For its 10th edition, the Investec Cape Town Art Fair (ICTAF) has announced 88 participating exhibitors and its overarching theme. The Fair, taking place from 17 to 19 February 2023 at Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), will focus on the concept of time. The theme will be explored through a number of different sections and events, highlighting the art fair’s journey and impact over the last decade.
The 2023 edition provides a moment to reflect on the fair’s impact, in bringing the visual arts community together under one roof and creating a platform for the advancement of the sector. By bringing together a diverse group of celebrated exhibitors, including prominent galleries from around the globe, ICTAF has also provided an opportunity to showcase Cape Town, the city’s people and their creative achievements.
“Investec Cape Town Art Fair continues to evolve and grow with those who support it. Together with this extraordinary visual arts community, we have created a platform for the advancement of all. Our progress has not been confined to the visual arts sector, because we have had a positive impact in all areas related to our practice,” says ICTAF Director Laura Vincenti. “Investec Cape Town Art Fair welcomes you. Cape Town welcomes you. Together we will reflect on an amazing decade and plan the decade ahead.”
In addition to the South African galleries, participating international galleries include THIS IS NOT A WHITE CUBE GALLERY (Lisbon, Portugal, Luanda, Angola), Gallery 1957 (Accra, Ghana), Galerie EIGEN + ART (Leipzig, Berlin, Germany), C24 Gallery (New York, United States), Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art (Cairo, Egypt) and Michela Rizzo (Venice, Italy).
Investec Cape Town Art Fair 2023 Sections
Tomorrows/Today is titled In and Out of Time and is curated by independent curators Natasha Becker (San Francisco, United States) and Dr Mariella Franzoni (Barcelona, Spain). The theme is taken from the title of a poem by Maya Angelou, about everlasting love and suffering. Exploring love, affection and suffering, Tomorrows/Today engages with the link between our bodies, minds and social settings, our experiences of time, memory, history, imagination, action and desire. This will consist of 10 booths reflecting the decade of the art fair.
SOLO is curated by author, critic, journalist, and editor Sean O’Toole (Cape Town, South Africa) and is titled Time’s Labyrinth. It looks at the relationship between drawing and photography. This curatorial project is loosely informed by a speculation of art critic John Berger: “Isn’t drawing the polar opposite of a photo? The latter stops time, arrests it, whereas a drawing flows with it. Could we think of drawings as eddies on the surface of the stream of time?” (What Time Is It? 2019).
Past/Modern is curated by art dealer and adviser João Ferreira (Lagos, Portugal), which adds historical context to the fair through gallery-curated presentations of Modern masters 1940 – 2000. Continuing the focus of connoisseurship and collector motivation, galleries will show past/modern works with the inclusion of one major contemporary work, to encourage the discourse on the influence of historical works on contemporary statements.
EDITIONS showcases leading galleries and workshops that specialise in prints, multiples and editions.
ALT debuted in 2022 and is dedicated to alternative galleries with booth formats and exhibitions that reflect how technology continuously impacts the art world. Projects reflect the many ways in which the art world has had to adapt in response to the global shift from the physical to virtual. Young, non-traditional exhibitors have the opportunity to showcase their artists in a nonconventional way.
The Talks programme will return, curated by Executive Leader and Strategic Advisor Charlotte Ashamu, as well as the Walkabouts and Gallery Night.
Added to the 2023 programme is a new invite only event called Art Speed Dating, which is a unique networking opportunity that allows professionals in the art sector to establish connections in a fast-paced and highly interactive format. Organised in collaboration with The Art Momentum, participants from different areas of specialisation – including the visual arts, media, cultural heritage and institutions, and other creative professions – will engage with one another across disciplines, to exchange ideas and, hopefully, initiate new cross-cultural projects.
