekela Heritage Foundation

to pay tribute to him and the

contributions he made to the arts at

an off-site event with Circa Gallery.

GQ: How important is

it for local artists to

be recognised on an

international scale?

MS: It’s very important, not to

mention gratifying, to see South

African talent gain wide scale

recognition. However, it’s more

important that they are first shown

respect on domestic soil. We as

South Africans have a mandate to

celebrate our artists in order for

the world to truly appreciate them.

GQ: Which local artists are

making people stop and

reflect at the moment?

MS: It’s always hard to name just

a few, as every day there are many

local artists doing important work.

At this moment, I’ve enjoyed seeing

new work from Lady Skollie.

GQ: How many exhibitors

will showcase their work

and how were they selected?

MS: We’ll have just about 25

galleries from SA, Africa and

beyond. This year, the fair was

invitation-based, with our

selection committee sending out

invites for the main section, and

Gallery Lab invites being sent

out by the section’s co-curators,

Banele Khoza and Nicole

Siegenthaler. In both instances, we

give consideration to a gallery’s

programming, and commitment

to their artists and region.

You can also expect to see

some of the following artists at the

fair: Zanele Muholi (Stevenson),

Brett Murray, Lady Skollie and

Daniel Morolong (Everard Read),

Frances Goodman, Jody Paulsen

(SMAC), Tracey Rose (Goodman),

Ayanda Mabulu and Jake Singer

(Kalashnikovv) to name a few.

GQ: What conversations will

happen around the fair?

MS: I hope there’s a tone of

discovery, curiosity and a spirit

of sharing around the fair – our

goal is for visitors to experience

the galleries’ and artists’ work, and

go home wanting to see more and

keep the dialogue going. Whether

by posting a picture of a piece that

struck them, inviting a friend to

return the next day or googling

a gallery or artist they saw. We aim

tocreatea spacefordiscovery.For

moreinfo,visitartjoburg.com.

• ThobekA PhAnyeko