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The Joburg Art Fair is expected to establish the city's reputation
as an essential stopover on the contemporary art buying calendar.
Photographer David Goldblatt
AFRICA'S first contemporary art fair is to be held in Johannesburg in
March 2008. On sale at the Joburg Art Fair will be the single largest
collection of African and South African contemporary art ever, covering
5 000 square metres of gallery space.
"The Joburg Art Fair will establish South Africa as an
essential stopover on the global contemporary art buying calendar,"
said Ross Douglas, the director of Artlogic. Artlogic, the company
behind the fair, was also responsible for bringing William Kentridge's
critically acclaimed production of The Magic Flute to South Africa.
Art on show at the Joburg Art Fair will range in price from R1 000 to R5-million.
"Art is becoming an attractive investment and we are confident that the
price range available will allow a variety of individuals to gain
access to this important asset," said First National Bank's chief
executive, Michael Jordaan. The bank is the sponsor of the fair.
According to Douglas, what makes art fairs so attractive is
that they provide buyers with a single point of access to a wide range
of galleries that have the credentials and experience to profile top
artists.
"There is also transparency - potential buyers can see a cross-section of work in a short space of time," Douglas said.
One of the objectives of the fair was to drive the reputation and sales
of contemporary African art. "Art is big business all over the world -
but less so here."
Artist William Kentridge
The fair will include a specially curated show by Simon Njami,
the chief curator of the highly successful Africa Remix exhibition and
of the Africa pavilion at this year's Venice Biennale.
Njami will choose a selection of work from artists throughout
Africa who are not represented by galleries at the fair, and all of
these will be on sale. Douglas said Njami's participation was a stamp
of approval for the continent's first art fair and would set the tone
for what would be an annual event.
International contemporary art galleries confirmed for the 2008
Joburg Art Fair include the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York and the
October Gallery in London.
The galleries have been specially invited to participate, so
buyers can expect a discerning selection from which to choose. They
will have works on sale from many of the big names, including Zwelethu
Mthethwa, William Kentridge, Guy Tillim, David Goldblatt, Peter Hugo
and Moshekwa Langa.
The Joburg Art Fair will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 13 to 16 March 2008.
Source: The official South African portal: southafrica.info
South Africa Info
FOR the official South African portal, southafrica.info, click here.
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