Cape Town Art Fair Showcases 490 Artists From 34 Global Cities In Vibrant Celebration

Image by Terry Levin

With over 120 exhibitors showing 490 artists from 34 global cities and every booth presenting new visual universes to appreciate, navigating the event requires both stamina and strategy.

One visit is probably not enough to fully take in the depth and range of its wonders. Strolling around, glass in hand, rubbing shoulders with Cape Town’s arty crowd can take many hours, engaging with fellow art lovers or curators, or if you are lucky, the artists themselves, could see you spending many more hours than anticipated, immersed in inspiration and conversation with new and old art friends.

Image by Terry Levin

What becomes apparent is why people are there - for the palpable vibrancy and vision, consummate artistry and energy infusion emanating off the walls from the likes of Mary Sibande, Ricky Dyaloyi, Ablade Glover, Zana Masombuka and more.

Image by Terry Levin

Much of the art shown at ICTFA is not taught in European salons or academies; it bursts off the walls as the purest expression of its African origins.

Just as African art and masks profoundly influenced Picasso and other early 20th-century European modernists, so the work on show at the ICTAF, spanning the continent from South Africa to Nigeria, Kenya to Senegal, and Zimbabwe to Egypt continues to be inspire globally.

Perhaps, just one of the reasons artworks are being snapped up by local and international collectors and art buyers like hot cakes, with red-dotted works literally selling off the walls over the course of the four-day ICTFA event!

Image by Terry Levin

If job creation is truly our nation’s highest priority, then intentional investment in art education - from grassroots to tertiary - must be on the national agenda. The creative economy is not a luxury, but a powerful economic driver of sustainable employment.

As the 13th edition of the Investec Cape Town Art Fair drew to a close, we came, we saw, we paid attention to the curatorial theme of Listen, and through the medium we heard the message - the contemporary art market is an economic engine where African artists can take up significant space on a global art map and the soul of continent realises full expression and value.