Art comes to town by way of the 2022 edition of the Investec Cape Town Art Fair featuring more than 98 local and international exhibitors from 20 different countries at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), from Friday 18 – Sunday 20 February.
This year, the Fair’s ninth edition, features the non-traditional ALT, new talent at SOLO and Modern Masters exhibitions – in addition to parties, talks, hosted debates, a bookshop, popup store and an immersive online experience for those unable to physically attend. Here are some of this year’s Investec Cape Town Art Fair highlights.
ALT Debut
ALT is eye-catching and adventurous. An exciting new addition to the 2022 line-up, the focus is fresh, offering artists outside of the conventional exhibition space a chance to showcase work in a nonconventional way in the art fair setting. This year it’s dedicated to projects that reflect the ways in which the art world has had to adapt in response to the global shift from physical to virtual. Among the artists who have been selected for ALT are Daniel Malan (South Africa) of The Plot online gallery, Colijn Strydom (South Africa) of Untitled in South Africa, Rharha Nembhard (South Africa) of THEFOURTH (South Africa) and Willy Karekezi (Rwanda) of KomezART in Rwanda.
Galley Night
Go gallery hopping on the Cape Town Red Bus. Departure details and the full list of galleries that will be visited can be found on the Gallery Night Facebook page and or the Investec Cape Town Art Fair website.
SOLO
A selection of young and vibrant artists explore “how artists have reacted to intimacy and introspection caused by the pandemic, as well as the effect that exchange and collaboration have on artistic practice as a whole”. Among the participating artists are Johannes Phokela (South Africa) of Eclectica Contemporary, Brett Charles Seiler (Zimbabwe) of Everard Read, Thebe Phetogo (South Africa) of Guns & Rain, Luyanda Zindela (South Africa) of SMAC, Osvaldo Ferreira (Angola) of This is Not a White Cube in Angola, Duduzi (DuduBloom) and More (South Africa) of Berman Contemporary in South Africa.
See Tomorrow’s Artists Today
Tomorrows/Today showcases emerging and under-represented artists who are expected to make waves in the future. It’s open to those working in Africa and beyond and the ongoing theme is one of transformation and experimentation. This year it is curated by Nkule Mabaso (Head Curator, Michaelis Galleries, South Africa) and Luigi Fassi (Artistic Director, MAN-Contemporary Art Museum, Italy). The artists include Aldo Salucci (Italy) of A.MORE Gallery, Feni Chulumanco (South Africa) of EBONY/CURATED, Mavis Tauzeni (Zimbabwe) of First Floor Gallery, Philiswa Lila (South Africa) of Melrose Gallery, Abdus Salaam (South Africa) of THK, Bev Butkow (South Africa) of Guns & Rain and Michaela Young (South Africa) of SMAC. The artist with the most exciting presentation wins a cash prize and will be announced on Friday, 18 February at 12h30 at the TOMORROWS/TODAY booth at CTICC.
Public walkabouts
Saturday 19 February, budding art collectors can learn about Starting an Art Collection with art advisor and avid art collector Amy Ellenbogen. Later in the afternoon, curator Andrew Lamprecht will talk Understanding Contemporary Art. On Sunday 20 February, Lamprecht will host The SOLO Section, sharing further insights into the featured SOLO Section artists and their response to the pandemic. This is followed by Female Artists, a curated tour of noteworthy female artists locally and internationally. An essential insight into some of the most important voices in the industry led by Founder of Under The Aegis & Curator Anelisa Mangcu.
Modern Masters
Past/Modern guest curator João Ferreira, adds historical context through the works of modern masters, such as Christo Coetzee, Edoardo Villa, Hannes Harrs, Irma Stern, Judith Mason, Paul du Toit, Gregor Jenkin, Cecile Skotness, Lucas Sithole, Marion Arnold, Robert Hodgins, Tinus de Jongh and Willem Boshoff.
Culture Club
Cultural institutions and non-profit organisations who nurture and support artistic production in the region through exhibitions and artist residencies, have the opportunity to present their work to the public. Participants this year include A4 Arts Foundation, Bag Factory Artists’ Studios, Evolving Art, LALELA, Norval Foundation, Zeitz MOCAA, and more.
Newbies And Navigating
Budding collectors features specialist prints and multiples from leading print studios and galleries include 50ty/50ty, ArtThrob and South Atlantic Press (all Cape Town), Artist Proof Studio, Dale Sargent Fine Art and LL Editions Contemporary (all Johannesburg), Asele Institute (Nimo, Nigeria) and Samuel Maenhoudt Gallery (Brussels, Belgium).
Talks
Artists, curators, gallerists and specialist collectors take to the stage on Friday, 18 February from 11h00 to 18h00 at the Westin Hotel. Some of the topics are: Preserving, Interpreting and Appropriating Heritage for a More Equitable Future; Art & Design for the Future: Towards Radical and Creative Ecologies; Autobiography, Self-Representation, and Shifting Narratives: Ashraf Jamal in Conversation with Thania Petersen and Billie Zangewa; and Into the Metaverse: The Impact of NFTs on the Art World.
Online
This years event can also be experienced online from 18 – 20 February 2022. The access, simply click on the button at the top of the home page to the digital fair site.
Venue and tickets
The ninth Investec Cape Town Art Fair will run from Friday 18 to Sunday 20 February at the Cape Town International Conference Centre from 11h00 to 19h00.
Tickets can be purchased via the Webticket link on www.investeccapetownartfair.co.za