There are so many contemporary African artists and
painters scattered across Africa, in the Americas and
the rest of the world.
The online platform has brought collectors to
the artist’s doorsteps and at convenience for all.
Let me digress a little bit.
Before now many artists had never made an inroad
into the collector’s space.
Also, reputable galleries have a hard time
in discovering the up and coming creative individuals.
The resources may not even be there to investigate
and locate these African artists.
There are also the challenges of logistics in
getting across to them.
Yet their works are profound, instructive
and have great appeal for the soul.
For instance, it was by the very conscious effort of
late Okwui Enwezor who brought more African artists and
others at the fringes to the attention of the art world.
In 2002, Okwui, as a curator, cherry picked
fringe artists of diverse styles to exhibit at the
Documenta 11 at Kassel in, Germany.
May his soul rest in peace!
(Yours truly also exhibited his photographic works
at that big five yearly event.)
Today, many artists still struggle for recognition
and attention for their works.
The alternative route beyond the physical galleries
includes the online galleries and the social media,
such as Instagram.
These are managed by the artists themselves;
while some are hosted by third party website platforms
such as Saatchi and a few others.
Many even make their artworks available as
merchandise such as T-Shirts and more.
So you can now have at your finger tip quality
African paintings and artworks,
even prints by African artists, right where you are.
Have you seen my arts and shop mart?