Investec Cape Town Art Fair: Africa’s biggest art showcase

Over 375 artists and 20 new galleries from four different continents

Last updated: Tuesday, 2 January 2024

The continent’s biggest contemporary art gathering will showcase over 375 artists; 20 new international and local exhibiting galleries; bringing art experts, art enthusiasts, curators and journalists; and more than 25 000 visitors and 6 000 VIP guests to the CTICC. 

And you don’t need to know about art or buy anything to discover something special. Here’s everything you need to know about Cape Town’s cultural event of the year, the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, happening 16 to 18 February 2024.

It’s the largest contemporary art fair on the continent. Image: Stephanie Veldman

CONTEMPORARY ART FROM AROUND THE WORLD 

The Investec Cape Town Art Fair, now in its 11th year, is where the local and international art worlds meet, with galleries from South Africa, Angola, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Botswana, France, Germany, Turkey, the USA, Italy, Egypt, Ethiopia and more participating. 

You’ll be spoilt for choice if you’re looking to discover new artists or to add to your collection.

The artists showcased come from across four different continents. Image: Stephanie Veldman

IT’S A LIFESTYLE EVENT, TOO 

With over 20 new exhibiting galleries this year, both local and international, showcasing artists and galleries from four different continents, the Investec Cape Town Art Fair is Cape Town’s cultural event of the year. 

For the first time, there will be a merch pop-up shop with an exclusive range of fashion and homeware. Yawa Africa (co-founded by Black Coffee) will showcase an exclusive Off-White capsule collection and will be launching their collab collection with rising fashion star, Lukhanyo Mdingi.

The 2024 edition sees the city of Cape Town play a significant role in the week of the fair, Unbound City, providing a platform to connect and interact throughout the city in the name of art. Throughout the week, there'll be a number of VIP and public events hosted across the city landscape by local museums and institutions including Zeitz MOCAA, Irma Stern Museum, Norval Foundation, AVA Gallery, Bo Kaap Museum, and the Iziko South African National Gallery. Exhibitors will be hosting events within their galleries, and a number of international exhibitors are hosting pop-up exhibitions.  

Full details of the event schedule will be released closer to the time; for more see the Investec Cape Town Art Fair’s website. 

The Investec Cape Town Art Fair is about more than art, too. Image: Stephanie Veldman

THERE’S ENTRY-LEVEL & AFFORDABLE PIECES 

You don’t need to spend a fortune to start collecting art. Editions is a section that showcases galleries, studios and workshops that specialise in prints, multiples and editions by leading and emerging artists.

In addition, the ALT section is dedicated to projects that reflect the many ways in which the art world had to adapt. Young, non-traditional art project spaces have the opportunity to showcase their artists in a nonconventional way through an installation that offers a fresh interpretation of the anti-booth. The section invites dialogue around unconventional, non-traditional modes of practice and thinking and intends to break away from the usual art fair environment. Prices are likely to be suited to starting small here.

The Tomorrows/Today section of the fair is where you’ll find up-and-coming and underrepresented artists. Curated by renowned Spanish curator Dr. Mariella Franzoni, it provides a platform for emerging artists and acts as a forecast of future practices, trends and ideas. The 2024 edition, Inhabiting the Wild, explores the concept of wildness through artistic imagination. 

The ALT section also shows upcoming (and non-traditional) artists. Image: Stephanie Veldman

PLUS SOME ESTEEMED ARTISTS 

Of course, there’ll be plenty of established names (this is great for international visitors due to the favourable exchange rate). 

The MAIN section will have pieces from some of the world’s most well-known art galleries. There’s ARTCO Galerie in Berlin, which will be exhibiting work from Patrick Tagoe-Turkson, a Ghanaian multidisciplinary artist who promotes sustainability through art. 

Each year the Art Fair attracts more and more visitors. Image: Stephanie Veldman

Local gallery, Southern Guild (who has sold to Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, and National Gallery of Victoria) will show many well known artists including Zizipho Poswa, Andile Dyalvane and Zanele Muholi. 

Other participating international galleries with esteemed artists include; Bode (Berlin), Eric Dupont (Paris), Galleria Anna Marra (Rome), Gregor Podnar (Vienna), Circle Art Gallery (Nairobi), Galleria Giovanni Bonelli (Milan), MOVART (Luanda), Afriart Gallery (Kampala), Anna Laudel (Istanbul), First Floor Gallery (Harare)...

With so many artists and galleries, there’s almost too many to mention. Image: Stephanie Veldman

IT CHALLENGES HOW WE UNDERSTAND ART 

The curatorial theme for 2024 is Unbound and challenges our perceptions of art. The pieces will explore questions like “What does it mean to be unbound?” and “How can the experience of art liberate the mind?” 

It also provides a platform for art that provokes the imagination and breaks away from traditional storytelling and social expectations.

The theme is meant to challenge our perceptions of what art is. Image: Stephanie Veldman

In 11 years, Investec Cape Town Art Fair has grown to be the preeminent destination for artists, galleries, curators, museums, cultural institutions, collectors, and art enthusiasts to connect and interact in the name of art. 

Who knows who you might meet and connect with?

VISIT THE INVESTEC CAPE TOWN ART FAIR 

Investec Cape Town Art Fair is on: 16 - 18 February 2024
Find it: CTICC, Convention Square, 1 Lower Long Street, Cape Town, 8001
Book: Via Webtickets 
Contact them on: 021 7022 280, art@fieramilano.co.za, @investeccapetownartfair  

By Julia Rowley

---

SEE MORE OF CAPE TOWN’S ART SCENE 

SCape Town’s newest art festival, HEAT, is on from 11 to 21 July 2024. 

See our lineup of some of Cape Town’s best art galleries. 

Find rare art and luxury couture at this new gallery.

Join the monthly art crawl at Cape Town’s First Thursday.

Our pick of the top 7 things to do this week(end). 

---

Loved discovering this? Make sure you get our popular weekly newsletter. Follow and like us on Twitter ❤ Facebook ❤ LinkedIn ❤ Instagram ❤ Pinterest for updates.