Mulling Over Art: Artnet “Intelligence Report” magnifies African Art Market

Andrew Mulenga, The Mast, September 24, 2019

[...] A single hub for such a massive and heterogenous continent may never materialize. Instead, Rakeb Sile, cofounder of the gallery Addis Fine Art, predicts that “there will be and should be different hubs in several regions of Africa.”

 

Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Lagos, and Marrakech make the list. Each city has its own heritage, culture, and distinctive history with colonialism—resulting in unique artistic production. Painting remains most popular in East Africa, which is home to the two oldest art schools on the continent, while West Africa has fostered more experimentation with largescale installations and performance-based work. Both sides of the continent also have a rich tradition of photography.


Th report also listed a number of top earners on the continent which were as follows: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Tadesse Mesfin (Born 1953); Price Range: $24,000 to $35,000; Gallery affiliation: Addis Fine Art (Addis Ababa), Elias Sime (Born 1968); Price Range: $65,000 to $300,000; Gallery affiliation: James Cohan Gallery (New York); Dawit Abebe, Dawit Abebe (Born 1978); $8,000 to $30,000; Gallery affiliation: Kristin Hjellegjerde (London, Berlin). [...]

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