1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair Reveals Participating Galleries for 2024 New York Edition

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair is pleased to share the details of the 2024 fair. This year’s edition will take place in The Starrett-Lehigh Building in Chelsea (255 11th Avenue) from Wednesday, May 1 to Saturday, May 4, 2024. The fair will host a Press Preview from 2 – 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1 and VIP Preview from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 2. Held annually across three continents, in the major cities of London, New York and Marrakech, 1-54 is the leading global event series dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora.

Striving to showcase a community of diverse perspectives, including evolving interpretations of the diasporic experience, 1-54 features international galleries specializing in contemporary African art. This year’s fair spotlights a total of 32 galleries spanning across Europe, Africa and the United States.

This year’s fair represents a diverse selection of galleries from Lagos and Luasanne to Miami and London, including eight 1-54 participants making their debut at the fair. This expansion underscores the fair’s commitment to showcasing the richness and diversity of contemporary African art on a global stage.

Now in its emblematic 10th edition, this year 1-54 New York will take place at The Starrett-Lehigh Building for the first time – a 2.3 million-square-foot premier Manhattan property recognized as a creative campus for influential companies across fashion, entertainment, media, architecture, design and technology. As an anchor of Manhattan’s West Side for nearly 100 years, the building serves as the professional and cultural hub within the Chelsea Arts District, which is known for its concentration of art galleries. As the site of this year’s edition of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in New York City, The Starrett-Lehigh Building upholds its dedication to inspire, educate and engage the surrounding community.

“We are honored to make our return to New York after last year’s great success,” said 1-54 Founding Director Touria El Glaoui. “This year’s gallery participants and fair partners will make for an incredible selection of artwork and programming that we are excited for our visitors to see.”

The galleries participating in 1-54 New York 2024 are:

1-54 is dedicated to broadening global awareness about the art-historical significance of African modern and contemporary art. Since its first fair in London in 2013, 1-54 has presided over a massive shift in art world awareness and market interest in contemporary African and diasporic art practices, hosting panel events and providing an event calendar dedicated to the aesthetic richness of creative work emerging from the continent and its diaspora.

Partnerships

Now in its fifth consecutive year, 1-54’s continued partnership with Christie’s reflects the fair’s dynamic relationship with the global auction house. The collaboration also demonstrates Christie’s commitment to showcasing contemporary African art to its global client base and enhancing exposure for the fair internationally. Most recently, 1-54 Presents debuted its first presentation in Asia in collaboration with Christie’s at their offices in Hong Kong in March of this year, in tandem with Art Basel. 1-54 Presents at Christie’s Hong Kong marked a significant milestone in presenting African artists to new audiences.

INFINIMENT COTY PARIS is exhibiting its fragrance collection at 1-54 Art Fair as part of the long-term commitment to empower emerging African artists. In Partnership with the renowned 1-54 Art Fair, INFINIMENT COTY PARIS invites visitors to indulge in an unprecedented artistic and olfactive experience at the INFINIMENT COTY PARIS gallery. The luxury fragrance collection is created with art cycling in mind. Infinitely stackable, each fragrance bottle is made to be stacked and assembled with the next, transforming into a medium of artistic expression.

A canvas in glass, it is akin to a new territory of expression where art and fragrance are united through the language of emotion and creation. INFINIMENT COTY PARIS commissioned artists to create pieces inspired by the fragrance stories. Co-founders Sue Nabi and Nicolas Vu are committed to creating a platform for creative collaboration with emerging artists who share their values. As Nicolas Vu aptly puts it, “Art gives soul to luxury.” New artworks created freely out of bottles are revealed in avant-premiere at each edition of 1-54, including the upcoming fair in New York City.

Special Projects

In continuation of its standing Special Projects partnership with the fair, Black Rock Global Arts Foundation will have a booth to present works from the alumni at each edition of 1-54 in London, Marrakech and New York. A portion of proceeds go directly towards benefiting Black Rock’s mission to support artists and expand global discourse about what Africa means today. For the 2024 New York edition, this exhibition features works by Grace Lynne Haynes (Year 1, Painter), Tajh Rust (Year 1, Painter), and Collins Obijiaku (Year 2, Painter). Their work explores the possibilities of portraiture, presenting three different approaches to capturing one’s likeness.

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair opens on May 1, 2024 until May 4, 2024 at Starrett-Lehigh Building in Chelsea (255 11th Avenue)

©2024 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair