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LATITUDES Art Fair

An exciting initiative and platform for African art in international times

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By House & Garden | September 11, 2019 | Design

The LATITUDES Art Fair is a new platform to make  African art more accessible to a wider audience and will be taking place at the Nelson Mandela Square in Joburg on 13 - 15 September 2019.

‘’By African, we mean anyone who has a meaningful connection to Africa and the  diaspora, and by international, we mean the endless permutations of trans-geographic relationships - not the reinforcement of values entrenched in European and American economic centres," explains LATITUDES Co-Founder, Makgati Molebatsi.

‘’The Fair has been developed in close conversation with several African  galleries, and sets out to nurture exchange between artists, galleries, collectors, curators and researchers throughout Africa and the diasporas. We aim to expand and strengthen audiences for contemporary art, as well as create a richer global understanding of African cultural production,’’ adds Lucy MacGarry, LATITUDES Co-Founder and Business Development Director.

The 2019 programme of special, curated projects includes the following sections:

ESSAY is geared towards rarely seen work by artists beginning their careers and overlooked masters, so this section will feature the work of one established and one emerging artist.

SPOTLIGHT is a curated selection of artists from Africa and the diaspora whose work is unknown or underrepresented outside of the regional contexts in which they or their galleries operate. Each artist is presented through a concise feature showcasing three works. Curatorially, the  Spotlight section allows a conversation between different artistic practices.

INDEPENDENT, presented by the South African Mint, is a curated exhibition of early career artists with no gallery representation. The objective of the exhibition is to introduce the works of unrepresented artists to galleries participating in LATITUDES.

 

LATITUDES LIMITED

The Fair has also invited five African artists to create limited edition artworks, which will be sold as part of the LATITUDES VIP Programme package and then be translated into designs that wrap five luxury cars.

Resplendent in these original artworks, Daytona’s latest models – the McLaren 650S, McLaren 570S, Aston Martin Vanquish, Aston Martin DB11 and Rolls-Royce Ghost – will be unveiled at the LATITUDES Art Fair and will also be on show at the Daytona showroom in Melrose Arch.

The 2019 LATITUDES Limited Artists are Adejoke Tugbiyele, Sthenjwa Luthuli, Pebofatso Mokeona, Clint Strydom and Mbali Tshabalala.

These artists were invited to collaborate with master printer, Jillian Ross and printer, Roxy Kaczmarek at David Krut Workshop to bring the first edition of LATITUDES Limited to life in the form of five original silkscreens.

About the artists and artworks:

Mbali Tshabalala

Tshabalala’s artistic practice is an ongoing interrogation of ideals around mental health in black societies; expressed through cultural and religious beliefs that assert misconception and contribute to uninformed notions and superstitions.

Conversations within, 2019

5-colour silkscreen on Cartiere Enrico Magnani 300gsm

270  x 380 mm

Edition of 25

Adejoke Tugbiyele

Born in Brooklyn, New York and raised for seven years in Lagos Nigeria, artist/activist Tugbiyele boldly, yet delicately, weaves complex ideas about race, gender, sexuality, spirituality and migration through her practice.

Woman Dignity, 2019

5-colour silkscreen on Cartiere Enrico Magnani 300gsm

380 x 270 mm

Edition of 25

 

Pebofatso Mokoena

At the age of 22, Mokoena’s work lies in the South African Embassy Art Collection (Washington, D.C.), the Smithsonian Museum of African Art in Washington DC, and numerous private collections.

3/4 Progress on the Edge of Play

7-colour silkscreen on Cartiere Enrico Magnani 300gsm

265 x 380 mm

Edition of 25

Sthenjwa Luthuli

Luthuli was mentored by Themba Shibase, artist and fine art lecturer at the Durban University of Technology. His practice is inspired by a number of fine artists including, Edward Hopper, Gerald Sekoto, Ephraim Ngatane, Osuwa Nkomo and Yinka Shonibare.

Future Mirror, 2019

5-colour silkscreen on Cartiere Enrico Magnani 300gsm

380 x 270 mm

Edition of 25

Clint Strydom

Strydom is a photographer, who has collaborated with international brands the likes of Aston Martin global, FIFA, Mexican International Football Hall of Fame and Constitution Hill to name a few.

Big City 01, 2019

5-colour silkscreen on Cartiere Enrico Magnani 300gsm

265 x 380 mm

Edition of 25

“We are exploring a more lateral approach to the way in which we enable new exchanges and expose the work of African artists in different contexts - and cars, exquisitely wrapped in designs of original artworks - are sure to turn heads and create an impact,” says Molebatsi.

The Fair will also be hosting an annual solo exhibition by the winner of the EMERGING PAINTING INVITATIONAL PRIZE to support and recognise emerging painters living and working on the continent.

Visit latitudesartfair.com for more information

 

Images: Supplied

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