1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair NY Marks 5 Years Making Manhattan's Industria Its New Home

This year's New York edition of1-54 Contemporary African Art Fairis around the corner as it continues to present contemporary art from diverse African perspectives—this time at a new home.

"Our fifth anniversary in New York comes at a moment of tremendous change and excitement for the fair," says Touria El Glaoui, 1-54's Founding Director, in a statement. "While we've enjoyed four years of incredible support from Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, the fair's move to the West Village responds to the desires of both our galleries and our visitors and will greatly expand the opportunities for audiences to discover the very best contemporary African art in the heart of Manhattan."

Taking place from May 3 to May 5 with a preview day on May 2, 1-54 will mark its fifth edition at Industria in Manhattan's West Village. Twenty-four galleries from Belgium, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Kenya, Martinique, Morocco, Nigeria, Portugal, Senegal, South Africa,Turkey, the UK and the US are set to display work from over 65 artists. In keeping with the fair's mission to embrace a diverse and global mix of galleries that are dedicated to supporting and amplifying African artists from around the world, 12 new galleries are joining the fold with five solo exhibitions in tow.

This year's Special Projects program includes a pop-up bookshop presented by Aperture Foundation, an installation by Ethiopian artist Ezra Wube presented by Pioneer Works' Visual Arts Residency 2019, "Artist Encounters" with Richard Mudariki, Lawrence Lemaoana and Wura-Natasha Ogunji, as well as the collector's choice program highlighting Ivorian photographer's Paul Kodjo's iconic work.

1-54 FORUM is the fair's unique discursive program that explores convergences across artistic and cultural production, critical thinking and ideas. Black Chalk and Co., an artist collective founded by Zimbabwean artists Nontsikelelo Mutiti and Tinashe Mushakavanhu, has curated a series of talks, screenings and performances entitled Why Don't You Carve Other Animals. You can find more information about the series here.

Gallery 1957 at 1-54 New York 2018 © Katrina Sorrentino.

Take a look at the participating galleries and artists you can't miss at 1-54 below:

Galleries

50 Golborne (London, United Kingdom) | Addis Fine Art (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) | AFRONOVA GALLERY (Johannesburg, South Africa) | Barnard Gallery (Cape Town, South Africa) | Circle Art Gallery (Nairobi, Kenya) | Danziger Gallery (New York, United States) | De Buck Gallery (New York, United States/Antwerp, Belgium/Saint Paul de Vence, France) | Espace d'art contemporain 14n 61w (Fort-de-France, Martinique) | Galerie Anne de Villepoix (Paris, France) | Galerie Cécile Fakhoury (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire / Dakar, Senegal) | Gallery 1957 (Accra, Ghana) | Jack Bell Gallery (London, United Kingdom) | James Cohan (New York, United States) | L'Agence à Paris (Paris, France) | Loft Art Gallery (Casablanca, Morocco) | MAGNIN-A (Paris, France) | October Gallery (London, United Kingdom) | Perve Galeria (Lisbon, Portugal) | Retro Africa (Abuja, Nigeria) | Richard Tattinger Gallery (New York, United States) | Sulger-Buel Gallery (London, United Kingdom) | The Pill Contemporary (Istanbul, Turkey) | Ubuntu Art Gallery (Cairo, Egypt) | Yossi Milo Gallery (New York, United States)

Artists

Hayam AbdelBaky (Egypt) | Tyna Adebowale (Nigeria) | Aboudia (Côte d'Ivoire) | Derrick Adams (United States) | Laeïla Adjovi (Benin) | Sahar AlAmir (Egypt) | Malala Andrianavidrazana (Madagascar) | Ranti Bam (Nigeria) | Raphaël Barontini (France) | Nathalie Boutté (France) | Dallila Dalléas Bouzar (Algeria) | Robert Charlotte (Martinique) | Joana Choumali (Côte d'Ivoire) | Soly Cissé (Senegal) | Jean Ulrick Désert (Haiti) | Aliou Diack (Senegal) | Omar Victor Diop (Senegal) | Godfried Donkor (Ghana) | Slimen El Kamel (Tunisia) | Mutaz Elemam (Sudan) | Modupeola Fadugba (Togo) | Beya Gille Gacha (Cameroon) | Ómò Oba Adetomiwa A. Gbadebo (Nigeria) | François-Xavier Gbré (France) | Frances Goodman (South Africa) | Eric van Hove (Algeria) | Pieter Hugo (South Africa) | Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga (Democratic Republic of Congo) | Seydou Keita (Mali) | Lebonhang Kgnaye (South Africa) | Phumzile Khanyile (South Africa) | Lawrence Lemaoana (South Africa) | John Liebenberg (South Africa) | Franck Lundangi (Angola) | Seydou Keíta (Mali) | Bodys Isek Kingelez (Democratic Republic of Congo) | Jean David Knot (Cameroon) | Jems Koko-Bi (Côte d'Ivoire) | Ferdinand Kokou Makouvia (Togo) | Siwa Mbogoza (South Africa) | Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien (France) | Senzeni Marasela (South Africa) | Jorge Mayet (Cuba) | Thameur Mejri (Tunisia) | Kyle Meyer (United States) | Richard Mudariki (South Africa) | Henry Mzili Mujunga (Uganda) | Rashaad Newsome (United States) | Boris Nzebo (Cameroon) | Wura-Natasha Ogunji (Nigeria) | J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere (Nigeria) | Adjani Okpu-Egbe (Cameroon) | Adjaratou Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso) | Alexis Peskine (France) | Marielle Plaisir (France) | Cameron Platter (South Africa) | Tajh Rust (United States) | Cheri Samba (Democratic Republic of Congo) | Sory Sanlé (Burkina Faso) | Ernesto Shikhani (Mozambique) | Devan Shimoyama (United States) | Kura Shumali (Democratic Republic of Congo) | Malick Sidibé (Mali) | Elias Sime (Ethiopia) | Yoan Sorin (France) | Nirit Takele (Ethiopia) | Henri Abraham Univers (France) | LR Vandy (United Kingdom) | Zinkpè (Benin)

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1:54 Contemporary African Fair runs from Friday, May 3 to Sunday, May 5 at Industria in Manhattan's West Village. Tickets are available to purchase online via Eventbrite. Keep up with 1:54 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and their official website.