Johannesburg based artists explore the American art market by exhibiting during Miami Art Week

The participating artists are Happy Dhlame, Asanda Kupa, Cassius Khumalo and Andile Komanisi.

By Edward Tsumele, CTYLFE/ARTS Editor

Hardly had spent 15 minutes when a rain drops started falling, drenching the courtyard in front of me. This was followed by a bolt of lightning that would frighten even the strongest watches of the ancient times. The skies suddenly bust open followed by a downpour, the type that promised to go on for hours.

Was worried simply because had been waiting for what must have been 15 minutes for artist Happy Dhlame. You see, Dhlame had contacted me two days earlier, to share the good news that he and a few other artists were exhibiting in Miami. Now that is a big deal in the South African art trade context, as it is not an everyday news item that one gets to hear that South African contemporary artists are having an exhibition in the US. More so for those that are not represented by the big galleries in the country that have established networks at art fairs and other spaces overseas. However I did not have to wait for Dhalme for that long at Tshimologong after all. Tshimologong is a place in Braamfontein attached to Wits University that has in recent years, become a centre where those with big dreams to start that tech-start-up that would change their lives, congregate to hatch their ideas and share notes with like-minded tech-savvy young creators and entrepreneurs.

“I had a tire puncture on the road.” Happy said, before going straight into sharing the good news.

“I and a group of other South African artists are currently exhibiting in Miami. This is the third year in a row that we are doing so, having started in 2021, repeating the feat in 2022, when we exhibited at Art Basel Art fair, two exhibitions that were curated by Jessica Deutch.

“This time however, our work which are part of the Apter Family Collection are being exhibited at the Temple Emanu-el in Miami during the Miami Art Week. Besides me exhibiting the works that I have been working on from last year to this year, the show comprises other South African artists and one Ukraine artist. The South African artists whose works I co-curated from this side, are Asanda Kupa, Cassius Khumalo and Andile Komanisi” Dhlame explained.

The relationship between art collector Jeff Apter and Dhlame and some of the other participating South African artists, dates back to 2021 when Dhlame first established a relationship with avid collector of contemporary African art. Since then, Apter has been collecting works of art from African artists manly from South Africa and a few others from the rest of the African continent. Dhlame has been a significant figure and key contact for the shows that Apter puts up in the US, essentially giving some of the country’s talented contemporary artists’ work and exposure in the American market.

“The way I see, Jeff who has been collecting contemporary African art since we first made that connection will grow to become an important figure and owner of African contemporary art, just like other collectors who collected artists such as Picasso and Van Gogh, for example when they were less known. But when they became popular, that collection turned out to be valuable,”Dhlame, a painter told CITYLIFE/ARTS.

Dhlame explained that exhibiting South African artists in the US was both grabbing an opportunity as well as an exercise that has become necessary because of the limited opportunities available to independent artists at commercial galleries in the country.

“If you look at the politics of the commercial gallery spaces n South Africa it is such that not every artist gets to be signed to a gallery and for those that have no gallery representation for whatever reason ranging from not having enough time to network and get a gallery to sign you as well as your work not aligned to what commercial galleries are interested in terms of representation t s a limiting environment. Independent artists therefore have to think outside the box and look beyond South Africa to reach new markets and new audiences.

And also when you look at the role of public museums things are not working as they should. For example, not much is happening at MuseumAfrika, Johannesburg Art Gallery and Iziko National Museum, regarding the issue of giving local contemporary artists opportunities to exhibit their works in those public institutions.

“Yes these museums have permanent collections in their possessions which from time to time they exhibit. But what should deal happen is that alongside those programmes they should dedicate space to showcasing contemporary artists and their works in a form of regular pop up exhibitions. But that unfortunately is not happening, resulting in a situation where-by South African artists are left out of the art eco-system, particularly those that have no gallery representation,” explained Dhlame.

Dhlame added that in Europe for example, public museums play an important role in tourism simply because besides their collections, they also display art of now, attracting tourists who have a reason to go out and check out what is out there. That, he argued, is good for tourism, but a city like Johannesburg does not have that culture.

This, he said, is why an opportunity like this in Miami is important as the artists that are not represented by galleries are able to explore opportunities beyond the borders of South Africa.