THE RISING ALLURE OF AFRICAN ART

As a global diaspora seeks to connect, protect and platform African culture, a new market for art from across the continent has emerged.Nana Ocran, author of a recent Canvas8 market research report on the burgeoning African art scene, charts the explosion of interest in African art.

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FOR THE LAST couple of decades, there’s been an undeniable spike in global attention towards contemporary African art. The popularity of visual expression from the continent has highlighted collectible works by some of the most exciting names from the art world, which in turn, has created inroads into the luxury market.

Older, long-established names such as Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui hit the auction headlines in 2021 when his work, New Layout, went under the hammer for US$1.5 million at Christie’s New York. In the meantime, younger artists such as British Ghanaian Lynette Yiadom-Boakye have been making waves internationally. In the UK, two highly successful retrospectives at Tate Britain saw Yiadom-Boakye’s’ fictional and figurative series of Black lives in motion showcased for national and international audiences. An early works series, Highpower (previously owned by British art collector Robert Devereux), was recently estimated at £600,000 to £800,000 by Christie’s London.

The preservation of a cultural legacy is often at the heart of acquisitional desire for African art. Lagos-based venture capitalist Kola Aina is part of a rising tide of wealthy continent-located buyers who are tapped into the art scene in and beyond West Africa. To him, "appreciating and preserving artworks (serves) as a means to nurture heritage, tell stories and record history".