It's a little miracle. When everywhere else all the fairs were canceled, 1:54, the largest fair dedicated to contemporary African art and its diaspora, opened this Wednesday, January 20 ...

The “miracle” of the Contemporary African Art Fair 1:54 at Christie's in Paris

Touria El Glaoui, founder and director of the fair dedicated to contemporary African art and its diaspora, 1:54, here during the first edition in Paris, January 20, 2021. © Siegfried Forster / RFI

Text by: Siegfried Forster Follow

9 min

It's a little miracle.

When everywhere else all the fairs were canceled, 1:54, the largest fair dedicated to contemporary African art and its diaspora, opened its doors on rue Matignon in Paris this Wednesday, January 20.

This hybrid edition hosted at Christie's offers "the best of the African continent and the African diaspora", including many works produced in 2020 and 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Interview with Touria El Glaoui, the founder and director of 1:54.

Publicity

RFI

: We know you with 1:54 since 2013 in London, since 2015 in New York and 2018 in Marrakech.
You canceled the 2021 edition in Morocco to launch for the first time in France, with 19 international galleries presented.
At the time of the pandemic, was Paris the ideal place for a fair dedicated to contemporary African art

?

Touria El Glaoui

For us, this is an important new experience.

This allows us to discover another city and it allows us to make known the artists of this African continent and the African diaspora on a platform that we would not necessarily have used normally.

It really is an opportunity.

Paris, is it currently the best place to organize a hybrid contemporary art fair, both virtual and with a physical presence of artists, gallery owners and collectors

Absolutely.

Today, we have to think of much smaller and much more specialized events for a local audience.

That is to say, that we do not try to have international collectors.

It's a fair that was made for Paris and we are trying to have a much more French and Parisian audience, both at the level of galleries and artists.

View of the 1: 54 fair in Paris, dedicated to contemporary African art and its diaspora.

There are many famous names like Chéri Samba, Romuald Hazoumè or Barthélémy Toguo, but also lesser-known artists like Cristiano Mangovo, René Tavares, Kelani Abass, Delphine Desane or Romeo Mivekannin, with a giant fresco called

The Raft of the Medusa
, produced in 2021. Is it an emblematic work for the current art market

?

I think so, but in terms of size and beauty, she is mostly iconic for the fair.

It lends itself very well to its location in the atrium of the Christie's auction house.

She is a bit of a “wow” factor for people who come to see what is best done on the African continent and the African diaspora.

Many works were produced in 2020 and even in 2021. Has the pandemic changed the way of creating, the supports, the subjects, the formats

It is clear that this virus has affected everyone, artists as well as galleries, so they manage to give us an idea of what they have been through.

What is interesting is to see these works together today, to show that art is always more beautiful in real life than in virtual mode.

It's a chance to be able to do a hybrid event where people also have the opportunity to come and see the works physically.

Considering the omnipresent constraints, it is a small miracle to be able to look at these works on the spot, in Paris.

What were the difficulties in bringing in the works, artists, gallery owners, collectors

For collectors, it was not too difficult, because there is a real lack at the moment.

All the institutions are closed, the exhibitions could not take place.

I saw it myself last weekend when I toured the galleries.

We can tell that people want to see things.

All the Parisian galleries are currently full during the weekends.

So, I think it's super important for galleries to be able to participate in a physical event.

This allows a new business avenue for them.

For us, the main difficulty was the non-visibility until the last moment, because we were afraid that things could still change.

There were a lot of risks.

View of the 1: 54 fair in Paris, dedicated to contemporary African art and its diaspora.

How did you manage to organize the fair

We started to be a very adaptable and flexible fair in relation to these things.

We had a lot of expertise after our event in London which was organized with the possibility of a cancellation at any time.

We took a bit of the

blueprint

of what we did in London for Paris, thinking of the possibility of a cancellation and of having a digital supplement in case ... And then, we were also able to be more flexible thanks to Christie's for the space and a possible cancellation.

They made the space available to us.

This reduced the risk to us in terms of cost.

You see the virtual offer as an “

add-on

”.
Others, on the contrary, observe in the art market currently a digital turn, a real explosion of digital sales.
For them, it is rather the physical presence of a fair that will become more and more a complement to online platforms and virtual devices.
How do you see the future between face-to-face and virtual in the African contemporary art market

?

I think that the digital fair will remain something that will always accompany the physical fairs.

On the other hand, I think it will take a long time for people to be less afraid of coming back to big events.

So, it will be essential to continue to have a digital presence.

I think we have the right model.

The biggest fairs will have to adapt to a model that is more engaging for an audience that has experienced a trauma of containment and fears of catching the coronavirus.

Our “small, adaptable and flexible” formula, which we have always had, allows 1:54 to attract a certain audience which is much more comfortable when they see that there are not many people and the rules barriers are respected and people protect themselves.

It's still possible to appreciate art and not just be limited to digital.

View of the 1:54 fair in Paris, dedicated to contemporary African art and its diaspora.

Since the start of this pandemic, the art world has been looking for a solution to get out of this crisis caused by the pandemic.

What do you think are the most important changes

From a general point of view, the fact that we have digital with us, it was decisive for the sale of works and the survival of artists.

It is possible to discover an artist on Instagram, to do his research on the Internet, to have virtual fairs.

Everyone, who before had limits on what they could buy online, found that they could not only trust and buy at much higher prices, but also have a provenance that was also determined online.

All the galleries, even the most important, have started to introduce their artists online.

Regarding artists from the African continent and the African diaspora, there are many new names, new galleries.

From a digital point of view, this is great for well established galleries with very established artists, but much more difficult for gallery owners and lesser known artists.

So, it is very important for people who discover the art of the African continent, to still have physical access to the works.

►

1:54, contemporary art fair dedicated to contemporary African art and its diaspora, from January 20 to 23, 2021 in virtual edition and in face-to-face edition at Christie's, in Paris.

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The “miracle” of the Contemporary African Art Fair 1:54 at Christie's in Paris

The “miracle” of the Contemporary African Art Fair 1:54 at Christie's in Paris

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