What to expect at Turbine Art Fair 2018

It is estimated that there are more than 250 art fairs in the world and a huge slice of art sold to galleries is thanks to these fairs.

It makes you think. Is this the heartbeat of art? From the perspective of the RMB Turbine Art Fair, the answer is yes.

Encompassing 380 artists and 48 exhibitors in one fair makes it a well-rounded experience for anyone interested to see what up-and-coming and established artists are producing. Add to that a number of programmes aimed at graduates and new artists, the Turbine Art Fair has established itself as one of the major fairs in the country.

This year, the fair is again expanding – and the exciting programme is dazzling.

Throughout the weekend of the fair, the daily programme includes walkabouts with celebrities, art professionals and well-known artists. These free walkabouts also include age-appropriate options aimed at helping children understand art and sharing a vocabulary that equips them to appreciate and describe it.

Turbine Art Fair is sponsoring This landscape. This landscape! The Quintessential Metaphor For Life by David Koloane in collaboration with LL Editions and curated by Ruzy Rusik to celebrate 80 years of artist David Koloane.

Joe Legate from LL Editions said: “In all life of South African art, especially in the black community, none has ever celebrated our own. Therefore it is time that we celebrate Koloane as he was taught how to paint but expressed himself though the medium of printing.”

Installations have always been an exciting part of the fair and this year’s curator, Tamzin Lovell-Miller asked the question: “Who are we after this ‘PostTruth’ time has shaped us?”

The artworks she selected will range from the finely crafted to augmented reality.

The Graduate Exhibition returns for a fourth year and is curated especially for the RMB Turbine Art Fair. This exhibition features some of the best post-graduate paintings and the 2018 inclusion of photography from university arts departments across South Africa. The 2018 exhibition will be curated by Musa Nxumalo and much of the focus is on land – featuring works that address white fears to mining.

One of the most exciting aspects is Talent Unlocked, a six-month intensive workshop programme for emerging artists that integrates practical art-making (focusing on process and conceptual development) and professional practice training in collaboration with Assemblage and VANSA. This exciting exhibition of emerging artists will be curated by Fulufhelo Mobadi.

Mobadi, a photographer, is an interesting choice as curator. She said: “Coming from a photography background – coming into this, I got to learn about other mediums, how to show them and how to work with them and the artists, and understanding their processes.

“I know what it’s like to be an artist, so it’s interesting to come as a curator to give advice to artists, to sit them down and say ‘I know where you come from’. My role is to guide them at the fair, where the crowd is different, where the buyers are different.”

What has continuously set the fair apart is that works on sale are between R1 000 and R50 000 – creating a stellar platform for new buyers, just starting their collection.

Friday

Talks programme

• 2pm to 3pm: Scenes of Success (Inspired session #1) asking: is the “starving artist” label myth or reality? Should parents guide their children away from the arts? What are the chances of success as an artist today and in the future? What support exists for the arts? Why is the creative economy important? This is a panel discussion with a gallerist, artist, educator and career coach.

Walkabouts

• 4pm to 5pm: Home – Art for interiors. This is a walkabout with a magazine editor. v 5.30pm to 6.30pm: Think Big Ideas. A walkabout with installations curator Tamzin Lovell Miller.
• 6.30pm to 7.30pm: Think Promise. A walkabout with art advisor Kholisa Thomas featuring selected up-and-coming artists.

Saturday

Talks programme

• 11.15am to 11.30am: Welcome and opening remarks by curator Tamzin Lovell-Miller.
• 11.30am to 12pm: Think Narratives (Inspired session #2), a talk by Els van Mourik from Amsterdam, a story coach.
• 1pm to 2pm: Think Legacy (Inspired session #3), featuring a keynote talk by major collector on how to build a collection that creates value for the future.
• 2.30pm to 3pm: Think Passion (Inspired session #4): panel discussion with artists who have become successful in their careers.

Walkabouts

• 12am to 1pm: Think Fun – Art that Tickles my Fancy, a walkabout with comedian John Vlismas.
• 2pm to 3pm: Think Growth – Art for Investment. A walkabout with Wilhelm van Rensburg – senior art specialist at Strauss & Co.
• 4pm to 5pm: Think Afropolitan – a walkabout with Greg Maloka, an art collector and CEO KayaFM.

Sunday

Talks programme

• 11.30am to 12am: Think History (Inspired session #6) – a talk by Wilhelm van Rensburg on how contemporary artists respond to history.
• 1.30pm to 2pm. Think Home – Art for Interiors (Inspired session #7), a panel discussion with interior designers and a decor magazine editor.
• 2.30pm to 3pm: Think Film (Inspired session #8) a panel discussion with artists, fashion designers, curators, writers, and filmmakers on how much film as an art form influences society and artists.

Walkabouts

• 12am to 1pm: Think Fun – Art that Tickles my Fancy, with comedian John Vlismas.
• 2pm to 3pm: Think Knowledge – a walkabout with Susie Goodman, executive director at Strauss & Co.
• 3pm to 4pm: Think Promise, a walkabout with art advisor Kholisa Thomas featuring selected up-and-coming artists.

Info

• Tickets are R100 for adults and R120 at the door. A weekend pass for adults is R200 and R250 at the door.
• Tickets for children under-12 is R50 online and R80 at the door.
• Tickets for children over 12 is R80 online and R100 at the door.
• Students pay R80 online and R100 at the door.

For more information visit turbineartfair.co.za

For more news your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.