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\nby Rewa Udoji<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
In Africa, Art has rarely ever been a priority. In schools, the Arts are considered a lesser educational endeavour and pursuing a career in this space has long been openly discouraged. On the transactional side, African Art collectors were seen as eclectic with most buying African art more for the aesthetics than as an asset – the latter attribute however, being assigned to art by international artists. In recent years however, African art has been accruing higher prices at auction houses all over the world. This, coupled with increased demand have placed a spotlight on the African art scene, highlighting a lively arena that had previously been viewed as unsophisticated by the international art community.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The African Art boom is also greatly influenced by the ubiquity of the internet and social media. Social media has democratized and made the global art scene much more accessible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The African Art scene is booming!\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
Artworks are selling for 10x their initial value, average lot prices increase 5-fold, galleries are expanding their operations on the continent, and art is becoming a viable source of income for many. Even with all these promising statistics, however, we have barely scratched the surface. Africa and South America combined account for less than 4% of global art sales today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If we are to fully capitalize on the financial viability of African art, we would need to start by doing something antithetical to collective African schools of thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We need to encourage artists to be open to exploring their unique styles and proclivities.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
For all the colours and brush strokes in a painting or the form and texture of a sculpture, it is how that piece resonates with whoever experiences it that determines its inherent value.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is a need to address the current state of the various African Art scenes and the value chains that reside within them, for the growth of African art.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
The African art auction system remains largely closed off. It’s reserved for a select few and is mostly situated in cities outside Africa. These auctions need to be more accessible to the middle class as this will create a feedback loop where the increased money coming in will allow for more artists to establish themselves. This will further grow the ecosystem and improve the growing art culture on the continent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For years, art has been overlooked in African societies. Due to the predominantly ‘survival first’ <\/em><\/strong>nature of our environment, we failed to notice the inherent and immense financial value of art. That has begun to change with the creator economy becoming hugely popular and fascinating to a global audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The entire ecosystem from artists, to collectors, asset managers and all other stakeholders must take active steps to make art more accessible, and improve the sector for more artists to thrive and grow a culture of art and creativity across the\u00a0<\/p>\n
continent. If we don’t, the African Art Boom will continue to fizzle for a long while yet but may never truly explode.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n