As the Asian art market slows, Africa has filled the gap it has left behind. Last year alone there were two dedicated contemporary African art fairs in New York – Armory Focus and 1:54 – and more in London and Paris. And then of course there is Africa itself. From the winding streets of Maputo and Addis Ababa to the high-rises of Lagos and Johannesburg, local galleries and art fairs are finally becoming profitable and are now proliferating at an impressive rate.
And nowhere is this newfound celebration of African art quite so intoxicating as in Cape Town. With jagged mountains, white-sand beaches and rolling vineyards, Cape Town has always suffered from the age-old curse of being too pretty to be taken seriously. But as the international art community finally turns its long overdue attention to the continent, this beautiful beach city has become something of a cultural hub thanks to its thriving gallery district, annual art fair and, from September, world-class museum. read more