1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair Announces List of Galleries Participating in the 2023 New York Edition

1-54 New York, 2022 Photo by © Eva Sakellarides.

Held at a new venue in Manhattanville Factory District, the fair’s expanded platform will see 16 galleries make their 1-54 New York debut and present the work of over 60 artists from Africa and the global diaspora.

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair is pleased to announce details of the 2023 annual New York exhibition, following the notable success of last year’s return to an in-person fair event in Harlem. The 2023 iteration will take place at Malt House in the Manhattanville Factory District (439 W 127th Street) from Thursday, May 18 – Sunday, May 21, 2023. The fair will host VIP and Press previews from 11 am – 7 pm on Thursday, May 18, 2023. Artsy will be hosting the fair online from May 18 – 31, 2023 at artsy.net/.

Held annually across three continents, in London, New York and Marrakech, 1-54 is the leading global event series dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora. Striving to promote a community of diverse perspectives, including evolving interpretations of the diasporic experience, 1-54 features leading international galleries specializing in contemporary African art. This year’s New York edition features a total of 26 galleries hailing from across Africa, Europe and the U.S.—from Nevlunghavn to Cape Town and Los Angeles to Lagos. The fair is proud to announce that over half of participating galleries are making their 1-54 New York debuts, while over a third of representative parties maintain a physical showroom in Africa. Newcomers to New York include DADA Gallery (Lagos, Nigeria & London, United Kingdom), KATES-FERRI PROJECTS (New York City, United States), kó (Lagos, Nigeria), LatchKey Gallery (New York City, United States), LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire), Spinello Projects (Miami, United States) and Wunika Mukan Gallery (Lagos, Nigeria).

“It’s an honor to be back in Harlem for what we anticipate will be our largest and best-attended New York fair to date,” said 1-54 Founding Director Touria El Glaoui. “We strive to grow and evolve with each edition and are delighted to be collaborating with several galleries for the first time as well as a breadth of new artists. We look forward to welcoming visitors to the Manhattanville Factory District this May.”

Partnerships

Now in its fourth consecutive year, 1-54’s continued partnership with Christie’s reflects the fair’s dynamic relationship with the global auction house. The collaboration also demonstrates Christie’s commitment to showcasing contemporary African art to its global client base and enhancing exposure for the fair internationally.

Thanks to 1-54’s long-standing partnership with Artsy, visitors will also be able to explore, connect with, and collect from all participating galleries and artists online from May 18 – 31, 2023 at artsy.net/.

The 2023 participant galleries for 1-54 New York are:

50 GOLBORNE (London, United Kingdom) 

AFIKARIS (Paris, France)

DADA Gallery* (Lagos, Nigeria & London, United Kingdom)

Duane Thomas Gallery* (New York City, United States)

Eric Firestone Gallery* (New York City, United States & East Hampton, NY, United States)

Fridman Gallery (New York City, United States)

Galerie Atiss Dakar* (Dakar, Senegal)

Galerie Carole Kvanevski (Paris, France)

Galerie Cécile Fakhoury (Paris, France, Dakar, Senegal and Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire)

Galerie Number 8 (Brussels, Belgium) 

Gallery Nosco* (Brussels, Belgium)

KATES-FERRI PROJECTS* (New York City, United States)

kó* (Lagos, Nigeria)

Kristin Hjellegjerde* (London, United Kingdom; Berlin & Schloss Goerne, Germany; Nevlunghavn, Norway; Palm Beach, United States)

LatchKey Gallery* (New York City, United States)

Loeve&Co* (Paris, France)

Loft Art Gallery* (Casablanca, Morocco)

LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery* (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire)

Luce Gallery (Turin, Italy)

Mehari Sequar Gallery* (Washington D.C, United States)

Retro Africa (Abuja, Nigeria)

SEPTIEME Gallery* (Paris, France & Cotonou, Benin)

Spinello Projects* (Miami, United States)

Superposition Gallery (Miami Beach, New York City, Los Angeles, & The Hamptons, United States)

THK Gallery* (Cape Town, South Africa & Cologne, Germany)

Wunika Mukan Gallery* (Lagos, Nigeria)

* denotes exhibitors new to 1-54 New York

A presence in New York since 2015, 1-54 proudly makes its home in Harlem, a hub for cross-cultural and diasporic exchange. This year’s fair will once again take place in the neighborhood of West Harlem, following a successful return to an in-person event last year at Harlem Parish. The new location allows the fair to expand considerably in terms of its floor space dedicated to new artists and galleries while continuing to draw visitors and art-world attention toward the historic neighborhood. Designed by GLUCK+ as an adaptive-reuse project, which preserves and builds on a 1917 brewery located in West Harlem, Manhattanville Factory District connects business, retail, and public green space in an exciting mixed-use facility.

1-54 is dedicated to broadening global awareness about the art-historical significance of African modern and contemporary art. Since its first fair in London in 2013, 1-54 has presided over a massive shift in art world awareness and market interest in contemporary African and diasporic art practices, hosting panel events and providing an event calendar dedicated to the aesthetic richness of creative work emerging from the continent and its diaspora.

About 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair

Founded by Touria El Glaoui in 2013, 1-54 is the first and only international fair dedicated to contemporary African art. With three editions per year—in London, New York and Marrakech—as well as an annual pop-up fair in Paris, 1-54 is the leading global event series dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora. Striving to promote a community of diverse perspectives, including evolving interpretations of the diasporic experience, 1-54 features leading international galleries specializing in contemporary African art alongside artists talks, panel discussions and a Special Projects programme. The fair’s name draws reference to the fifty-four countries that constitute the African continent.

About the Malt House, the Manhattanville Factory District and the Janus Property Company

The Janus Property Company is a developer, long-term owner and manager of life science, commercial, mixed-use and residential properties in New York City, with a current primary focus on the creative redevelopment of the Manhattanville Factory District in West Harlem. Since 1989, Janus has consistently undertaken important and complex community development projects, creating enduring value for its tenants, partners, lenders and the greater New York City community. It specializes in understanding the numerous issues involved in developing and managing real property in New York. This has resulted in an impressive array of successful projects ranging from the extensive rehabilitation and new construction of market rate and affordable rental and condominium housing to mixed-use projects, small and large-scale life science properties and master-planned neighborhood development. Janus is headquartered in the Manhattanville Factory District.

About Christie’s

Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business. Renowned and trusted for its expert live and online auctions, as well as its bespoke private sales, Christie’s offers a full portfolio of global services to its clients, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s has a physical presence in 46 countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. It also is the only international auction house authorized to hold sales in mainland China (Shanghai).

Christie’s auctions span more than 80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $200 to over $100 million. Christie’s has sold 8 of the 10 most important single-owner collections in history, including the Paul G. Allen Collection—the most valuable collection ever offered at auction (November 2022). In recent years, Christie’s also achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction (Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, 2017), for a 20th century artwork (Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, 2022) and for a work by a living artist (Jeff Koons’ Rabbit, 2019). Christie’s Private Sales offers a seamless service for buying and selling art, jewellery and watches outside of the auction calendar, working exclusively with Christie’s specialists at a client’s individual pace.

Following the groundbreaking 2021 sale of the first digital art NFT ever offered by a global auction house (Beeple’s Everydays), Christie’s recently launched the first fully on-chain auction platform dedicated to exceptional NFT art. As an industry leader in digital innovation, Christie’s also continues to pioneer new technologies that are redefining the business of art, including the use of hologram technology to tour life-size 3D objects around the world, and the creation of viewing and bidding experiences that integrate augmented reality, global livestreaming, buy-now channels, and hybrid sales formats.

Christie’s is dedicated to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide, including achieving sustainability by reducing our carbon emissions by 50% and pledging to be net zero by 2030, and actively using its platform in the art world to amplify under-represented voices and support positive change.

Browse, bid, discover, and join us for the best of art and luxury at: www.christies.com or by downloading Christie’s apps.

About Artsy

Artsy is the largest global online marketplace for discovering, buying, and selling fine art by leading artists. Artsy connects 4,000+ galleries, auction houses, art fairs, and institutions from 100+ countries with millions of global art collectors and art lovers across 190+ countries. Artsy makes purchasing art welcoming, transparent and low-friction with industry-leading technology that connects supply and demand safely and securely at a global scale. Launched in 2012, Artsy is headquartered in New York City with offices in London and Berlin.

Public opening hours

Friday, May 19, 11 am – 7 pm; Saturday, May 20, 11 am – 7 pm; Sunday, May 21, 11 am – 5 pm

Social media

Website: 1-54.com
Twitter: @154artfair
Instagram: @154artfair
Facebook: 154ContemporaryAfricanArtFair

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