Investec Cape Town Art Fair announces its very first digital event in conjunction with Milan’s modern and contemporary art fair, miart.
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Africa’s leading art fair, Artshell and Investec Cape Town Art Fair’s Italian owner and producer Fiera Milano is partnering with Milan based miart international modern and contemporary art fair for an all-digital event during Milan Art week taking place from 17 – 19 September 2021.
The collaboration will provide a unique opportunity whereby VIPs, galleries and visitors will have access to a much broader audience across two continents – Africa and Italy – and two art fairs.
© Malala Andrialavidrazana. Courtesy of Afronova.
Investec Cape Town Art Fair Digital Event will feature local and international galleries with the theme ‘Connect Through Art from Africa and the World’.
Artshell, the web and App accessible platform, customized for Africa’s largest Art Fair, allows for autonomous, independent gallery/exhibitor access directly via their Artshell account with immediacy, and in sync with the Investec Cape Town Art Fair office.
Throughout the pandemic, art and technology have fused as channels of communication and have dramatically shifted online with Zoom and Google Chat facilitating discourse. With physical events cancelled globally, the art world accelerated their online platforms with ‘collaborative consumption’ becoming the art world’s new order as white cube galleries navigated their way off floor plans and online. While viewing rooms became the new art fairs, even with the noise of live events muted, the industry’s global acceleration online has seen a welcome shift in visibility and opportunity for galleries to control their own narrative and to access a whole new set of collectors.
Thebe Phetogo, Lowe (Untitled), 2021. Courtesy of Guns & Rain.
Investec has been the title sponsor of Cape Town Art Fair since 2018. “We believe art can break down barriers and bring people together. So, we’re delighted by the launch of Investec Cape Town Art Fair’s first digital edition, which could bring the world of art to a potentially larger, more diverse audience. It’s also important that the many talented artists represented at the fair continue to receive support and potential earnings despite the in-person event being cancelled,” said Peta Dixon, Investec’s Head of Sponsorships.
As the largest annual fair on the African continent, Investec Cape Town Art Fair has remained dedicated to supporting the industry, and to presenting contemporary art from a diverse range of established and new artists globally. Investec Cape Town Art Fair is an annual event that presents contemporary art from a diverse range of established and upcoming artists globally, championing the belief that art not only transcends cultural boundaries, but is what defines us and makes us human.
Abel Bentounsi, Bouquet dans une frontière (Bouquet in a frontier), 2021. Courtesy of Rhizome.
Investec Cape Town Art Fair Director Laura Vincenti elaborates: ‘There is a transformation happening in the art world. The first Investec Cape Town Art Fair Digital Event gives us an opportunity to support and showcase South African artists whilst continuing to connect with international galleries, businesses, media and creatives. While we still firmly believe that a digital event cannot replace the transformative nature of an in-person art experience, the digital event has accelerated our commitment to providing the best service to our galleries, artists, VIPs and visitors’.
Sanell Aggenbach, Kat in Blush, 2021. Courtesy of South Atlantic Press.
The Investec Cape Town Art Fair Digital Event is free of charge. To register and attend, all that is required is an online sign-up with Artshell via web or App to access.
A hybrid fair that will comprise of an in-person and digital event, running from 18-20 February 2022, will return to the Cape Town International Convention Centre next year for the ninth edition.
