An Art Fair Affair

from IQHAWE MAGAZINE ISSUE NO.6

by IQHAWE MAGAZINE

SoBae

AN ART

FAIR

AFFAIR

UNDERLINE ART FAIR

X

THE FNB ART FAIR

ARTICLE BY

PRETTY RENAE MANGENA

In my 22 years of life, I had never attended an art fair, my first fair was the Underline Art Fair a few weeks ago. I grew up in Johannesburg, and I have practically lived here my entire life. I went to a high school in the city and currently attend university here. Johannesburg is one of Africa’s Art hubs, with new galleries opening up and emerging artists coming up from

all parts of the country and making the place their creative home. So when I got the opportunity to cover both the FNB Art Fair and the Underline Art fair which all took place on the same weekend I simply could not contain the excitement. I walked into the spaces and could help but think about the accessibility politics that surround both these art fairs. I thought about the history of art fairs in South Africa particularly as it relates to minority groups of people. The beautiful painting and artworks that were representative of their lived experiences and different social-economical factors yet were not present to see themselves represented.

But besides the politics, both fairs stood in their own right, each speaking its own visual language and intent its and overall purpose.

The Underline Art fair is an all femaleowned fair which announced its presence in the Johannesburg art space in a spectacular manner, the fair found a perfect balance between the experimental, the new and the avant-garde which came from both emerging artists and established ones. The art pieces from independent curators spoke to themes such as womanhood, religion, the notion of being within one’s identity and how it relates to the spaces we occupy. The incorporated film screenings and performances gave the fair a unique experience and interesting use of the space itself.

Curators such as Christa Dee and Fhulufhelo Mobadi exhibited work by black female artists such as Lunga Ntila, Zana Masombuka, and Nonzuzo Gxekwa. The work heavily concerns