Features

Yes, RMB Latitudes is an art fair – but it’s also a celebration of lifestyle, creativity, and community. Set in the lush, terraced gardens of Shepstone Gardens this May, the fair unfolds under crisp autumn skies, offering more than just a visual feast. It’s a full-day experience that invites you to linger: to taste, sip, explore and unwind.

To build excitement for this year's Art Fair, we've created a captivating video campaign, casting a bright light on the insights and influence of six key individuals within the dynamic landscape of contemporary art in South Africa. Join the video campaign's Art Director, Chelsea Selvan and filmmaker Jarred Figgins as they visit artist studios and the homes of private art collectors, capturing the rich interplay between creation, curation and collecting.

USURPA and RMB Latitudes proudly present a solo presentation by Mary Sibande: A Queen Never Dies.

Latitudes has always aimed to be an accessible art space. That means making it easier to collect — and more sustainable for artists to create. That’s why we’ve partnered with Africa Collect, offering automated instalment payments from R1,000 to R50,000 ex. VAT over up to 12 months. 

For the sculptor, a sketch might be a provisional thought, a way of quickly and effectively committing an idea to paper, but there is also a vital relationship between sculpture and drawing – one that sees each practice informing and deepening the other.

This year, RMB Latitudes’ Special Project, ESSAY, focuses on the drawings and sculptures of two prolific South African artists, Sydney Kumalo and Amalie von Maltitz.

Each year, the outdoor spaces of Shepstone Gardens become the largest exhibition space at RMB Latitudes — an immersive garden of art, nature and discovery. This year, in response to the ever-pressing global climate emergency, RMB Latitudes, The Kingdom of the Netherlands in South Africa and ORMS present a powerful outdoor activation by artists Thirza Schaap and Nina Barnett.

RMB Latitudes Art Fair invited acclaimed architecture and interior design studio Boogertman + Partners – one of Africa’s largest architectural firms – to design the lounge in the centre court at this year’s fair.

RMB Latitudes Art Fair's Independent Artist Exhibition, AKA: INDEX is a platform to give exposure to independent artists, who often have to create their own networks and methods for getting their work seen by audiences. This year's exhibition is curated by Bonolo Kavula, and titled Invisible Thread.

The art and cultural organization Ora Loapi is spearheading a movement to reshape how Botswana's history is told, employing a strategy known as "flooding the archive."

For RMB Latitudes’ Botswana exposé, operating within an ethos of accessibility, collective engagement can be conceptualised and established through a singular focus on a locale.

Contemporary art is a moment that is simultaneously historical and a-historical. It is an institution characterised by art made today. But it permits a confluence of historical styles and motifs across periods, from classical genre painting and sculpture to new media and generative artificial intelligence.

The aim of the award is to discover, recognise and nurture a new generation of women-identifying artists from the continent. Apply now.

Bella Knemeyer merges her background in sculpture and landscape architecture to explore urban narratives and material flows.

Prism is a series of nine new works from multidisciplinary artist Adele Van Heerden, informed by a restorative residency in Biesenthal, Germany.

It has always baffled me that a medium that arguably trails back to earliest forms of visual expression remains so misunderstood.

With a second Trump administration in sight, contemporary art is gearing to stage another four years of oppositional optimism to counter the Trumpian moment, perhaps broadly typified as a suspicion of the currents of political liberalism.

The year concluded with a viral art story on the resale of a duct-taped banana for over $6 million - Maurizio Cattalan’s 2019 installation fittingly titled 'Comedian'. Ironically, given the sombre news circulating in the art world, it has presented some light relief or a positive sign.

Diriyah Art Futures (DAF), the Middle East and North Africa’s first dedicated New Media Art hub, has launched in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to establish itself regionally and globally as an interdisciplinary and innovative hub where art, technology and cultural heritage converge.

The Latitudes Art Fund aims to provide financial support to visual artists by covering the cost of essential art supplies.

Nigeria stands at a pivotal moment of transformation, where a comprehensive view of its socio-economic and cultural landscape is essential. There is a growing call for introspection and alternative approaches to financial resilience, a reevaluation of traditional values, and a shift away from individualism toward collective well-being.