The Johannesburg-based art fair gets a makeover after it was bought in June by its former director, Mandla Sibeko

Last year, a group of six South African galleries, including Goodman Gallery, Stevenson and Blank Projects, decided to stop participating at the Joburg art fair and approached the FNB Joburg Art Fair’s then director, Mandla Sibeko about acquiring it and relaunching it. He agreed, taking over from previous owners Artlogic, and the fair returns this September as FNB Art Joburg (13-15 September) with the continuation of FNB’s 12-year tenure as a sponsor. Remaining focused on African contemporary art, the fair is smaller in size with around nine exhibitors in the main section spearheaded by a group of the country’s main galleries.

These will be surrounded by an “incubator” section of smaller stands for younger galleries. “The shift and the rebrand is a natural evolution,” says Sibeko. “There has been a huge interest around the world, a big shift, towards people interested in buying African art. There has also been a shift of international institutions opening spaces in their collections. We, in collaboration with the galleries, have come together and returned to the drawing board to elevate the experience for the customer.”  Continue reading…