The annual FNB JoburgArtFair returns to the Sandton Convention Centre from September 11 to 13.
The eighth edition features more than 50 exhibitors from seven countries: South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, France, Germany, Spain and the UK.
The fair is about bringing together artists, curators and collectors for the conceptual visioning of contemporary African art. This year, they feature curated exhibitions by some of the best contemporary galleries, alongside a programme of special projects, talks, performances and film screenings.
On point is Fair Curator, Lucy MacGarry: “We want to continue to make a positive contribution to the local arts industry, while growing our representation of international African galleries. The focus this year has been on encouraging galleries to bring experimental work and competitive presentations to the fair.”
New online partner, Artsy, will take the fair to a global audience by hosting a preview and digital catalogue of FNB JoburgArtFair accessible via Artsy.net and the Artsy iPhone app. The preview will include browseable exhibitor booths, editorial content and the opportunity for collectors to make direct sales enquiries through the site. Artsy’s coverage of the fair will launch publicly on September 8, with an exclusive VIP preview the day before.
Their 2015 Advisory Committee includes Koyo Kouoh (Raw Matrial Company, Dakar), Bisi Silva (Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos), Jay Pather (Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts, Cape Town), Karolina Ziebinska-Lewandowska (Centre Pompidou, Paris) and Zoe Whitley (Tate, London).
Special projects focus on experimental film and live performance, presenting new work from a central theatre space. The Johannesburg Art Gallery, in partnership with Artlogic and Goodman Gallery, present Candice Breitz as this year’s featured artist. Breitz combines film and performance in her installation Him + Her – in its inaugural showing in South Africa. This work will be shown alongside a new project conceived especially for the fair.
International film content will also feature courtesy of the Goethe-Institut, which has invited the Short Film Festival Oberhausen to South Africa. Loop Barcelona will screen their 2015 Discovery Award finalists’ works, while the artists of the Johannesburg Pavilion will debut new work created in-situ during the 56th Venice Biennale.
The live performance programme ranges from emerging South African artists such as Kieron Jina to the acclaimed Mamela Nyamza and Nelisiwe Xaba. US musician, artist and one of the founders of the Fluxus movement, Benjamin Patterson, will also be making a rare appearance.
This year’s FNB Art Prize, which awards a young artist the financial means and opportunity to create a new project for the fair, was juried by Kouoh (Senegal) and Silva (Nigeria). South African artist Turiya Magadlela (see interview) takes the honours and will be telling visual stories about being in this world.
Highlights on the Talks programme include the panel Collecting the Intangible: New Strategies for Acquisition, to be led by A4 Art Foundation Curator, Joshua Ginsburg. Breitz will engage with the Tate’s Curator of International Art, Whitley. Art Basel’s 2016 Parcours curator, Samuel Leuenberger, will present Curatorial Experiments and the Development of Ideas, while publisher Gerhard Steidl will explain why Print is not Dead.
Artlogic has collaborated with interior architect firm, Studium, to re-envision the layout of the fair. The food and drink area will have the feel of a market and will incorporate collaborative projects such as the Absolut Vodka Art Bar designed by South African artist Cameron Platter.
l Sept 11: 12p – 8pm; Sept 12: 10am – 6pm; Sept 13: 10am – 5pm. joburgartfair.co.za.