What to See at the 2023 Investec Cape Town Art Fair

WORDS Cheri Morris PHOTOS Stephanie Veldman

This year the Investec Cape Town Art Fair taking place from 17 to 19 February celebrates a decade of being the city’s premier visual, contemporary art event and features 135 new artists, here’s some of what we’re most excited to see.

A whole world of art

The art fair today is a combination of local and international exhibitors, bringing home the best of both. Expect representation of galleries from across Southern Africa and sub-Saharan centres, including Angola, Tunisia, and Ivory Coast, as well as those from Europe and further afield.

Timewarped curation

The theme for the 2023 Investec Cape Town Art Fair is the notion of time and see top curators forefront an investigation of the passage of experience – both personal and societal – putting time into a prism of arresting perspectives. Among those appointed are independent curator Natasha Becker (San Francisco, USA), art adviser and curator Dr. Mariella Franzoni (Barcelona, Spain), local writer Sean O’Toole (Cape Town, South Africa) and art dealer and adviser, João Ferreira (Lagos, Portugal).

SOLO

SOLO, a special section of the Fair, spotlights emerging and mid-career artists, both local and imported, through curated solo presentations. From its first iteration, when the special feature explored the effects of the digital world on lived realities and art-making, it has taken audiences through the inner workings of a generation of artists who are altering the landscape of art the world over. 

Tomorrows/Today and forever 

Officially titled In and Out of Time, the theme of the 2023 Investec Cape Town Art Fair is woven together across the main exhibitions, where curators Natasha Becker and Dr. Mariella Franzoni explore Maya Angelou’s, a poem about everlasting love and suffering.

Tomorrows/Today & forever engages with the link between our bodies, minds and social environment; or the affective dimension of our experiences of time, memory, history, imagination, action, and desire. Artists in this section include Joana Choumali (Côte d’Ivoire) of Gallery 1957, Gino Rubert (Mexico) of LAB36+Galeria Senda, Cassi Namoda (Mozambique) of Goodman Gallery, Deborah Segun (Nigeria) of Bode Projects, Talia Ramkilawan (South Africa) of BKhz Gallery, Githan Coopoo (South Africa) of Everard Read Gallery, Micha Serraf (Zimbabwe) of C24 Gallery, Shamilla Aasha (Zimbabwe) of First Floor Gallery Harare, Carla Hayes (Spain) of Reiners Contemporary Art and Rosie Mudge (South Africa) of SMAC Gallery.

ALTernative art for a digitised world

The ALT section – a dedication to projects that reflect the many ways in which the art world had to adapt under COVID – made its debut in 2022. For 2023 ALT continues its ode to anti-booth formats and exhibitions that reflect the symbiotic relationship between technological change and art.

DMCs

The 2023 Talks Programme features a series of stimulating panel discussions that explore the regional contemporary art scenes and the impact that contemporary African art is having on the diaspora and beyond. The conversations are not limited to fine art practitioners, but also include the experiences of cultural figures, architects, critics and educators.

Behind the scenes

Guided walkabout tours curated by Art School South Africa offer a chance for visitors to see the fair through the eyes of curators, academics, artists and gallerists. Join to hear the theme of time extrapolated and hear histories and anecdotes about what’s on the walls and what’s in the fair.

Gallery Night City Sightseeing

Gallery Night takes the art fair beyond the venue, offering fairgoers a fuller view of Cape Town’s visual art scene. Jump on a City Sightseeing double decker bus from the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Friday, 17 February, and enjoy an epic evening of gallery hopping from the city bowl to Woodstock. Buses are available to all ticket holders of the fair.

The 2023 Investec Cape Town Art Fair will run from Friday 17 to Sunday 19 February at the Cape Town International Conference Centre from 11h00 to 19h00. Tickets can be purchased via Webtickets.

For more information, visit investeccapetownartfair.co.za.

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