The overarching theme for this year is “Play”, encompassing both the idea of leisure and the importance of creativity in acting as a social valve, an outlet for human beings to relate to each other in communal enjoyment rather than work or politics.
As has become the standard format for Ictaf, the fair is split between the main exhibiting section, featuring most of SA’s most prominent galleries, as well as some international exhibitors, alongside a range of special curated sections with a particular focus.
An important special section for the fair is Tomorrows/Today, which was started as a special project in 2016 and features emerging talent from across the globe.
Curated by Dr Mariella Franzoni for the third time, the section is the most internationally representative of the fair, with artists from China, Brazil, Nigeria and SA, among others.
This section attracts attention each year with its cash prize of R80,000, sponsored by fair exhibitors Fiera Milano Exhibitions Africa, and awarded by a panel of art professionals to the participating artist with the highest quality presentation during the fair.
Investec Cape Town Art Fair 2025 — what to expect
The overarching theme for this year is ‘Play’, encompassing leisure and creativity acting as a social valve
Image: Supplied
The Investec Cape Town Art Fair (Ictaf) is now an established highlight of the SA, and indeed the global, art calendar and has grown steadily over the years.
Unsurprisingly, 2025 will see the biggest fair ever in terms of gallery and artist representation, with 124 galleries present from all over the world and over 400 artists exhibiting.
A particular focus for Ictaf for some years has been increased representativity for both the local and African art markets, an agenda it shares with its counterpart upcountry, Art Joburg.
This year more than 70% of the artists on show will come from Africa, albeit still dominated by local representation but with a much broader showing from all over the rest of the continent, including North Africa.
Esther Mahlangu: Cultural standard-bearer, self-fashioned artist
The overarching theme for this year is “Play”, encompassing both the idea of leisure and the importance of creativity in acting as a social valve, an outlet for human beings to relate to each other in communal enjoyment rather than work or politics.
As has become the standard format for Ictaf, the fair is split between the main exhibiting section, featuring most of SA’s most prominent galleries, as well as some international exhibitors, alongside a range of special curated sections with a particular focus.
An important special section for the fair is Tomorrows/Today, which was started as a special project in 2016 and features emerging talent from across the globe.
Curated by Dr Mariella Franzoni for the third time, the section is the most internationally representative of the fair, with artists from China, Brazil, Nigeria and SA, among others.
This section attracts attention each year with its cash prize of R80,000, sponsored by fair exhibitors Fiera Milano Exhibitions Africa, and awarded by a panel of art professionals to the participating artist with the highest quality presentation during the fair.
Image: Supplied
This year’s jury consists of art historian Wim Pijbes from the Netherlands, well-known Nigerian curator Azu Nwagbogu, as well as American curator Gabriel Virgilio Luciani. Previous winners of the prize are Boemo Diale (2024, Kalashnikovv Gallery), Talia Ramkilawan (2023, BKhz) and Michaela Younge (2022, SMAC Gallery).
The Tomorrows/Today prize joins two others at the fair, the RDC Art Collection Prize, awarded to an artist that the RDC Property Group would most like to see exhibited in a building in their portfolio, as well as the inaugural Investec Emerging Artist Award which celebrates a home-grown, world-class SA artist working in any medium, who is not yet affiliated with an institution, museum or collection. This award aims to support emerging talent on the global stage.
At the Fair itself, at Cape Town’s landmark International Convention Centre, other highlights to look out for include the three additional curated special sections.
Titled Solo, Generations and Cabinet/Trophy, these spaces each showcase different curatorial ideas and groups of invited artists.
Image: Supplied
Solo brings together solo presentations from 10 artists from around the world to reflect on the theme of “Play”. These are: Ange Dakouo (Ivory Coast), Bilal Bahir (Belgian/Iraqi), Cow Mash (Kgaogelo Mothepa Mashilo) (SA), Eman Ali (Omani-Bahraini), Frances Goodman (SA), Justin Yoon (American), Kristine Tsala (Cameroon), Soly Cissé (Senegal), Stanislaw Trzebinski (Kenya), and Temandrota (Madagascar).
Generations is curated by Egyptian writer, researcher and curator Heba El Kayal, and celebrates artists at different stages in their careers and work and encourages dynamic cross-generational conversations between them. Selected galleries will convene, collaborate and explore the notions of play, both literal and abstract. This section features many artists represented by galleries across Africa.
The special project Cabinet/Trophy, curated by the prominent iterative curatorial duo Exhibition Match (Alexander Richards and Dr Phokeng Setai), extends the play metaphor into the overlap between sport and art, which is their modus operandi, by inviting 11 galleries from around the world to fill a (trophy) cabinet with works that capture the essence of this unique project and social experiment.
Image: Michael Hall
Winning a trophy in sport generally denotes success yet the term can also represent a static symbol of the past. To combat this idea, Cabinet/Trophy will host varying types of trophies in a field of play and invite open-ended and dynamic interaction between the artworks and spectators.
There is also the customary mix of art talks, networking and other events, as well as a range of art institutions, publishers and print houses who are exhibiting at the ICC
Elsewhere in Cape Town and surrounds, Ictaf once again engages the wider art ecosystem with an extended menu of events and exhibitions.
The “Unbound City” component of the fair presents an array of art-related openings and special events involving most of the city’s galleries and institutions, as far afield as Stellenbosch, where that city’s own Triennale extends for a couple of months and keeps the art mojo working for the Cape.
Visit www.investeccapetownartfair.co.za or follow Investec Cape Town Art Fair on Instagram @investeccapetownartfair. Hashtags #InvestecCapeTownArtFair #ICTAF2025
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