Joburg gets ready for the 2017 edition of FNB Art Fair

17 August 2017

 

The 10th edition of the FNB Joburg Art Fair, to be held at the Sandton Convention Centre from September 8-10, will feature more than 60 exhibitions in categories such as contemporary and modern art, solo presentations, limited editions and art platforms.

 

Speaking at the launch of this year’s fair at the Four Seasons Hotel in Parktown on Tuesday August 15, FNB Joburg Art Fair Director Mandla Sibeko said the selected galleries and organisations would come from 11 African and European countries as well as from the United States.

The FNB Joburg Art Fair is supported by the Gauteng Provincial Government and the City of Johannesburg. It has several project partners including Nelson Mandela Square, Cartier, Vodacom, Triple M, Business Day, Financial Mail, Sunday Times and Timeless Africa Safaris.

Sibeko also announced that this year's R100 000 FNB Art Prize had been awarded to Nigeria's Peju Alatise.

Alatise joins Nolan Oswald Dennis, Turiya Magadlela, Portia Zvavahera and Kudzani Chiurai in winning the prestigious and coveted prize.

Besides the cash prize, Alatise will also have the opportunity to create a new project to be showcased in a dedicated exhibition space at the FNB Joburg Art Fair. Alatise, who holds a degree in architecture, is a mixed medium artist, poet and writer whose interdisciplinary work has garnered attention on the global arts stage.

Sibeko said this year’s edition of the art fair would be bigger and better than the previous years. It will include six participants that had exhibited in every FNB Joburg Art Fair since its inception in 2008. These are David Krut Projects, Goodman Gallery, Everard Read, Gallery Momo and SMAC Gallery.

New exhibitors include 50ty/50ty, NWU Gallery and Under Ground Contemporary. Sibeko said the fair was proud to welcome back Robin Rhode, who had been working and living in Germany for the past 15 years, as the 2017 featured artist.

In 2008, Rhode was selected as the fair’s inaugural featured artist. Speaking on his return to the fair, Rhode said: “My participation at the 2017 FNB Joburg Art Fair as a featured artist heralds a point of reflection for me in terms of understanding the art of my practice. I hope my contribution in this fair will fulfil the desire and the challenges of the public.

“The South African public needs to be challenged. Contemporary art is about challenging each other. Art is about performances, challenges and sharing of ideas.”

Marie van Niekerk, Senior FNB Communications and Sponsorship Manager, said there was a great need to continue investing in artists.

"Our decade of continued support of the FNB Joburg Art Fair is recognition of the varied roles that art plays in our society – from being a form of expression that offers a much deeper and intrinsic look at the world around us to an alternative investment option.

“Our commitment to the FNB Joburg Art Fair continues to introduce African artists to an international audience, galleries, collectors, writers, thinkers and art lovers," Van Niekerk said.