The art scenes in the cities differ too. Cape Town has more established galleries with artists of higher status, due to having closer links to the global art scene, not only through the flood of tourists it attracts but an annual art fair that has a strong international flavour.
In this way, being a Joburg or Cape Town gallery mattered little — with the focus on the global art market. The digital migration that Covid-19 encouraged saw a marked increase in online and pop-up exhibitions, galleries and platforms advancing different kinds of models that have, to some degree, transcended geographic boundaries.
“Where else in Africa, perhaps other than Cairo, can you enjoy seeing art in a city? This is special and our ward councillor and the premier want to ensure Church Street retains an art character,” says Mahomed. Hobbs, who had immigrated to a bucolic setting outside Cork in Ireland, zoned in on the history of the house he was renting, eventually producing a series of architectonic works based on the plans of the house, employing the cardboard boxes his online deliveries came in as his main material. The cardboard would prove to have a deeper significance since he returned to live in South Africa and, in the process, moved home six times.
collectors that it almost felt like that was all they wanted. I immediately found that a bit problematic. What happens to the minimalist works?” asks Khoza. Cape Town artists are not. The splendour of Cape Town’s natural beauty will continue to activate the creative juices, even for artists fixated with man-made designs, such as Gerhard Marx, who is known for his manipulation of maps.
The art scenes in both cities have differed too. Cape Town has more established galleries with artists of higher status due to its closer links to the global art scene, not only through the flood of tourists it attracts but an annual art fair that has a strong international flavour. “As an economic and cultural capital, where people come to establish themselves and their careers, Johannesburg has more emerging artists,” comments Mandla Sibeko, director of Art Joburg, which opens this week.
“Without the internet, I think would have been one of the galleries that would have closed. At present I would say 80% of our collectors are from outside South Africa,” says Banele Khoza, an artist and founder of BKhz, a Joburg-based gallery.
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