Modern African Art Is Being Gentrified

NY Times | Chika Okeke-Agulu

Sotheby’s held its first auction of modern and contemporary African art on Tuesday, where 83 pieces by artists from Cameroon to South Africa sold for a total of nearly $4 million. The star of the sale was the Ghanaian artist El Anatsui’s sculpture made from discarded aluminum bottle caps and copper wire that went for about $950,000.

This was no ordinary event. African art accounts for a very tiny portion of the international art market, and African artists have long been seen as outsiders. But the demand for their work has greatly increased over the past decade…read more

Image | Chester Higgins Jr.|The New York Times|Drifting Continents | Ghanaian artist El Anatsui.