Art_Africa_2016_03_

THAT ART FAIR / FOCUS ON INTERNATIONAL GALLERIES 18/22 ARTAFRICA

There is no doubt that the market for

contemporary art from Africa is booming.

What is your opinion on how platforms such as

THAT ART FAIR should position themselves

in showcasing the work of artists in Africa to a

local and international audience?

FEATURE / THAT ART FAIR

LAB ART&CO:

From what I have seen of the
international contemporary art
market, now is the time for the
African continent. Perhaps this
is also because the continent is
fluid in the North and shares
many influences and borders
with the Middle East. In the last
two years, the Arab art scene
has seen a boom because of the
growing economy. Once upon
a time this was the Chinese
market and I predict, from what
we have observed, that the next
market to receive exposure is
the African one. Subsequently,
this is a great opportunity for
contemporary art platforms to
start establishing and asserting
themselves so that when the
time comes we will be able to
meet with and give the right
answers to the international art
market. Our position must be to
anticipate and adapt to the times
that will come.

AFRIART:

THAT ART FAIR (and ART

AFRICA) should continue to be

the platform where lesser-known,

good contemporary artists from

Africa are discovered. They

should continue connecting

with progressive galleries all over

Africa. This will make them a

buoyant platform for emerging

galleries and artists from Africa.

ARTCO:

Yes, that’s right. Artists from

Africa have come into their

own in the international art

scene over the last fifteen years.

Some of them are already very

established simply because they

are good – not because they are

from Africa. Maybe we’ll only

need the label ‘Contemporary

African Art’ until artists from

Africa are fully emancipated.

I think that in a few years we

won’t need the label anymore. It

is therefore important that fairs

like THAT ART FAIR are open

to emerging artists from all over

the world.

MOJO:

Contemporary art from Africa

is finally starting to get some of

the global attention it deserves.

But there is still a long way to go,

especially in educating audiences

as to the sheer scale, diversity and

talent of this amazing continent.

I think platforms like THAT

ART FAIR can play a key role in

this area by using their position

as facilitators and supporters

of both individual artists and

galleries and, going forward,

hopefully institutions too. I

would like to see a focus each

year at TAF on a particular area

or region in Africa, for instance

the Maghreb or West Africa.

ARTAFRICA