10 Reasons to visit the Investec Cape Town Art Fair

This weekend, the Investec Cape Town Art Fair celebrates a decade as the city’s premier visual, contemporary art event. The fair has connected artists with galleries and collectors while showcasing fresh ideas and masterpieces in the making.

The fair is produced by Fiera Milano Exhibitions Africa, a leader in the field and one of the main integrated operators worldwide. The Art Fair will return to the Cape Town International Convention Center from February 17 to 19, 2023. The tenth edition will see 135 new artists participating, with over 23,000 visitors as well as 6,000 VIPs expected.

Here are 10 reasons to visit the tenth Investec Cape Town Art Fair this weekend:

It’s the world in a fair

The Investec Cape Town Art Fair has a continental feel thanks to galleries from Southern Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Galleries represented have come from Angola, Tunisia, and the Ivory Coast, to name just a few. This has drawn European and international galleries to the African art market during the past decade. The art fair today is a combination of local and international exhibitors, bringing home the best of both.

Time will bend

The organisers have enlisted the expertise of top curators to explore the theme for 2023: the notion of time. Moreover, leading practitioners will examine personal and societal time. 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 is flying high

Solo is a special selection at the Art Fair. It shines a light on the emerging and mid-career artists working locally and abroad, 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 making waves in the world. 

Get a glimpse of Tomorrows/Today and Forever 

The 2023 Investec Cape Town Art Fair’s theme, “In and Out of Time,” is woven together across the main exhibitions. Curators Natasha Becker and Dr Mariella Franzoni explore Maya Angelou’s poem about everlasting love and suffering. Tomorrows/Today & Forever engages with the link between our bodies, minds, and social environment, as well as 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.

There’s both ALT and new

In 2022, the ALT section debuted with projects that showed how the art world needed to adapt. ALT is dedicated to alternative booth formats and exhibitions reflecting how technological change continuously impacts the art world in 2023. For this section, we encourage applications from nontraditional galleries, including digital and technology-based projects that offer a fresh interpretation of the anti-booth.

A happening (gathering) space

Investec Cape Town Art Fair solves the social and cultural problem of connecting collectors, galleries, art enthusiasts, and institutions worldwide. Since its debut, the event has given visitors, including art fair veterans, a very personalised experience of the Mother City’s art scene. VIPs can look forward to an exciting programme of events both within the fair, and throughout the city.

Talk of the town – Cape Town Art Fair

Investec Cape Town Art Fair positions its Conversations series firmly in the present, tackling complex debates within the scope of its business-oriented model. In stimulating panel discussions, people talk about the regional contemporary art scenes as well as how contemporary African art is affecting the diaspora and other places. Interviewees include notable figures from the cultural world, as well as architects, critics, and educators.

Cape Town will (once again) transform into a living artwork

During Investec Cape Town Art Fair, exceptional exhibitions and projects transform the Mother City into a big artwork. The local art scene is booming, and one of the best ways to experience it is by popping into the innovative spaces as well as more traditional galleries. Wherever you go, you can expect to be immersed in diverse, cutting-edge and provocative artworks rich in culture and heritage. 

Art goes walkabout and talk about at Cape Town Art Fair

Guided tours are open to visitors, offering a chance to see the fair through the eyes of curators, academics, artists and gallerists. The histories and anecdotes about what’s on the walls and what’s in the fair add an extra dimension to the experience. In 2023, the art walkabouts will extrapolate on the theme of time.

You can also enjoy darkness and light on Gallery Night

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 a vibrant evening of gallery hopping from the city bowl to Woodstock. Buses are available to all ticket holders of the fair.

 The details:

• The tenth 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 the Webtickets link on www.investeccapetownartfair.co.za

More information:

Visit us at www.investeccapetownartfair.co.za or follow Investec Cape Town Art Fair on Twitter @ICTAF, Instagram @investeccapetownartfair and Facebook @ICTArtFair. Hashtag #ICTAF