African attitudes at Latitudes
NEW PLATFORM: FOR ANY IN THE ART WORLD WITH A CONNECTION TO THE CONTINENT
Contemporary works in focus.
The motherland. The continent. The place where life began. Africa has so many stories to tell from the beginning of time. That’s why South Africa’s newest art showcase will have stellar works. It’s about Africa and all we associate with it.
“By African, we mean anyone who has a meaningful connection to Africa and the diaspora, and by international, we mean the endless permutations of transgeographic relationships – not the reinforcement of values entrenched in European and American economic centres,” said Latitudes co-founder Makgati Molebatsi.
Latitudes, which will be inaugurated next month, is all about bringing together African narratives. Considering how gallery spaces like Zeitz Museum Of Contemporary Art Africa has been able to curate this cross-country idea while celebrating the continent, an art fair space with similar ideals makes sense.
“The fair has been developed in conversation with several African galleries and sets out to nurture exchange between artists, galleries, collectors, curators and researchers throughout Africa and the diasporas.
“We aim to expand and strengthen audiences for contemporary art, as well as create a richer global understanding of African cultural production,” said Lucy MacGarry, co-founder of the fair.
Launching in September as part of the wider Art Week Joburg programme, Latitudes will bring together a curated selection of
galleries, independent platforms, studios and artists from the continent.
The 2019 programme of specially curated projects includes the following sections:
Essay
Geared towards rarely seen work by artists beginning their careers and overlooked masters, this section will feature the work of one established and one emerging artist.
Spotlight
A curated selection of artists from Africa and the diaspora whose work is unknown or under-represented outside of the regional contexts in which they or their galleries operate.
Each artist is presented through a concise feature showcasing three works.
The Spotlight section allows for a conversation between different artistic practices.
Independent,
A curated exhibition of early career artists with no gallery representation is to be presented by the South African Mint.
The objective of the exhibition is to introduce the works of unrepresented artists to galleries.
Latitudes.
The fair will host an annual solo exhibition by the winner of the Emerging Painting Invitational Prize to support and recognise emerging painters living and working on the continent.
Get to know the people behind the fair
Business development director Makgati Molebatsi has over 30 years’ experience in marketing and integrated communications in various industries: FMCG, retail, energy, rail and advertising. She graduated with BA social sciences from the University of the North and obtained a certificate in business administration from Wits Business School. She also holds a certificate in art and business from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art’s London Campus. Molebatsi sits on the board of the Bag Factory Artists Studios in Johannesburg. Molebatsi provides mentorship in the visual arts sector and participates in the Business and Art South Africa mentorship programme.
Executive director Lucy MacGarry has more than 12 years’ experience in bridging the gap between the art and corporate worlds. Last year, she founded a South African-based art advisory. In 2017, she was curator of The SA Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.