ARTAFRICAFEATURE / THAT ART FAIRTHE (NOT SO) SERIOUS
BUSINESS OF ART
A message from the founders of THAT ART FAIR
The magazine’s transition from ARTsouthAFRICA to ART AFRICA has seen our team invited to
events in London, Johannesburg, Mali, Tunisia; São Paulo and Paris to represent ART AFRICA
as a media partner. Our participation and presence at these events has facilitated a number of
collaborations, the results of which will be presented at THAT ART FAIR 2016. There can be little
doubt that broadening our focus into the rest of Africa and beyond has opened many doors, for both
the magazine and THAT ART FAIR.
This has by no means made the positioning of Africa in the global (art) dialogue any easier. Although
Africa has enjoyed much attention in recent times – and is the buzz-word when referring to a dynamic
and developing market – in tough economic times, new markets are the first to experience cutbacks
in foreign investment and funding, affecting the art world too.
Art fairs are not immune to these effects especially when a traditional model is perpetuated. In this
climate, creativity and collaboration is key. In the December issue of ART AFRICA titled ‘Whose
South is it Anyway?’ Valerie Kabov, our Editor-at-Large, posed the solution as a question. “What
would happen if art scenes in the South forged their own links? How would art and the art market
look if these art scenes developed exchanges and collaborations of mutual support, without the
North-dependency currently underpinning many art scenes in the South?”
THE (NOT SO) SERIOUS BUSINESS OF ART / A MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDERS 1/22 ARTAFRICA