FNB Art Joburg is coming up this weekend, and amazingly it is turning 18 this year. Running from September 5-7 at its time-honoured venue of the Sandton Convention Centre, the old stager of local art fairs has few new tricks up its sleeve this year, but its longevity means that a whole art ecosystem has sprung up around the fair that is already transforming Jozi into an internationally relevant art destination.
The fair has long been a catalyst for worthwhile creative and cultural projects around the city, and once more has been instrumental in the Open City initiative, which runs across the fair itself, from August 28 to September 11, and which showcases a range of venues and artistic endeavours with the fair itself as the centrepiece.
The enabling environment provided by FNB Art Joburg is well illustrated by the recent creation of the Contra Joburg art fair, which was launched a couple of years ago by the Meta Foundation, based at August House Studios, and its commercial partners. This opens up several artist’s studio complexes around the country to visitors for an immersive art weekend in preparation for the larger fair and is gaining traction. The Open City concept further extends what is on offer for art people over the fair weekend, with at least 18 official art parties going on around the city.
Other highlights include the opening of a world-class new museum dedicated to photography, owned by renowned photographer and artist Roger Ballen. This launches in the week leading up to the Fair, and is located in Forest Town, next to Ballen’s intriguing Inside Out Centre for the Arts. Ballen launches his new programme with a typically provocative exhibition of AI images, called ‘promptography’ by the curator, the German Boris Eldagsen. He is known for having turned down a major global photography award in 2023 because the image was produced by AI.
Joburg’s major galleries are also taking a new look at their programming in the context of the ongoing success of FNB Art Joburg. Goodman Gallery is taking advantage of the platform offered by the fair to spotlight its Working Title initiative, a curatorial project originally launched in 2009 that champions and spotlights the next generation of artists and experimental work from SA. Expanding beyond the gallery’s represented roster, the platform offers artists opportunities to exhibit across the gallery’s programme and provides support through mentorship opportunities. The launch of the 2025 edition of the Working Title series also launches the start of a series of celebrations and projects for the gallery’s 60th anniversary in 2026, affirming Johannesburg's role at the heart of the gallery’s history and future, which is good news for those who feared for its continued presence in the city.
Back at the ranch, the original FNB Art Fair sticks to tried and tested formats for its main structure this year:
gallery HUB is the fair’s central section presenting the best in contemporary Africa art from across the continent and the world to reflect the fair’s objective to be a quality rather than quantity focused fair. This year's gallery HUB exhibitors are: BKhz, blank, Eclectica Contemporary, Everard Read, First Floor Gallery Harare, Gallery MOMO, Goodman Gallery, Kalashnikovv, Stevenson and Afriart Gallery.
gallery LAB presents and tests new ideas and business models aimed at transforming the contemporary African art landscape. Exhibitors here are: 16/16, Modzi Arts Gallery, ORA LOAPI, Wunika Mukan Gallery, Windsor Gallery, Galarie MALABO, Kianda Contemporary Art Project, The Space Ethiopia, Koko TEN, kumalo | turpin, Rangi Gallery, Forster-Gallery Zanzibar, Citizen Projects, Yenwa Gallery, The Botswana Pavilion Collective and Logmo + Makon Gallery.
MAX houses installations or works, often sculptural, that would present a challenge if presented in the conventionally sized gallery booth. This year’s MAX offering includes works by Ibrahim Khatab, Georgina Gratrix, Angus Taylor, Mikhael Subotzky, and a presentation by Johannesburg Art Gallery conceptualised by Thebe Ikalafeng.
ETC is the print, journal and book offering, where buyers can often get good bargains for their collections. Appearing here are Artist Proof Studios, Jonathan Ball/ Exclusive Books, Loft Editions, Fresco Gallery, ArtThrob, Pulp Paper works, iwalewa books as well as the BMW Reading Lounge with a cinema attached to it.
ORG offers Fair space to art-focused organisations like museums, universities or private institutions, and AUX brings industry leaders to the public to explore a plethora of topics impacting the contemporary art world through talks, screenings, public lectures, and audio essays. Talks will feature Kenneth Montague, Sam Nhlenghethwa, Greer Valley among other leaders in contemporary art. You can access the full public talks programme here.
Lastly, GIF spotlights works by artists operating in the mediums of film and photography. An intergenerational, cross-continental offering in the 2025 GIF presentation includes artists Natalie Paneng, Tatenda Chidora, Robin Rhode and Artists As First Responders.
