Investec Cape Town Art Fair thrives amid global market challenges, strengthening its international reputation
- Mary Corrigall
- Apr 1
- 7 min read
How did the Investec Cape Town Art Fair (ICTAF) fare? Typically, there is advance publicity that builds up the hype, however, there is an absence of postmortems - largely due to the collapse of the art and mainstream press in South Africa. As a result the most prominent narratives around the art market centre on those in Europe, the US, and China. The headlines have not been encouraging - the art market is slowing and shrinking. Yet the ICTAF is growing in size, visitors and sales. South African dealers that Corrigall & Co spoke to were mostly positive about this year's edition. Many reported that sales had exceeded those from last year.
This is welcomed news. The curtailing of auctions in Europe dedicated to African modern and contemporary at Piasa and Sothebys' - their March sale is usually highly anticipated and their largest of the year - has generated some anxiety about the global appetite for African art. The sharp decline - (the 2025 Artnet Intelligence Report cite a drop of 37,9%) in the secondary market for the ultra-contemporary (artists born after 1974) - of which African artists have featured most prominently has also been cause for concern.
Emerging art markets don't behave in the same way as Western ones. The Corrigall & Co report funded by Artlib, African Art Ecosystems 2024, established that the developments on the African continent often buck the trends in more established art markets in the global north. This report established that while art ecosystems in Europe were under threat during the COVID-19 pandemic, this global health crisis proved a catalyst for the growth of the commercial sector on the African continent. This was mirrored in Australia, Brazil and other art capitals in the global South.
Cape Town's ecosystem expansion after the pandemic outstripped that in other art capitals on the continent - Joburg, Marrakech, Casablanca, Lagos and Abuja.
Undoubtedly, ICTAF has played a fundamental role in this outcome. It is a lifeblood for many local art dealers, particularly the small—to mid-size ones—who cannot afford to participate in art fairs in the UK, US, and Europe. The African Art Ecosystems 2024 report established that only 22% of South African art dealers participate in art fairs beyond our national borders.
The art fair has grown in size. You could feel it. It took stamina to visit all the booths in one trip. There were 104 exhibitors (excluding magazines) compared to 76 in 2024.
There were more visitors; 30 000 compared to 25 000 last year. There were few quiet spells on the floor and on the VIP evening, which for the first time, was open to the public - for a fee - mirroring the approach taken by RMB Latitudes and FNB Art Joburg - there were throngs of people to navigate.
At times it was unpleasant and impossible to look at the art. With collector and VIP access kicking off from lunchtime, however, it was possible to enjoy the fair at a more sedate pace. "Intense," was the adjective most attached to the opening night. As one gallerist put it; "this is a nice problem to have."
CTAF only seems to be battling 'nice problems' - from its burgeoning size to the slew of VIP events. In truth, a doppelganger was required to do even a small handful of events on the VIP programme.
CTAF has always had an international character, which felt stronger this year. It was the first time a gallery from Japan participated not only in this fair but also in any fair on the African continent. The art on the booth was expected, but its presence was seen by most as a sign that ICTAF is a truly international fair, not simply a South African or African one. By extension, is the sense that Cape Town is an art centre on the global art map. This aligns with the data from the African Art Ecosystems Report 2024, which shows that Cape Town is the fastest-growing art capital on the African continent.
Is local art and South African expression being overshadowed by the presence of so many international galleries? Most dealers we spoke to not only embrace the international character of the fair but suggest it benefits them and local artists.
"Sometimes the market and appetite in South Africa is very provincial, so locally focused. There's so much happening in the global art scene, and we should be part of an international dialogue. It allows international galleries to see what we're doing and they are introduced to our artists. They have collectors that follow them around the world, so it brings new people like that." remarked Heinrich Groenewald of Cape Town-based Reservoir Projects.
Shamiela Tyer, director of Ecletica Contemporary concurred with Groenewald.
"By integrating perspectives from beyond the continent, it (ICTAF) has transcended its identity as solely an African fair, positioning itself as a truly global platform. This broader engagement is precisely what Cape Town’s art scene needs to flourish on the world stage," she added.
This status is perhaps what attracted two well-known African galleries that typically do the high-profile art fair circuit, kó, from Nigeria, and Gypsum from Eygpt, to a South African fair for the first time. This entailed adding other African-based or born artists producing high-end work to the fair. Such as Diana Ejaita at kó and new works by Huda Lutfi at Gypsum. The Dakar-based Oh Gallery booth stood out with a strong visual statement with an installation of monochromatic ink works by Hako Hanson from Cameroon.
Given the diminishing value of the rand, ICTAF is perhaps an affordable fair for European and some African exhibitors. The more international and high-profile galleries participating in ICTAF, the more likely high-level collectors will attend.
"The international element is a big draw. For a lot of collectors it's very impressive," said Emma Van Der Merwe of Everard Read and Circa Galleries Cape Town.
Indeed Van der Merwe and other South African dealers observed a different calibre of collectors expected at the likes of Art Basel. In light of inflation, collectors may be attracted to emerging markets like South Africa, where the quality of the art is high and the works remain affordable.
"We experienced a significant increase in engagement from serious collectors compared to previous years, highlighting a growing sophistication in the fair’s market," observed Jana Terblanche, director at Southern Guild.
Several South African dealers asserted that the standard of the fair is high and can compete with any others they attend in Europe or elsewhere. Undoubtedly, the standard of the art was high. Noticeably, most galleries presented new large-scale works by their most prominent artists and promising newcomers.
Blank Projects boasted large-scale works by Francis Offman aside from one produced by local favourite Jared Ginsberg. Reservoir Projects presented a large-scale (230 x440cm) work titled Thaba Nchu by Ben Stanwix & Xhanti Zwelendaba (artists that were a highlight of the HEAT Winter Arts Festival), which garnered the Investec Emerging Artist Award. Aside from a trio of sculptures by Helen Sebidi, Everard Read presented another one of Githan Coopoo's ginormous vases (in the vein of the one at RMB Latitudes) and a trio of figures by Teresa Firmino. Eclectica Contemporary upped the ante with textile works by African luminary Abdoulaye Konaté. Ebony/Curated pulled out all the stops with a booth designed for art viewing with cubicles within the cubicle and they too presented a large-scale painting by Aviwe Plaaitjie. Smac was also bold; showing the largest work I have seen by Bonolo Kavula and a towering collection of Francis Goodman's 'pill' ceramics. The gallery also deposited a massive new cement sculpture by Ledelle Moe in their booth.
With sculptures notoriously difficult to sell at art fairs and many large-scale works floating around, the art dealers paraded an air of confidence. This made for a better viewing experience and less 'clutter' as it meant fewer, bolder works. The organisers did not have a hand in encouraging large-scale sculptures, they told Corrigall & Co.
The dealers weren't just putting on a brave face; their assurance was evident in their impressive sales. Many small to mid-sized dealers sold out their stands and significant portions of the artworks in their galleries—and likely their storage rooms too. It wouldn't be far-fetched to deduce that some local dealers ran out of art to sell entirely!
"While we have consistently performed well at this fair, this year’s outcome has exceeded all expectations," said Tyer.
"This was my best year," beamed Charl Bezuidenhout of the WORLDART gallery.
Not everyone was happy; several local dealers expressed disappointment. However, they appeared to be in the minority and all indicated that they did meet new art buyers, which is one of the primary goals of participating in a fair.
Fifty collectors were flown in for the art fair courtesy of Fiera Milano Exhibitions Africa, according to the organisers. Yet interestingly, most South African dealers said that sales were to a mix of international and local buyers, which suggests that the local art collector base is expanding.
"I Think patterns have changed, people wait for the art fair to do their shopping instead of making random Saturday morning visits to different galleries," said Bezuidenhout.
Despite all the positive feedback from dealers, some artists and swallows were a little less enamoured. This fair is too much about the business of art. There is little space for non-commercial works or interesting interventions that are not packaged into a stand. The entrance to the fair was dull and uninviting. The ICAF team ought to harness or commission and exploit the larger-sized works.
As always this is not a fair that invites you to linger - lunching here is not an attractive prospect and even the German tourists complained about the price of a glass of bubbles. However, as there was such an abundance of art from so many parts of the world you felt compelled to return.
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