US-based galleries are making their presences felt at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, this year located at the Halo, an event space in New York’s Financial District (until 11 May). “This is our 11th edition here; the galleries are excited about showing at this venue,” says Touria El Glaoui, the fair’s founder. “There has been a shift in the market [for African art]. It’s all about more accessible pieces at more accessible prices,” she adds, referencing the currently turbulent backdrop of the US market.
Out of 30 participating dealers, ten have spaces in the US. Gallery Article 15 from Washington, DC is participating for the first time. “We’re the only gallery in the US specialising in Congolese contemporary art,” says the gallery’s director, Elizabeth Jaffee. “There is an African art market in the US but it’s focused on Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria.” Her gallery is selling works by two artists, Houston Maludi (priced between $500 and $8,000) and Rachel Malaïka ($2,600-$2,800).
Another US gallery, Yossi Milo from Chelsea in New York, is showing photographs and sculptures by artists such as the Cameroon-born Samuel Fosso, the Egyptian artist Ibrahim Said and Sanlé Sory of Burkina Faso. Fosso’s photograph From the series 'African Spirits' L_002853 (Muhammad Ali) (2008) is the highest-priced work on the stand, costing $36,000 (framed).
“We’re here because the fair is unique and focused on all of the [African] diaspora,” says Valerie Francis of Knowhere Art Gallery, which is based on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. She is showing works by two artists, Adana Tillman and Maria-Lana Queen, the latter of whose diptych painting, Rites of Passage #7 (diptych) (2024), is for sale at $20,000.