One continent, 54 countries: this is the meaningful symbolism behind the name 1-54, the contemporary African art fair that aims to showcase the full diversity of African-inspired creativity. Originally founded in London in 2013, the event naturally expanded to New York in 2015 under the leadership of founder Touria El Glaoui, who sought to include Afro-American and Caribbean artists and to give African contemporary art international visibility. This year, 1-54 is more than ever at the heart of the global scene with a new venue, Halo (28 Liberty St.), in downtown New York, and a schedule that coincides with Frieze New York to benefit from the energy of the event.
Bahamas and DRC, for Even More Diversity
More cosmopolitan than ever, the fair welcomes thirty galleries from 17 countries this year, including fifteen making their 1-54 debut.
Among them is the very first Bahamian gallery in the fair’s history, TERN Gallery. Dedicated to emerging artists from the Bahamas and the region, it introduces the work of Anina Major, known for her ceramic sculptures inspired by traditional Bahamian weaving, and Jamaican artist Leasho Johnson, whose work combines painting, ceramics, and graffiti, focusing on themes of gender stereotypes and dancehall culture.
Another first is the presence of a gallery from the DRC, KUB’ART Gallery, which has chosen to present rising figures from the local art scene-two photographers sharing a commitment to social and feminist causes and a taste for striking stagings. Rachel Malaika seeks to raise awareness by combining photography, installations, and sculptural costumes in provocative scenographies, while Prisca Munkeni cultivates a cinematic style, with contrasting lighting and saturated colors, to explore African identity, resilience, and Afrofuturism.
Recycling as a Lens on the World
Among the strong trends of this edition, 1-54 once again highlights the interest of African and African-descended artists in recycling used materials and its powerful symbolic charge.
The creations of Kenyan artist Cyrus Kabiru, for example, are particularly striking. He began making his first art-glasses as a teenager, after breaking his own glasses to his father’s dismay, and now creates increasingly elaborate compositions from found objects (bottle caps, spoons, screws, etc.), questioning overconsumption and recycling. Nigerian Samuel Nnorom, on the other hand, is inspired by textiles, using scraps of wax print and discarded foam in installations that interrogate the impact of second-hand goods on local economies. Considered a major voice of the young South African scene, Abongile Sidzumo has made leather his material of choice to explore individual and collective traumas, with visible seams symbolizing social scars and resilience.
Visitors will also discover, if proof were needed, that artistic recycling is not the preserve of younger generations, with Senegalese artist Serigne Mbaye Camara, exhibited by Tokyo-based gallery space Un. A member of the second generation of the Dakar School, Serigne Mbaye Camara works with wood, iron, fabric, and recycled materials to create installations at the crossroads of sculpture and design, blending artisanal know-how with conceptual research.
Photography as a Social Medium
Among the wide range of artistic expressions, the fair also gives pride of place to photography, offering an interesting dialogue between pioneers of the genre and new-generation talents.
Visitors will (re)discover with pleasure and interest the work of trailblazers like Ghanaian James Barnor, born in 1929, renowned for documenting the political and cultural transitions of Ghana and the UK from the 1950s to the 1980s. Now considered a jewel of photographic history, his work blends studio photography and reportage, with a fondness for bodies in motion and joyful expressions. Yossi Milo Gallery, meanwhile, spotlights Burkinabé photographer Sanlé Sory, famous for capturing the cultural and social vibrancy of postcolonial Burkina Faso, and Franco-Cameroonian Samuel Fosso, known for his provocative style and performative self-portraits, combining theatricality and social critique.
Alongside these pioneers, the fair celebrates the rise of a new generation of digital artists. Ethiopian Girma Berta, considered a pioneer of mobile photography in Africa, taught himself photography on his iPhone and captivates with his stylized urban portraits. Blending photography and design, he isolates silhouettes and places them against vibrant backgrounds, capturing the energy of African cities through a minimalist and colorful aesthetic. Among the young artists on show is also Zanele Muholi, the South African pioneer of advocacy photography focused on Black LGBTQIA+ communities, who identifies as a visual activist rather than an artist. The radical aesthetic of their high-contrast black-and-white analog photographs has influenced a generation of queer African artists.
From the most classic to the most avant-garde, all aesthetics are showcased in this particularly vibrant New York edition, offering African art a magnificent showcase and every visitor the promise of a wonderful discovery!
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