Art_Africa_2016_03_

Z

THAT ART FAIR / FOCUS ON INTERNATIONAL GALLERIES 20/22

FEATURE / THAT ART FAIR

THAT ART FAIR was founded in reaction to

the fact that many countries in Africa lack the

necessary formal structures for contemporary

artists to make a career – especially compared

to South Africa. As a gallerist, what advice

would you give to emerging artists wanting to

professionalise their practice; given that the fair

offers independent artists a platform to exhibit

their work?

LAB ART&CO:

Aside from fundamental artistic knowledge, as an
artist you have to have experience in the practice
of developing your work commercially. It is
important to know where the world is going in
terms of trends, but the most important thing is
not the trend, rather it is the identity of the work.
The cultural value of the work, in my opinion, is the
most vital factor. An artist must pursue or develop
their work and their story. THAT ART FAIR is
an excellent opportunity for artists who don’t
have a formal art system in their home countries.
By exhibiting, they have the opportunity to show
their work and build momentum. But artists have
to take these structural factors as seriously as they
take the universality, the aesthetic values and the
identity that I have already described.

AFRIART:

Contemporary artists in Africa need to identify
progressive galleries in their countries and support
them by being loyal, even through tough times.
They need to produce and supply the galleries
with the most exciting work and also push their
galleries to venture into international territory.
If successful, the artists will benefit from this
relationship as the galleries will see them as
partners. They will also gain from the financial
strength and management the gallery puts behind
them, making this a sustainable exchange.

ARTCO:

The most important thing is that a young artist

should develop a unique artistic impression

independently from the market requires.

Than the artist should try to apply for international

artist in residence projects and art competitions.

They also should apply for artist art fairs until

they find a gallery to cooperate with.

MOJO:

Of course there are many factors an emerging

artist needs to consider in order to be noticed. One

area I consider vital for any artist, and particularly

an emerging artist, is the ability to articulate their

own personal narrative in a compelling way and

illustrate how it informs and ultimately drives their

creative practice. I am continuously surprised by

how uninspired the approaches are that we get

(as a gallery) from individuals who are artistically

creative but don’t make any effort to support their

work intellectually.

As a gallerist, you become aware of the fact that

clients very often will ‘buy’ the artist before they

buy the actual work. The artist can and should

play a very important role in this dynamic and

how it is ultimately expressed and evolves.