The Turbine Art Fair (TAF), one of South Africa’s most innovative contemporary art fairs, opens this week at a brand new venue in Hyde Park Corner.
The fair runs from Thursday 27th July 2023 to Sunday 30th July 2023.
This year fashion designer and former décor magazine editor Tiaan Nagel joins TAF as creative director. Tonic Design is collaborating on the colour palette and celebrated garden designer Patrick Watson will be creating an iconic urban green space with more than 100 trees on the rooftop of Hyde Park Corner.
TAF has always experimented with concepts and spaces and this year brings more unique elements to life at the fair. Some highlights of this year’s fair will include:
- TAF in partnership with the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) and iToo ArtInsure will present a series of work from the Johannesburg Art Gallery Collection including the Dumile Feni Crucifixion triptych.
- Internationally-recognised fashion designer Thebe Magugu, in partnership with TAF and Hyde Park Corner, will present Thebe’s Mother and Child heritage capsule collection in the centre court of Hyde Park Corner. The collection, which is focused on celebratory and totemic studies of nine South African cultures, will be presented as an installation of 8m long dresses.
- TAF Unearthed is a six-month mentorship programme for emerging artists curated by Teboho Ralesai and which covers the business of art and art mentorship and culminates in a curated group exhibition of their work.
- OFF THE GRID, a return to abstraction, is dedicated to artists outside of the main gallery circuit in an effort to support and sustain their careers. This section has been curated by Ashraf Jamal and features Gail Behrmann, Refiloe Mnisi, Alexandra Khazin, Daniel Chimurere and Samson Minsi.
- ON THE GRID will showcase artists whose careers have been launched through Turbine Art Fair and have elevated their careers beyond an emerging practice. This year, the artists are Kamyar Binestarigh with Southern Guild and Setlamargo Mashilo with Everard Read.
- TAF has selected established South African artist Usha Seejarim as the 2023 TAF Capsule featured artists. The project highlights one of the goals of TAF – making art collecting accessible to young collectors and aims to engage & educate audiences on investing in art in a tangible way. it.
As usual, TAF will present a series of art talks and fair walkabouts and the full line up can be viewed on the fair website https://turbineartfair.co.za/galleries/taf-talks/
A curated gift shop and bookstore will be selling some of the most beautiful art, photography, fashion and design titles from across the globe.
Fair visitors can relax and socialise in the Steenberg Garden, as well as the Don Julio X The Forum eatery & bar.
For more info and to book tickets visit https://turbineartfair.co.za/visitor-info/
