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RMB Latitudes
Held at the opulent Shepstone Gardens in the historic Joburg suburb of Mountain View, RMB Latitudes earns its name as one of the city's premier art experiences. The location alone makes it worth attending – but there's far more to this fair than old-world architecture.
RMB Latitudes reimagines the relationship between art and the viewer. It's part art fair, part scavenger hunt, with works dotted all around the three-acre property both indoors and out. Visitors are invited to wander through marble halls, secret gardens, and sculpture pavilions to explore the wide variety of works. "The design of the fair dissolves the typical art-viewing environment, creating a space for art to be engaged with and questioned in a uniquely African context," says director Lucy MacGarry.
The three-day event is a chance for African contemporary art to shine. A few international galleries with a presence at this year's fair are Nigeria's Affinity Art Gallery, Botswana's ReCurate, and Uganda's Afriart Gallery, sharing space with some of South Africa's leading art institutions and practitioners. The diverse programme includes exhibitions, talks, film screenings, and more. As we've come to expect, delicious food, bespoke treats, local wines, and fashion will be on offer too.
The 2024 edition of RMB Latitudes takes place from Fri, May 24 – Sun, May 26, coinciding with Contra.Joburg. While tickets for each event are sold separately, a shuttle will run between RMB Latitudes at Shepstone Gardens and Contra.Joburg's different venues in the City Centre. Book your tickets for RMB Latitudes here.
Contra.Joburg
We've said it before, but it really bears saying – Contra.Joburg (formerly OpenStudios.Joburg) is an art fair unlike any other. This immersive, two-day expereince on Sat, May 25 and Sun, May 26 is your doorway into the heart of Joburg's art world.As the largest open studios event in South Africa, Contra.Joburg gives you access to 13 artists' studio spaces in the historic City Centre for its 2024 edition; a chance to meet and engage with more than 170 artists living and working in Joburg. Instead of finished works on gallery walls, you'll see works-in-progress while the paint's still drying on the canvas. It couldn't be more different from the traditional model.
The participating studios include stalwarts like Bag Factory and August House, both of whose alumni are stars on the global art map, and newer kids on the block such as Oovookoo and 11 Alexander. From weaver of fabric and city stories Bev Butkow to up-and-coming painter Stephen Langa, the artists you'll meet on this jam-packed tour are as multitudinous as Joburg itself.
Each day of the fair focuses on a different route through the city, while shuttle transportation included in the ticket price ensures you can navigate between artists' studios with ease. The festivities begin at 10:30 daily, with the last shuttle departing at 17:00. Buy your tickets for Contra.Joburg on Sat, May 25 and Sun, May 26.
Discover everything you need to know about Contra.Joburg 2024 here.
FNB Art Joburg
Africa's longest-running contemporary art fair, FNB Art Joburg is now in its 17th edition, transforming the Sandton Convention Centre into an art mecca this September. In addition to the more traditional, three-day gallery-style fair showcasing work from the continent and diaspora, the event stretches out for more than 16 days of art activations and programming across the city in 2024.
At last year's main showcase we enjoyed Jabulani Dhlamini's subtle, meditative eye on the Free State countryside at Goodman Gallery's stand, while Stevenson brought a series of large-scale works from Serge Alain Nitegeka to the fore. In a rare showing by the prominent artist on home soil, we got to kick it with Kendall Geers's latex-mask-covered footballs.
But it's not just the Sandton Convention Centre where FNB Art Joburg draws art lovers into its fold. As the winner of the 2023 FNB Art Prize, photographer Lindokuhle Sobekwa is set to exhibit his work at the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) later this year. And, taking you beyond the gallery walls, FNB Art Joburg's Open City line-up of art, music, performance, food, and fashion events around the city puts independent and emerging cultural practitioners front and centre.
As we look forward to programme highlights for the 2024 edition, FNB Art Joburg's track record as one of the leading art fairs on the continent stands it in good stead and, if previous iterations are anything to go by, there'll be much to delight, intrigue, and inspire. A mega-fair championing household names in the industry alongside rising art stars, you won't want to miss it.
Stay tuned for more details and ticket links. For now, mark your calendars for FNB Art Joburg from Fri, Sep 6 – Sun, Sep 8.
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