Investec Cape Town Art Fair, taking place from 21 to 23 February 2025 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), invites art lovers to celebrate art, creativity and exploration through the power of “PLAY” in its 12th edition.

Some highlights are:
- 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.
- The 2025 edition of the fair will feature 30 first-time exhibitors, the largest group of new galleries in the event’s history, including galleries from Europe, the US and other African countries outside of South Africa as well as 11 new South African galleries.
- 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.
- For the first time, galleries from Tokyo, Kampala and Kuwait City are taking part in the fair.
- There are two galleries from Turkey hosting stands at the fair, namely Anna Laudel (Bodrum and Istanbul, Turkey, Düsseldorf, Germany) and for the first time, Öktem Aykut (Istanbul, Turkey).

- 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. Dr. Mariella Franzoni, who will once again lead the Tomorrows/Today section.
- 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).
- A new section, Lookout, is dedicated to emerging galleries that have been operating for under five years.
- 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.

Fair director Laura Vincenti says: “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 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.”

She 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: Programming and Events
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.
French-born Céline Seror will bring her unique experience as an independent curator and consultant to the SOLO section. Seror explores the diverse ways that contemporary artists engage with and play through whimsical experimentation, imaginative inquiry and exploration. Play is an essential part of human existence and with this in mind, ten artists from across the globe have been asked to reflect on the theme “PLAYSCAPES: Shaping Worlds and Selves”. Artists exhibiting are Ange Dakouo (Ivorian), LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery, Bilal Bahir (Belgian/Iraqi), AYN Gallery, COW MASH (Kgaogelo Mothepa Mashilo) (South African), Berman Contemporary, Eman Ali (Omani-Bahraini), Hunna Art, Frances Goodman (South African), SMAC Gallery, Justin Yoon (American), Jonathan Carver Moore, Kristine Tsala (Cameroonian), Windsor Gallery, Soly Cissé (Senegalese), Galerie Marion Chauvy, Stanislaw Trzebinski (Kenyan), Southern Guild, Temandrota (Madagascan), 50 Golborne.

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. Selected galleries will convene, collaborate, and explore the notions of play, both literal and abstract. Artists taking part are Andrew Mogridge (South African), Candice Berman Gallery, Ayoola Gbolahan (Nigerian), AMG Projects, Bubu (Oritsegbubemi) Ogisi (Nigerian), 16/16, Cyrille Chamayou (French), Candice Berman Gallery, Henry Symonds (South African), Graham Contemporary, Khoshoua El Gohary (Egyptian), Tam Gallery, Malangatana Ngwenya (Mozambican), Malangatana Valente Ngwenya Foundation, Mbali Dhlamini, (South African), 16/16, Nkechi Ebubedike (Nigerian American), AMG Projects, Rorkes Drift (South African), Riaan Bolt Antiques, and Shepherd Ndudzo (Zimbabwean), Ora Loapi.

Dr. Mariella Franzoni, will once again lead the Tomorrows/Today section. A contemporary art curator who lives and works between Spain, Italy and South Africa, Franzoni has chosen not to adhere to a strict curatorial theme but instead embraced ICTAF 2025’s wider theme of PLAY as an integral part of the curatorial and artistic process. The twelve artists exhibiting in this highly anticipated section represent a diverse range of contemporary practices that reflect current global art trends rooted in identity, socio-political commentary, and cultural exchange. The artists featured in this section are: Zehnlin Zhang, Georgina Maxim, Mulambö, Agnes Essonti Luque’s, Mankebe Seakgoe, Mareli Lal, Warren Maroon, Joy Adeboye, Asma Ben Aissa, Soukaina Joual, Anthony Ngoya and Thando Phenyane.

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). Cabinet/Trophy will host varying types of trophies in a field of play and invite open-ended and dynamic interaction between the artworks and spectators. Contributing artists are 20th Century piece (South African), WALL, Brett Murray (South African), Everard Read, Geena Wilkinson (South African), WORLDART, Jake Singer (South African), THK Gallery, John Newdigate (South African), EBONY/CURATED, Kamal El-Feky (Egyptian), Eclectica Contemporary, Norman Catherine (South African), Candice Berman Gallery, Simone Tribuiani (Italian), Cellar Contemporary, Willie Bester (South African), The Melrose Gallery, Wilma Cruise (Dr) (South African), Red Room Gallery and Zanele Muholi (South African), Southern Guild.

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.
Participating International Galleries:
16/16 (Lagos, Nigeria)
50 Golborne (London, United Kingdom)
Afriart Gallery (Kampala, Uganda)
AMG Projects (Lagos, Nigeria)
Anna Laudel (Bodrum and Istanbul, Turkey, Düsseldorf, Germany)
AYN Gallery (Paris, France)
blue wind project (Sidi Bou Saïd, Tunisia)
Bode (Berlin, Germany)
Borderlands Art (Kampala, Uganda)
Cellar Contemporary (Trento, Italy)
Dep Art Gallery (Milan, Italy)
First Floor Gallery Harare (Harare, Zimbabwe)
Galerie Caroline O’Breen (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Galerie EIGEN + ART (Leipzig, Berlin, Germany)
Galerie Eric Dupont (Paris, France)
Galerie La La Lande (Paris, France)
Galerie Marion Chauvy (Paris, France)
Galleria Anna Marra (Rome, Italy)
Galleria Giovanni Bonelli (Milan and Pietrasanta, Italy)
Galleria Michela Rizzo (Venice, Italy)
Gallery Nosco (Brussels, Belgium)
Gregor Podnar (Vienna, Austria)
Gypsum Gallery (Cairo, Egypt)
Hunna Art (Kuwait City, Kuwait)
Jahmek Contemporary Art (Luanda, Angola)
Jonathan Carver Moore (San Francisco, United States of America)
kó (Lagos, Nigeria)
KWADRAT Galerie (Berlin, Germany)
LEESAYA (Tokyo, Japan)
LIS10 Gallery (Arezzo, Italy and Paris, France)
Lo Magno artecontemporanea (Modica, Italy)
LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery (Abidjan, Ivory Coast)
Malangatana Valente Ngwenya Foundation (Maputo, Mozambique)
OH Gallery (Dakar, Senegal)
Öktem Aykut (Istanbul, Turkey)
Reiners Contemporary Art (Marbella, Spain)
Samuel Maenhoudt Gallery (Knokke-Heist, Belgium)
Schönfeld Gallery (Brussels, Belgium)
SOTO Gallery (Lagos, Nigeria)
Spiaggia Libera (Paris, France)
Suburbia Contemporary (Barcelona, Spain and Leipzig, Germany)
TAM Gallery (Cairo, Egypt)
The Art Affair (Luanda, Angola)
The Bridge Gallery (Paris, France)
The Over (Barcelona, Spain)
The Project Room (Windhoek, Namibia)
tHEIR (London, United Kingdom)
THIS IS NOT A WHITE CUBE (Lisbon, Portugal)
Windsor Gallery (Lagos, Nigeria)
Participating Local Galleries:
131 A Gallery (Cape Town, South Africa)
16 on Lerotholi (Cape Town, South Africa)
50ty50ty (Cape Town, South Africa)
99 Loop Gallery (Cape Town, South Africa)
Art Formes (Cape Town, South Africa)
Artist Proof Studio (Johannesburg, South Africa)
ArtThrob (Cape Town, South Africa)
artHARARE (Cape Town, South Africa)
Berman Contemporary (Johannesburg, South Africa)
BKhz (Johannesburg, South Africa)
blank (Cape Town, South Africa)
Candice Berman Gallery (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Christopher Moller Gallery (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Dale Sargent Fine Art (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Demo Projects (Cape Town, South Africa)
EBONY/CURATED (Cape Town,Franschhoek, South Africa)
Eclectica Contemporary (Cape Town, South Africa)
Eleven Editions (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Everard Read (Cape Town, Franschhoek, Johannesburg, South Africa and London, UK)
Goodman Gallery (Johannesburg, Cape Town, South Africa, London, UK and New York, USA)
Graham Contemporary (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Guns & Rain (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Kalashnikovv Gallery (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Lemkus Gallery (Cape Town, South Africa)
Locus (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Loft Editions (Cape Town, South Africa)
Occupying The Gallery (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Red Room Gallery (Cape Town, South Africa)
RESERVOIR (Cape Town, South Africa)
Riaan Bolt Antiques (Johannesburg, South Africa)
SMAC Gallery (Cape Town, Johannesburg, Stellenbosch, South Africa)
Southern Guild (Cape Town, South Africa)
STEVENSON (Cape Town, Johannesburg, South Africa and Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
The Melrose Gallery (Johannesburg, South Africa)
THK Gallery (Cape Town, South Africa)
Untitled (Cape Town, South Africa)
Vault Research (Cape Town, South Africa)
Vela Projects (Cape Town, South Africa)
WALL (Cape Town, South Africa)
WHATIFTHEWORLD (Cape Town, South Africa)
WORLDART (Cape Town, South Africa)
Click for the The Cape of Arts: 10 MORE reasons to visit Cape Town this February
Cover Image: Photo: Anton Scholtz