Art Basel Miami Beach 2014 just ended its 13th show in the United States. As always, the best galleries, artists and curators from all over the globe made their presence seen and heard. While there was over 260 galleries represented at this year’s fair, the number of artists of African descent was quite small. However, each one that had work exhibited showcased their artistic brilliance. We was a treat to run into the Stevenson Gallery of Johannesburg ( while there was not enough time for an on site interview, hopefully one will be done in the near future) The Gallery brought work by Wim Botha, Barthélémy Toguo and Serge Alain Nitegeka
there was great work by Derek Adams, Hank Willis Thomas, Kehinde Wiley’s iconic work and a personal favorite Yinka Shonibare. Our Art Basel Miami Beach crush goes to Titus Kaphar.
We also enjoyed
and this
There was also been a growing presence of people of African heritage visiting Art Basel Miami Beach. It is refreshing seeing young , old, student and celebrity in the halls and actively being engaged in the work. While a growing black audience is positive,it is beyond time for our black dollars to be active in the purchase of art (art created by African and African diaspora artists should be the foundation of our collections) . With recent events in the United States, our collective memory of who we are, why we’re here, how we have been and are regarded is a glaring wake up call to rally together as a community and increase our buying power, especially amongst each other . There is enough wealthy African business people and celebrities that we can fund several galleries to be apart of the this prestigious event. For that to happen, we need to invest in art and make it a part of our investment portfolios. We ned to make art as important as stocks and real estate. It is only then that the art world will take note .
Want to see where we went during Art Basel Miami Beach? Visit our Facebook page here or at Instagram @sugarcanemagazine
