The 14th London edition of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair returns to Somerset House from 15 to 18 October 2026, bringing together galleries and artists from Africa and its diaspora. This year’s edition marks a significant development for the fair, introducing a dedicated focus on African Modernism alongside its contemporary programme. Through curated gallery presentations and 1-54 Presents: West Wind, the fair revisits pioneering artists and movements that have long remained at the margins of dominant art-historical narratives.

The expanded programme reflects growing interest in African Modernism, with Loeve&Co (Paris) continuing its engagement with Modernist practices, The Gallery of Everything (London) presenting a tribute to Senegalese sculptor Seyni Awa Camara, and TAFETA (London) joining the Modern section.

Alongside this historical focus, the fair celebrates contemporary practices across Africa and its diaspora, with galleries spanning Lagos, Accra, Casablanca, Cairo, Johannesburg, Paris and London, reflecting the diversity of artistic production and its international connections.

“By bringing these generations into conversation, this edition places African artists where they belong: as authors of modern and contemporary art history,” says Touria El Glaoui, Founding Director of 1-54. The 2026 edition brings this vision into focus through its Modernist spotlight, women-led presentations, solo projects and an extensive programme of special commissions and events.

African Modernism: West Wind

Returning as part of 1-54 Presents, West Wind is a curated exhibition by South African-Portuguese art historian and visual studies scholar Dr Nancy Dantas. Taking its inspiration from Miriam Makeba’s 1966 song and its association with African unity, the exhibition brings together pioneering artists whose practices emerged during the continent’s mid-20th-century period of political transformation and cultural renewal.

Presented by Hannah O’Leary Fine Art, Selma Feriani Gallery and Vigo Gallery, the exhibition includes works by Alexander “Skunder” Boghossian, Bertina Lopes, Gerard Sekoto, Kofi Antubam, Sam Joseph Ntiro, Papa Ibra Tall, Uzo Egonu, Baya, Rafik El Kamel and Ibrahim El-Salahi. Through painting and sculpture, abstraction and figuration, West Wind explores shared trajectories and artistic exchange, highlighting the diverse perspectives that shaped African Modernism.

Galleries and Artistic Perspectives

The 2026 edition brings together established participants and a new generation of galleries. Among the returning exhibitors, Addis Fine Art (Addis Ababa) presents a solo project by Tizta Berhanu, while Gallery Misr (Cairo) highlights Egyptian art. Affinity Gallery (Lagos) and Loft Art Gallery (Casablanca and Marrakech) reflect the breadth of contemporary practices emerging from different regions of the continent. October Gallery (London) brings together artists working across a range of media and cultural contexts, while Paris-based AFIKARIS continues its engagement with artists from Africa and its diaspora. Kumalo | Turpin presents the work of Boemo Diale.

Women’s practices receive particular attention across the fair. GALLERY BRULHART, Gillian Jason Gallery and Galleria Anna Marra present booths dedicated entirely to women artists. Other galleries foreground individual practices, including albertz benda, with a presentation featuring Larissa de Souza and Rugiyatou Ylva Jallow, and Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, which spotlights Kimathi Mafafo. Together, these presentations highlight the contribution of women artists to modern and contemporary art across generations.

Solo and focused presentations remain central to the fair’s programme. Alongside Addis Fine Art, galleries including Errm Art Gallery, Fabienne Levy, In Situ – fabienne leclerc, ARTBASE, DozieArts, ITINERRANCE and Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix offer dedicated presentations that allow individual practices to be encountered in greater depth.

This year’s edition also welcomes a substantial group of first-time London participants. 16/16, ARTBASE, DozieArts, ELLEPHANT, Errm Art Gallery, Fabienne Levy, Isaac Benigson Old and Interesting Art, ITINERRANCE, Maya Art Space, MRS ART, Tribe Gallery and Yenwa Gallery make their debuts, while Project LOOP, previously featured as a Special Project, joins the fair with its first commercial booth.

Participating Galleries

16/16 — Lagos, Nigeria

50 Golborne — London, UK

193 Gallery — Paris / St. Tropez / Venice, France / Italy

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Addis Fine Art — Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Affinity Gallery — Lagos, Nigeria

AFIKARIS — Paris, France

albertz benda — New York / Los Angeles, USA

ARTBASE — Wiesbaden / Berlin, Germany

DozieArts — Clark, USA

Eclectica Contemporary — Cape Town, South Africa

ELLEPHANT — Montreal, Canada

Errm Art Gallery — Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Fabienne Levy — Lausanne / Geneva / Zurich, Switzerland

FILAFRIQUES — Geneva / Abidjan, Switzerland / Côte d’Ivoire

First Floor Gallery Harare — Harare, Zimbabwe

Galleria Anna Marra — Rome, Italy

Gallery 1957 — London / Accra, UK / Ghana

GALLERY BRULHART — Geneva, Switzerland

Gallery Misr — Cairo, Egypt

Gillian Jason Gallery — London, UK

Guns & Rain — Johannesburg, South Africa

In Situ – fabienne leclerc — Romainville, France

Isaac Benigson Old and Interesting Art — London, UK

ITINERRANCE — Paris, France

Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery — London / Berlin / West Palm Beach, UK / Germany / USA

kumalo | turpin — Johannesburg, South Africa

Larkin Durey — London, UK

LIS10 Gallery — Arezzo / Paris / Hong Kong, Italy / France / Hong Kong

Loeve&Co — Paris, France

Loft Art Gallery — Casablanca / Marrakech, Morocco

Maya Art Space — Beirut, Lebanon

MRS ART — London, UK

O’DA Art — Lagos, Nigeria

October Gallery — London, UK

Perve Galeria — Lisbon, Portugal

Project LOOP — London, UK

TAFETA — London, UK

The Gallery of Everything — London, UK

The Southern Art Hub — London, UK

THK Gallery — Cape Town / Cologne, South Africa / Germany

Tribe Gallery — Geneva, Switzerland

Tristan Hoare Gallery & Alexandra de Cadaval Art Projects — London, UK

Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix — London, UK

Yenwa Gallery — Lagos, Nigeria

Special Projects

Beyond the gallery presentations, the fair’s Special Projects programme brings together installations and collaborations exploring cultural heritage, material practices, identity and artistic exchange.

Flowing Upstream

An immersive, large-scale multimedia courtyard installation by Martin Wöllenstein, Flowing Upstream is developed in collaboration with Romeo Addai-Boateng Akoto of Ghana’s Supreme Masqueraders Society and Perve Galeria. The project brings multimedia and performance into dialogue with West African masquerade traditions, exploring cultural expression and the movement and transformation of materials.

My London Rockstars

In My London Rockstars, Moroccan-British artist Hassan Hajjaj turns his lens towards the people shaping London’s contemporary creative landscape. The portrait series features figures including musician Central Cee, artist Slawn and singer Jorja Smith, bringing Hajjaj’s distinctive visual language into conversation with music, fashion, street culture and contemporary portraiture. Drawing on his experience of growing up between Morocco and London, Hajjaj celebrates the city’s diverse cultural communities and the individuals contributing to its evolving identity.

Nando’s x Spier Arts Trust

Through its partnership with Spier Arts Trust, Nando’s presents work by Southern African artists Blessing Ntsikelelo Blaai, Lionel Tazvitya Mbayiwa and Mellaney Roberts. The presentation explores belonging and the human need to feel accepted, valued and connected, while continuing the organisations’ support for contemporary Southern African artistic practices and artist development.

Our Canvas Grows From The Soil — Borderlands Art

Borderlands Art’s Our Canvas Grows From The Soil explores connections between Uganda and Ghana through the material and cultural histories of barkcloth. Artists Gloria Kiconco and Piloya Irene present sculptural zines and textiles emerging from forest-based installations, while Othello De’Souza-Hartley uses barkcloth as a surface for photographic printing and textured painting. Bringing together contemporary social practice, environmental concerns and ancestral knowledge, the project considers how traditional materials can become active sites for artistic experimentation and cross-cultural exchange.

Commodity / Couture — Midunu Institute

Founded by artist, author and cultural thinker Selassie Atadika, the Accra-based Midunu Institute presents Commodity / Couture, a sensory installation examining Ghana’s cocoa industry and the journey from farm to finished product. The project draws attention to the disparity between the value of raw cocoa and the price of the products made from it. Visitors encounter cocoa through scent, recordings of farmers and structures made from cocoa sacks, alongside a brass cocoa-pod sculpture created by an Ashanti artisan in Kumasi using the lost-wax technique. Atadika reframes cocoa as more than a commodity, foregrounding the knowledge, labour and cultural heritage behind its production.

Interlude — ABLAKASSA

ABLAKASSA presents Interlude, a project that builds a bridge between the London edition of 1-54 and its Marrakech programme. The presentation creates a point of connection between the fair’s different locations, extending the exchange of ideas and artistic perspectives across geographies and communities. Positioned within the wider programme, Interlude reflects 1-54’s continuing role in connecting artists and audiences across Africa and its diaspora.

Tristan Hoare Gallery & Alexandra de Cadaval Art Projects

Tristan Hoare Gallery and Alexandra de Cadaval Art Projects present tapestries featuring designs by South African artist Esther Mahlangu, alongside photographs by Malick Sidibé. Translating Mahlangu’s geometric compositions into the Indian tradition of Dhurrie weaving, the presentation brings Ndebele mural painting and Indian textile craftsmanship into dialogue, celebrating the transmission of artistic knowledge across generations and borders.

Kianda Contemporary Art Project: Angola, Angolé, Angolema

Curated by founder Marcos Jinguba, Angola, Angolé, Angolema: Convergences of Angolan Art and the Diaspora traces Angolan art from the 1950s to the present, bringing together artists from Angola and its diaspora. The presentation features Mário Tendinha, Yola Balanga, Teresa Kutala Firmino, Alice Marcelino, Ia Sueki and Benigno Mangovo, alongside guest artists Levy Pooe (South Africa), Beré Magalhães (Brazil) and Emmany Koto (Democratic Republic of the Congo). The project explores the diversity of Angolan artistic expression and its connections across borders.

Whitechapel Gallery: Artists’ Editions and the Errantry Fund

Whitechapel Gallery, the pioneering East London institution founded in 1901, presents a selection of artists’ editions at 1-54, with a special focus on works published alongside its Errantry Fund. The forward-thinking philanthropic initiative supports artists from the Global South and its diaspora whose practices have been neglected or underrepresented in the mainstream art world.

Featured editions include works by Joy Labinjo, Joy Gregory, Veronica Ryan, Nour Jaouda and William Kentridge, alongside new editions by Virginia Chihota, Miranda Forrester and Christina Kimeze, launching at the fair. Specially commissioned and generously donated by the featured artists, all proceeds from sales will support Whitechapel Gallery’s future projects and help nurture the next generation of artists.

Talks Programme

The fair’s talks programme brings together artists, curators and cultural practitioners to discuss contemporary art and the wider contexts shaping artistic production. Contributors include Oliver Enwonwu and Christie’s, among others. The programme offers visitors an opportunity to engage with the ideas behind the works on view and explore broader questions around art, cultural history and the international art world.

Cover Image: Detail from Deborah Segun, Perfect Companion, 2025, Acrylic on canvas, 40 × 40 cm. Courtesy of O’DA Art.