The ever-expanding interest and focus on Afro-diasporic practice has been significantly evidenced in the many museum exhibitions, biennales and art fairs this year.
Oupa Sibeko, WATER BLOM, 2023. Archival photographic print on recycled handmade paper, 160 x 140cm. Courtesy of the artist and COMMUNITY residencies by ART AFRICA.
For this reason, ART AFRICA is excited to partner with the South African RMB Latitudes art fair in Johannesburg from 26th to 28th May, further adding to our support and promotion of African art and artists.
The ART AFRICA/RMB Latitudes collaboration follows back-to-back partnerships with the Casablanca Biennale; Ozangé Biennale of African Photography; Bamako Encounters; Sharjah Biennale 15; Art Dubai; 1-54, London, Paris, Marrakech and New York; ARCOLisboa; Paris Photo; and a special invitation by Abu Dhabi Culture and Tourism to preview and promote the Abu Dhabi Sculpture Biennale.
Referred to as a ‘New Art Fair Experience’, RMB Latitudes brings together artists and exhibitors from across the continent to transform Shepstone Gardens, a magnificent three-acre property, into a curated celebration of art from Africa.
ART AFRICA is also excited to announce COMMUNITY residencies by ART AFRICA, and will be participating with a solo presentation of Oupa Sibeko’s ‘Hangberg Se Tuin Van Elemente (Hangberg’s Garden Of Elements)’, the inaugural exhibition of a residency artist. Oupa’s work, printed on handmade paper made from recycled ART AFRICA magazine back-issues, is made by the African Paper Company.
COMMUNITY residencies by ART AFRICA is a trans-disciplinary research residency created by ART AFRICA founders Suzette and Brendon Bell-Roberts.
We facilitate collaborations between international artists, curators, academics and local community organisations to impact social and environmental change.
Set on the fringes of South Africa’s two most prominent cities, Cape Town and Johannesburg, each site specifically informs the residency focus.
Hangberg, in the village of Hout Bay, Cape Town, is set above a fishing harbour where residency participants explore the richness of the close-knit community within the broader environmental and socio-political contexts of Hout Bay.
Boksburg North on the East Rand, Johannesburg, where the residency interrogates the impact of resource extraction, industrialisation and the social and environmental effects on the region.
The dialogue between the two residency sites further explores the two specific residency approaches in the broader context of colonialism, the slave trade and the movement of people, goods and ideas in the development of the African diaspora.
We are excited to support and participate in the RMB Latitudes art fair, offering an innovative new platform for contemporary art from Africa and the diaspora.
Enjoy the experience!
– Suzette & Brendon Bell-Roberts
