FNB Art Joburg returns to Sandton

Image supplied: Managing director of FNB Art Joburg, Mandla Sibeko

Bonga Sebesho, head of FNB Brand Experience says, “We are excited to continue our journey of empowering African artists through FNB Art Joburg. FNB’s 15-year involvement as a sponsor of the exhibition demonstrates our commitment to support the creative economy which is an important economic pillar to our economic recovery. Our continent is home to world-class talent and there’s no better platform than FNB Art Joburg to showcase this.”

Curated into six specialised sections— Hub, gallery lab, Max, ORG, AUX, ETC — FNB Art Joburg’s 2022 programming is all-encompassing.

Referred to as the Hub, the fair's central section presents the best in contemporary art from across the continent in line with the objective to be a quality rather than quantity-focused fair.

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This year, FNB Art Joburg is proud to have the following galleries present: Afriart Gallery, Blank Projects, Eclectica Contemporary, Everard Read, First Floor Gallery Harare, Gallery Momo, Goodman Gallery, Guns and Rain, Kalashnikovv, SMAC Gallery, Stevenson and Whatiftheworld.

The Max section of the fair houses installations or works with challenging scale while the ETC section will give fairgoers the opportunity to engage with master print and publishing houses.

The ORG section is a representation of Johannesburg’s seminal art institutions. Whether museums, universities, or private institutions, the section looks to redefine how people engage with organisations that are established for the good of the public.

Image supplied: FNB Art Joburg is returning in September

Spanning talks, public lectures and audio essays, the AUX section will explore a plethora of topics including magic realism as practice, biennale reflections, the role of art writing, and art’s place in the metaverse.

Then, adjacent to the Hub, and looking to the future of contemporary African art, is gallery lab.

An incubation to develop emerging galleries and hybrid art spaces, gallery lab will present and test new ideas and business models aimed at transforming the contemporary African art landscape. Co-curated by Kim Kandan and Aida Esi Hayfron-Benjamin, the lab pavilion will see West and East Africa connecting with the Sub-Saharan African region. Exhibitors featured in gallery lab include Bubblegum Club, Church Projects, Citizen Projects, Ebony Curated, Ora Loapi, Pacers Gallery, Modzi Art Gallery, Saint George Projects, Suburbia Contemporary and Village Unhu.

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"There aren’t many lines of communication between us and that disconnect is not ignorance… As curators, gallerists, artists and people who put together fairs, it is our job to think about how to bridge that gap by facilitating connections through interventions like gallery LAB,” explains Hayfron-Benjamin.

Surrounding the in-person fair, from 25 August to 9 September, Open City's programme will open up the city with an over 15 days programme of art, music, performance, food, and fashion across the city.

Managing director of FNB Art Joburg, Mandla Sibeko, says, “We are thrilled to be back with an in-person fair in 2022 while also expanding our culture footprint with 15 plus days of dynamic culture programming through Open City. As the first and longest-running contemporary art fair on the continent, FNB Art Joburg continues to show active commitment to the arts and showcasing the dynamic talent that Joburg, South Africa and the continent has to offer,”

FNB Art Joburg will take place from 2-4 September. Tickets are available here.