Smarting from the successes of 2016, a year in which Africa enjoyed being the toast of the art world, art professionals are projecting bright prospects for the African art market in 2017, amid a growing interest in contemporary art production from the continent.
Camilla Péus, art journalist and author, reckons that the prospects for 2017 are bright – just from looking at the concentration of events.
“Bonhams’ auction Africa Now – Modern Africa (15 Feb.) is followed by the Cape Town Art Fair (17-19 Feb.), the newly curated Art Africa Fair in Cape Town (24 Feb. – 3 March) and the equally new Art Paris Art Fair (30 March – 2 April) with Africa as the guest of honor,” writes Péus in a December 22, 2016 article for Contemporary And.
“In May (4-7 May) the New York edition of 1:54 goes into its third round at the same time as the Armory Show. And September will mark the opening of the spectacular ZEITZ MOCAA (Museum of Contemporary African Art) in Cape Town in a converted silo from the 1920s,” says Péus in the article “Art Fair Success and the Laws of the Market”.
Tayo Fagbule, co-author (with Jess Castellote) of The Nigeria Art Market Report 2015, projects that interest in and demand for modern and contemporary art from Africa will continue to increase. Annual art fairs like 1:54 in London and the focus on art from Africa at the Armory Show in New York last year, he says, have contributed to the interest.
“Last year, Art X Lagos, the first art fair in West Africa, drew collectors from the continent. The value and volume of artworks by Nigerian artists in Lagos and London did better, rose significantly in 2016. Expect more shows: New galleries or art spaces are opening, some which held some of the major exhibitions in 2016,” says Fagbule in a chat with BDSUNDAY.
He notes that art is a good hedge against inflation, hence a good store of value in uncertain and financially volatile periods.
With a great lineup of international shows focusing on Africa in 2016, the year was no doubt a good one for the African art market. “African Perspectives” held at the New York Armory Show in March; the fourth edition of 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair held in London’s Somerset House in September, attracting a record number of visitors; the art fair AKAA (Also known as Africa) in Paris in November reported sales by all of the 30 represented galleries.
“On the continent itself, the Cape Town Art Fair in February attracted local big names such as Goodman, Stevenson, and Momo, as well as international dealers from London, Italy and Germany. The already successful Joburg Art Fair increased its sales by almost the double amount. And at the still young Art X Lagos in early November, a significant number of works was sold to mainly Nigerian collectors,” says Péus.
Art X Lagos, organized by TP Collective, recorded over 5,000 visitors, including international art professionals from other parts of Africa, Europe, and the United States, according to Bukola Oye, art journalist and founder of the Lagos art review platform The Sole Adventurer. The fair also featured some big names in contemporary art in Africa, including William Kentridge, Barthélémy Toguo, Sokari Douglas Camp, Ade Adekola, Rubi Onyiyechi Amanze, George Osodi, Victor Ehikhamenor, and Lakin Ogunbanwo.
“The success of these fairs,” says Péus, “reflects the growing interest in contemporary art production from Africa, on the continent itself and abroad. Young as well as long-time collectors bank on the potential increase of prices. Others expand their international collections with established names such as El Anatsui, Yinka Shonibare, William Kentridge, or Wangechi Mutu. At the same time, the success of the exhibition Beauté Congo Kitoko at the Fondation Cartier in Paris also caused a sensation.”
Elsewhere, the 12th edition of the increasingly important Dak’Art Biennale in Senegal held in May. In Ghana, the new art space Gallery 1957, Jeremiah Quarshie’s exhibition ‘Yellow is the Colour of Water’ and Chale Wote Street Art Festival attracted high profile professionals and patrons to Accra last year. Afrogallonism, a form of political art and activism created by Serge Attukwei Clottey, became widely known. Major events also took place in East Africa, with Kampala, Addis Ababa and Nairobi as the main hosts.
On the honours list, writes Oye, “El Anatsui, the Ghanaian artist living in Enugu, Nigeria received an honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from Harvard University. Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Nigerian artist living in Los Angeles, was awarded the 2016 Canson Prize for ‘Art on Paper’ and her work ‘Drown’ (2014) sold at $1,092,500 at Sotheby’s New York Contemporary Art sale in November, setting a new record for African contemporary art at auctions.
“Laolu Senbanjo, another Nigerian artist living in the US, had first of its kind collaborations with top sports brand Nike and American singer Beyonce. Berlin-based sound artist Emeka Ogboh received the 2016 Böttcherstraße Award by Kunsthalle Bremen in Germany for a project that highlighted the challenges of global migration. The Böttcherstraße Award is among the leading and highest awards in the field of contemporary art in Germany.”
This new diversity of art and the flourishing market has led to the opening of numerous galleries with a focus on Africa in the past two years, according to Péus.
“In London young gallerists at Tyburn or 50Golborne represent emerging artists such as Mohau Modisakeng and Cyrus Kabiru. In collaboration with Everard Read and CIRCA from South Africa, London’s CIRCA Gallery exhibits mainly South African artists in Chelsea. Art meets Camera from Cape Town concentrates on young photographic art; Art Twenty One in Lagos on art from West Africa. And the Circle Art Gallery in Nairobi is striving to become the main address for East African art,” she says.
Auctioneers, such as Bonhams, are also repositioning themselves.
“Hoping to find new collectors, Bonhams split its Africa section into a modern and a contemporary division in 2015. At the Post-War and Contemporary Art auction in February 2016, El Anatsui’s Peju’s Robe was sold for roughly 960,542 euros including acceptance,” writes Péus.
“The auction Africa Now – Modern Africa in May also fulfilled the high expectations: 85 percent of the lots were sold, including Ben Enwonwu’s Spirit of Ogolo for 260,500 euros (estimated price between 119,000 and 178,000), so far the maximum price for an oil painting by the Nigerian artist. With 210,144 euros, El Anatsui’s Used Towel also marked a new auction record for a wood sculpture by the Ghanaian.”
By and large, she says, the market for modern and contemporary African art still has plenty of room to grow: “it amounts to only $20 million, respectively 0.0003 percent of the estimated global art market turnover of $63.8 billion (2015 TEFAF Art Market Report)”.
CHUKS OLUIGBO
