Investec Cape Town Art Fair, which takes place from 21 to 23 February 2025 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), is delighted to announce its exhibitors for the 12th edition of the fair and introduce its first highlights.

The 2025 edition of the fair will feature 30 first-time exhibitors, the largest group of new galleries in the event’s history.

The Full Picture

The Investec Cape Town Art Fair remains the largest contemporary art fair on the African continent, featuring 124 exhibitors from across the globe, including top galleries from Europe and the US specialising in contemporary art. For the first time, galleries from Tokyo, Kampala and Kuwait City are taking part in the fair.

The 2025 edition of the fair will feature 30 first-time exhibitors, the largest group of new galleries in the event’s history. More than half of the exhibitors are returning to the fair, drawn back by the vibrant energy of Cape Town, with its dynamic art scene and reputation as the key art hub of the African continent. Independent consultant and curator Céline Seror will take the reins of the SOLO section, while Egyptian curator, writer and researcher Heba El Kayal from Cairo will curate the Generations section.

A new section, Lookout, is dedicated to emerging galleries that have been operating for under five years. The 2025 fair will also showcase the second iteration of its ‘Cabinet’ series: Cabinet/Trophy: Playing the Field, curated by Exhibition Match (Alexander Richards and Dr. Phokeng Setai).

The fair continues to take art beyond the confines of the fair by activating Cape Town’s buzzing inner-city and surrounds through the Unbound City public programme, including an Art Fair Hub to enjoy after hours.

The Power of Play

Each year, Investec Cape Town Art Fair attracts more than 30,000 art collectors and enthusiasts from around the globe for a showcase of the very best contemporary art from Africa and around the world.

The 2025 edition of Investec Cape Town Art Fair welcomes more than 30 new exhibitors (including galleries from Europe, the US and other African countries outside of South Africa), including 11 new South African galleries.

Visitors to Investec Cape Town Art Fair in 2025 can expect an extraordinary programme of events, talks and tours.

“Interrogating the dynamics of experimentation, the 12th edition of Investec Cape Town Art Fair: PLAY bases its thematic framework around play as action, play your role, play as curiosity, play as the inherent human desire to create,” says fair director Laura Vincenti.

“Through PLAY, Investec Cape Town Art Fair offers a space where the boundaries between creator and viewer are fluid, and where art itself becomes a living, interactive experience. Rather than being a passive observation of aesthetic objects, play invites the audience to actively participate in the unfolding of ideas. This collaborative aspect of play redefines the roles of the artist and viewer, transforming them into co-creators of meaning. The fair encourages engagement not only through the visual and conceptual but also through the tactile, sensory and emotional, allowing for a deeper connection between the work and its audience. In this context, art becomes a shared space where diverse perspectives intersect, challenge and ultimately enrich the collective experience.”

Vincenti adds that the fair will once again extend well beyond the CTICC, where the main exhibition is held, into the city of Cape Town to include its leading galleries, museums and other cultural institutions in a region-wide week-long festival of art providing visitors with an opportunity to explore the city through its art and experience its richness as a cultural destination.

Art in Action

Visitors to Investec Cape Town Art Fair in 2025 can expect an extraordinary programme of events, talks and tours. Talks, conversations, guided art walks and panel discussions with thought leaders, art market professionals and experts on the world of contemporary art will provide invaluable insights and thought-provoking perspectives on the market for African art, collecting, current themes and new directions.

“We are pleased to welcome five independent curators to the Investec Cape Town Art Fair 2025. The renowned curators overseeing the special sections include four newcomers and one returning curator,” says Vincenti.

Each year, Investec Cape Town Art Fair attracts more than 30,000 art collectors and enthusiasts from around the globe for a showcase of the very best contemporary art from Africa and around the world.

French-born Céline Seror (now residing in The Netherlands) will bring her unique experience as an independent curator and consultant to the SOLO section. Seror is the co-founder of prominent art platforms, including Intense Art Magazine, the first publication dedicated to women in art from Africa, and print and digital platform, The Art Momentum. Over the past decade, she has been dedicated to spotlighting new voices and narratives through various publications and artistic projects.

Heba El Kayal, a curator, writer and researcher from Cairo, Egypt, will curate the Generations section, a space where intergenerational conversations between both local and international emerging and established artists are showcased. El Kayal specialises in modern and contemporary art from the Middle East and North Africa. Over the course of her career, she has consulted for auction houses and private collectors and speaks regularly on topics related to the preservation of artist estates, modern and contemporary Middle Eastern and African art, and the importance of institutional cross-collaboration on the African continent.

Investec Cape Town Art Fair also welcomes back Dr. Mariella Franzoni, who will once again lead the Tomorrows/Today section.

Programme highlights

The 2025 Fair will also feature the second interaction of the special project cabinet series, Cabinet/Trophy: Playing the Field’, curated by Exhibition Match (Alexander Richards and Dr. Phokeng Setai). Richards and Setai founded Exhibition Match in 2022 – an artistic project and social intervention that includes an art-world football match and accompanying exhibition with the aim of making art accessible through football. Richards is a director at Stevenson and Setai recently joined Zeitz MoCAA as assistant curator.

The Lookout section – conceptualised as a space of discovery for emerging galleries – will return to provide a platform for young, art project spaces where they can showcase their artists without the commercial necessities or constraints usually associated with art fairs.

Editions is a special section focusing on leading print galleries and workshops that specialise in prints, multiples and editions.

Magazines and Publications showcases magazines, books, journals and catalogues presented by publishers from around the world with a focus on art, which in 2025 will host the likes of House & Leisure, The Manor, Your Luxury Africa, Art Times, Chimurenga, as well as Clarke’s Books in collaboration with Jonathan Ball Publication.

Connect cultural section featuring Norval Foundation, Zeitz MOCAA, Lalela, Western Cape Education Department, City of Cape Town. Following a successful inaugural stand last year, appearing for the second year City of Cape Town Emerging Artists Programme will again be hosting a stand.

The Fine Print

The 12th Investec Cape Town Art Fair will run from 21 to 23 February at the Cape Town International Conference Centre from 12h00 to 19h00.

Tickets can be purchased via webtickets.

For a full list of participating galleries and more information, visit the website and follow Investec Cape Town Art Fair on social media. #InvestecCapeTownArtFair #ICTAF2025

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