The Covid-19 pandemic continues to strike and is prolonged. The actors of contemporary African art are trying to resist. Better still, some have decided to look to the future, even uncertain, and invest. They want to believe in it and do not hesitate to continue their project. “November was not easy,” admits Florian Azzopardi, who launched the Afikaris gallery in 2018. “Despite everything, we decided to invest, to create a larger location with more visibility. At the beginning of January, if all goes well, he will be able to inaugurate this new space in the heart of Paris. Initially only on the Internet, the Afikaris gallery had also come to life in the personal apartment of Florian Azzopardi who organized openings and hangings of works by artists. To launch in 2021 by opening a physical gallery, “it is of course a risk, he admits. But we want to maintain the good momentum we had, to give more visibility and above all to allow artists to express themselves. We are quite optimistic and ready to go ”.
Start anyway
In Canada, Yann Kwete, founder of the Kub’Art Gallery platform, was not discouraged. Certainly, the pandemic has upset his plans. “I had to review my strategy. We are now focusing on digital technology and the development of the platform. The opening of the art gallery has been postponed, ”he explains. Based in Montreal, he has been carrying out this ambitious project for nearly three years to set up a structure that is both a showcase of contemporary African art and a bridge between African artists, Afro-descendants and those from other continents, but also an online sales area. The site was officially launched on November 7, 2020.
In Germany, in Hamburg, Stella Melbye Konan, supported by her husband, inaugurated in September the gallery M, specializing in contemporary African art. “Africa has a bad image in Germany, a lot of people don’t know this continent well. The cultural gallery is a way to get them to change their vision, ”she explains. “The project had been in preparation for three years. The pandemic has accelerated it. It was more difficult to travel and that gave us more time. We quickly got everything ready. For several years, we had already selected artists. We were lucky enough to have this beautiful 230 m² venue in the center of Hamburg, that’s an advantage! She continues. “It’s a risky bet. But we have worked very hard and we have given ourselves even more means to succeed. We looked for partners and we joined forces with large German companies, ”explains Stella Melbye Konan.
A new balance
In Abidjan, Ivory Coast, deprived of fairs, biennials and other events, the Cécile Fakhoury gallery is also relying on the Internet. “We have remedied this lack of events with the development of our site, a program of viewing room, online fairs… It’s a new balance that is starting to exist ”, comments Cécile Fakhoury. “I remain very optimistic for the future, because ultimately the market around our artists continues to develop well and our exhibition projects in Abidjan, Dakar and Paris are maintained for the moment. We have ambitious production projects with our artists, publication and documentary projects, ”she continues.
In South Africa, the Afronova gallery has also adapted. “I recently opened Afronova’s viewing rooms, with the young photographer Alice Mann, who is one of the most fashionable artists in 2020 on Artsy. For this premiere, we collaborated with art historian Christine Eyene. The next one will be dedicated to Senzeni Marasela who opened his first solo exhibition at the Zeitz Mocaa museum in Cape Town. I am also working on an exhibition tribute to Henri Vergon, in Cape Town and in Johannesburg, ”explains Émile Demon, head of the gallery. In 2021, she will also develop a mentoring activity with very young photographers in collaboration with the Of Soul and Joy project in Thokoza, a township in the south-east of Johannesburg.
October, between the drops
After an online meeting for the New York Fair last April, Touria El Glaoui, director of the contemporary African art fair 1-54, held her breath. “We absolutely wanted to organize a physical fair in October and we were mentally prepared to do 1-54 London by adapting to the regulations and constraints imposed by the Covid-19. It was a huge challenge to plan a physical and online fair that could be flexible enough to respond to any difficulty that might arise due to tighter restrictions. Fortunately, 1-54 London went off without a hitch and was a success given the circumstances: galleries sold all of the works on display! »She rejoices.
November, Paris confined
On the other hand, for the AKAA African contemporary art fair, which was to be held in Paris in November, the blow is severe. The announcement of the second confinement in France, on October 28, led to the cancellation of the event just 10 days before it was held. “We hoped to pass between the drops, but it was catastrophic. We worked without visibility. Difficult in March to imagine that we would be penalized so much, says Victoria Mann. We have to go beyond all that. We were more worried about September which, in the end, was an incredibly dynamic reprieve. The 2020 edition had been revised to make it a more intimate event, with fewer exhibitors given the difficulties of traveling and in a smaller venue, the Atelier Richelieu. “We had prepared a gauge of visitors, time slots for visits, without opening and a spread of meetings … This work was done with seriousness. If I had imagined at the École du Louvre that I would write a health protocol! »Says Victoria Mann.
Bounce
“Our sector is one of the most affected, but not the most helped. Or at least, everything is still very vague. We still have to wait to have a little more perspective and find out about the aid granted. In our case, in events, over what period will the turnover be calculated? We used partial unemployment and benefited from 1,500 euros from the solidarity fund. It remains a drop of water, ”analyzes Victoria Mann. “What saves me is my very happy new year 2019, which allows us to hold out and find solutions for 2021,” she continues. She was also able to reimburse all the participants in the fair. Like many, she recognizes that nothing can replace physical encounter. “The physical pleasure of discovering the work, the artist, the gallery owner, that plays an important role in the purchasing process,” insists Victoria Mann.
Projects are emerging for 2021. The director of AKAA is preparing an event bringing together fifteen artists in Lyon, in a privileged place, Manifesta, dedicated to contemporary art in the service of companies. For its part, “1-54 recently joined forces with Christie’s to organize a new physical fair in Paris at the end of January at their premises on avenue Matignon. This will be our first fair on French soil ”, announces Touria El Glaoui.
Africa 2020 season
The Covid-19 epidemic has upset the cultural calendar. The Africa 2020 season, scheduled from 1is June to the end of December 2020 throughout France, had to be postponed: open this December, it will run until July 2021. Since the beginning of December, the television channels France 2 and TV5 Monde have launched “Oh! AfricArt ”, a short program labeled Africa 2020 on contemporary African creation. Guest of Europe 1, the presenter of this program, Élisabeth Tchoungui, specifies: “The idea is to highlight the bubbling contemporary African creation. We hope to see you too, with many events… to follow.
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