Save the dates for FNB Art Joburg + Open City + The BMW Art Generation 2023.
FNB Art Joburg will return to Sandton Convention Centre for its 16th edition. A mainstay in Johannesburg’s culture calendar, the fair will take place from 8–10 September 2023. For its third edition, Open City will take place from 31 August – 19 September 2023. An initiative of BMW Young Collector’s Co in collaboration with FNB Art Joburg, The BMW Art Generation is a star-studded weekend with a programme line-up including the likes of Hans Ulrich Obrist, Dr. Thomas Girst, Dr. Joy Simmons, Chika Okeke-Agulu and William Kentridge.
By CityLife Arts Writer
FNB Art Joburg returns to Sandton Convention Centre from 8–10 September 2023, bringing the best from Africa and the diaspora’s leading institutions, galleries, and their artists.
A Johannesburg mainstay for the last decade and a half, FNB Art Joburg plays an instrumental role in developing and sustaining a commercial economy that centres around African and diasporic practitioners.
Faye Mfikwe, FNB Chief Marketing Officer says, “We are thrilled to continue our journey of empowering African artists through FNB Art Joburg. FNB’s 16-year involvement as a sponsor of the fair demonstrates our commitment to support the creative economy which is a vital economic pillar to our economic growth. Undoubtedly, FNB Art Joburg is a world-class platform, instrumental in showcasing African artistic talent.”
Taking on a hybrid approach where curatorial and commercial interventions meet, the fair is divided into six specialised sections: gallery HUB, gallery LAB, MAX, ETC, AUX, and ORG.
The gallery HUB is the fair’s central section and presents the best in contemporary art from across the continent. FNB Art Joburg is proud to have the following galleries, among others exhibit this year: BKhz, blank, Eclectic Contemporary, Everard Read, First Floor Gallery Harare, Gallery MOMO, Goodman Gallery, Kalashnikovv Gallery, SMAC Gallery, Stevenson, Suburbia Contemporary and WHATIFTHEWORLD.
The MAX section of the fair houses works from artists in gallery HUB with challenging scale while the ETC section will give fair goers the opportunity to engage with master print and publishing houses.
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 (Fair Manager, FNB Art Joburg) and Aida Esi Hayfron-Benjamin (Independence Curator, Ghana), the LAB pavilion will feature exhibitors that connect West and East Africa with the Sub-Saharan African region. These include 16:16, Annie Kadjie Art Gallery, CHURCH, EBONY/CURATED, Guns & Rain, ODA ART GALLERY, Ora Loapi, RESERVOIR, Untitled, Village Unhu and Wunika Mukan Gallery.
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 were established for the good of the public.
Spanning talks, public lectures and audio essays, the AUX section, sponsored by iToo Artinsure will explore a plethora of topics including magic realism as practice, biennale reflections, the role of arts writing, and art’s place in the metaverse.
Open City programme opens doors for artists city-wide.
Beyond the three-day fair, FNB Art Joburg remains committed to the city’s cultural landscape through Open City. The city-wide initiative will take over Johannesburg from 31 August – 19 September 2023. It fulfills FNB Art Joburg’s quest for economic stimulation, inclusivity, and better access for all by encouraging Johannesburg’s residents and visitors to immerse themselves in its rich and layered cultural offerings.
Activating the city with art, music, performance, food and fashion, every day of the week for 16+ days, Open City also gives independent and emerging cultural practitioners the opportunity to reach a wider audience of culture consumers.
Open City opens with The BMW Art Generation.
To usher in the Open City programming, FNB Art Joburg is proud to launch the BMW Art Generation, with proud support from FNB. Taking place from 1–3 September 2023, the BMW Art Generation is a weekend-long event that aims to engross the public and BMW Young Collectors Co. members in the contemporary African culture scene.
A proud initiative by FNB Art Joburg and BMW Group South Africa, the BMW Young Collectors Co. was established in 2020 to develop a new generation of art collectors that will collect and buy African art on African soil. By cultivating a fresh perspective on art patronage, the initiative has the power to create a new generation of collectors that will ensure the African art economy continues to grow for generations to come.
Marcelle Duncan, Head of Brand of BMW Group South Africa says, “For over 50 years, the BMW Group have created valuable partnerships within the arts and culture landscape and engaged in over 100 cultural collaborations worldwide. BMW Group South Africa remains committed to showing the importance of corporate cultural responsibility through consistent and intentional investment in contemporary art and design. Our partnership with FNB Art Joburg is a proud relationship, having created great opportunities before and intending to open even more doors now.”
Opening the BMW Young Collectors Co. programme to the public, BMW Art Generation brings celebrated, established, and young artists, curators, and academics, from across the world together in conversation with collectors to imagine, celebrate and protect the future of contemporary African art.
Hosted at William Kentridge’s Centre for the Less Good Idea, the BMW Art Generation will give the public access to open studios, performance art, live music and a boutique lifestyle market with stalls dedicated to demonstrating the very best in design and food and wine experiences.
Looking to bring leading artists from Africa and the diaspora to explore contemporary African art within the realm of black intellectual tradition, the weekend presents multiple opportunities to create a thought experiment that inserts an African narrative where art meets history and place. Foregrounding an ethos that fosters innovation, community and an Africa that will continue to set standards for the global contemporary art ecosystem, the BMW Art Generation prioritises access through the transference of knowledge, from one generation to another, in open forums.
Home to many artists’ studios, including William Kentridge, Mikhael Subotzky and Mary Sibande, the BMW Art Generation also looks to re-establish the Maboneng district as a flagship for culture. “Johannesburg is home to FNB Art Joburg, the longest running contemporary art fair on the African continent. Feeding off the city’s grit, desperation, tenacity and irreverent energy, artists, curators, and cultural policy makers living in or visiting Johannesburg understand its position and growing potential to be the continent’s cultural capital,” says Mandla Sibeko, Managing Director of FNB Art Joburg. “Hosted in central Johannesburg, where culture thrives and informs community’s daily lives, BMW Art Generation also seeks to reignite engagement and investment dedicated to stimulating and sustaining the city as a natural incubator for contemporary art.”
The BMW Art Generation will welcome the likes of Swiss curator and director at the Serpentine Galleries, Hans Ulrich Obrist; Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas; Global Head of BMW Group Cultural Engagement, Prof. Dr. Thomas Girst; Princeton-based Nigerian artist and historian, Chika Okeke-Agulu; and William Kentridge American collector and radiologist, Dr. Joy Simmons. A pilgrimage for some and a homecoming for others, the BMW Art Generation is an opportunity for long overdue connections.
“FNB Art Joburg’s mandate is to sustainably support and grow the contemporary African art offering that is shown on African soil. As the continent’s leading fair, we are thrilled to continue seeing this through while actively fulfilling our quest for economic stimulation, inclusivity, and better access for all, with 16+ days of culture through Open City,” concludes Sibeko.
Tickets for BMW Art Generation range from R250 to R950. To purchase tickets, visit: artjoburg.com.