Tickets are sold out, but here’s what the lucky ones are experiencing at Joburg’s most exciting art fair this weekend.
If you see your feed flooded with art fair content this weekend, this is why.
RMB Latitudes Art Fair is taking over Shepstone Gardens from 22 to 24 May, and by all accounts, it looks like you walked into an artistic fairy tale, with lush autumn gardens, historic architecture, incredible African art, food, drinks and enough to keep you busy all day.
According to the fair, the experience is designed as “a space of pause, encounter and possibility within the pace of the city”.
The theme this year is ‘Oasis’
The fair chose ‘Oasis’ as its theme partly in celebration of Johannesburg’s 140th birthday, a nod to the city’s improbable origins and its enduring ability to create something extraordinary against the odds.
RMB Latitudes describes it as believing in “the arts’ role in regenerating and refreshing the very earth”.
Set inside Shepstone Gardens, which in autumn is somehow still green and gorgeous, the theme lands beautifully.
Nigeria takes centre stage this weekend
One of the biggest talking points of this year’s edition is the Nigeria Focus programme, which brings more than 30 Nigerian artists to Joburg as part of a special initiative that started in Lagos in April and has since travelled south.
RMB Latitudes describes Nigeria as “one of the continent’s most dynamic and globally influential contemporary art ecosystems”, and the work on show this weekend reflects exactly that.
The Round Room is absolutely incredible
Cape Town artist Dada Khanyisa has taken over one of the venue’s most dramatic spaces,
a circular turret, with an immersive installation called Above and Beyond.
Her painted wooden assemblages and sculptural works fill every surface and alcove, drawing on everyday South African life, youth culture and community.
Nina Carew, COO of RMB Latitudes, was clearly buzzing about it during a preview walkthrough.
“This project really exemplifies what RMB Latitudes is about,” she said, “breaking barriers of entry, welcoming artists that practice independently into an independent art fair space, and a democratising of the art fair experience.”
Design Week South Africa is there too
It’s not just art; the fair has partnered with Design Week South Africa this weekend, weaving furniture and design work throughout the programme.
Carew describes it as bringing “the best of local and continental design to our fair, allowing engagement with interdisciplinary fields of creative practice.” A full creative playground, basically.
This fair is doing things differently
A big part of what makes Latitudes stand out is its commitment to artists working outside the traditional gallery system.
There’s a dedicated exhibition, ESSAY, which Carew described as something she “laid on and co-curated with one of our team members,” spotlighting seven independent South African practitioners.
“It is a whole other feature of RMB Latitudes to really break barriers of entry and to offer alternative forms of practice,” she said.
Also notable is “ESSAY: Jan Neethling & Robert Hodgins – On Friendship and Form”, a special project curated by Lucy MacGarry that brings two generations of South African painters into conversation – one for art lovers.
Tickets are sold out, but keep an eye on their channels for future editions and videos of what’s happening in this year’s edition.
