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Arts & Communication Contemporary art from the Global South

market and regularly participates in art fairs, Gallery Among the 300 art fairs organized throughout the year,
1957 recasts the trends in regional gallery representation twenty-one international fairs distinguish themselves by
originally tracked by Yogev and Ertug in their 2015 article, the number of these artists being showcased. This shift
“The Global and Local Flows in the Contemporary Art toward a more diverse representation of artists reflects the
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Market .” In their research, they found that the number of growing interest and appreciation for artwork from these
African galleries participating in international art fairs was regions. Therefore, it can be said that art fairs serve as a
negligible. Perrotin is the most prominent gallery among reflection of market trends. Beyond the commercial aspect,
our successful stakeholder galleries (though Zwirner is art fairs also provide a unique opportunity for artists to
not far behind). This demonstrates that larger and more connect with a wider audience and gain exposure.
well-financed galleries are increasingly seeking to expand From our sample of twenty-one fairs, the top overall
and diversify their artist lists to offer novelty to the most performer was the Armory Show, with fourteen artists from
elite class of collectors. Finally, Stephen Friedman Gallery’s our list having artworks exhibited at this event. This result
position near the top of our list of stakeholder galleries defied our predictions, as we had anticipated Art Basel to
demonstrates that persistence pays off. The Stephen be the top performer, based on general perceptions and
Friedman Gallery has consistently sought to showcase a academic research. While the Art Basel franchise was the
diverse and transnational group of artists in their London most represented art fair on our list overall, individually,
space. While they continue to represent established none of the unique fairs outperformed the Armory Show
names such as Yinka Shonibare and Kendall Geers, the in New York in promoting artists from the Global South.
gallery continues to invest in emerging newcomers whose The Armory Show was the first to introduce a significant
values are rapidly on the rise. These gallery stakeholders number of artists from the Global South, with one-third
associated with the most emerging artists from the Global
South are highly distinctive businesses, each operating of the artists on their list originating from those regions.
The 2022 edition of the Armory Show was labeled an
with diverse models. However, they have all found ways to “increasingly global juggernaut” by The Art Newspaper ,
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connect with international talent and build value for these as a substantial number of galleries came from Africa,
emerging artists.
mainly from Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Africa.
3.2.2. Art fairs The fair’s programming was specifically centered on artists
and galleries from the Global South, as evidenced by the
Over the past two decades, art fairs have become a crucial “Curatorial Leadership Summit initiative.” This invitation-
part of the art market, growing both in number and only event brought together a hundred international
importance, with an increasing share of dealers’ annual sales museum directors and curators to advance institutional
attributed to these events . While there are approximately recognition and understanding of Latin American art .
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300 art fairs held worldwide annually, art galleries, artists, This event was led by Mari Carmen Ramírez, the curator of
and collectors are increasingly becoming loyal supporters Latin American art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,
of these events. One of the main reasons for the growing who is considered one of the most influential advocates
importance of art fairs is their ability to match global of this region in the US. The latest edition of the Armory
demand and supply. Collectors from around the world Show is thus in clear correlation with the market trends
now turn to international art fairs as a convenient way observable in the US.
to view a large number of artworks from various regions.
In addition, these fairs have opened up opportunities for Art fairs such as the 1-54 African Art Fair and Cape
new participants and visitors from emerging markets. As Town Art Fair have also emerged recently, providing a
art fairs continue to gain significance, there is a trend of platform for African galleries and artists to showcase
establishing fairs in emerging art capitals such as Shanghai, their work and gain visibility on an international scale.
New Delhi, Sao Paulo, Moscow, and Abu Dhabi . These The London edition of 1-54 and The Investec Cape Town
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new fairs have further contributed to the growth of the art Art Fair both presented as many artists from our sample
market, providing a platform for artists and galleries from (seven) as Art Basel (Basel) did. This demonstrates that
these regions to showcase their work to a wider audience. up-and-coming fairs, organized in the Global South and
However, despite the emergence of new art fairs, Art Basel exhibiting work in Europe, the US, and Africa, have played
has maintained its position as the most important art fair an equally important role in promoting the development
since 1990 . This can be attributed to its ability to constantly of artists from the Global South in the global art market.
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evolve and adapt to changing market conditions. Another These fairs warrant further investigation. These two art
noteworthy trend in the art fair scene is the increasing fairs rely on two different business models to promote
number of Global South artists being exhibited for sale. contemporary African art: 1-54 can be characterized as

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2024) 12 https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.1608