Art Joburg
I became involved in Art Joburg in June 2019, at a moment of significant transition for the fair. Formerly known as the Joburg Art Fair, it was the longest-running contemporary art fair on the African continent and had recently changed ownership. I joined as Operations Director, having been put forward by galleries familiar with my work at Turbine Art Fair.
The shift from Turbine was immediate. Where Turbine had begun as a more agile and accessible fair, Art Joburg was established, premium and highly visible. Expectations were high, scrutiny intense and tolerance for missteps low. Compounding this, we were required to produce the fair in just four months, a process that would normally take closer to a year.
Strategic shifts meant that some historic participants were no longer included, which was publicly felt and not without consequence. At the same time, the emergence of other fairs positioned Art Joburg as elitist in certain narratives, adding further pressure. The reputational stakes were significant, and every decision carried weight.
The reality inside the organisation was demanding. Despite the fair’s long history, there was very little underlying structure, and roles and parameters were often unclear. Financial constraints, ambiguity and reputational sensitivity shaped daily decision-making. Much of my role involved managing people, expectations and delivery under conditions of sustained pressure.
What became increasingly clear during this period was that it was not the visual arts system itself that most engaged me, but the experience around it. I was drawn to how physical spaces come together, how audiences move through them, and how culture, hospitality and atmosphere intersect. The fair clarified that my interest lay less in gallery systems and more in the weaving together of environments and lived experience.
The period was intense. While I remain proud of what we achieved, the physical and personal toll was significant, and in hindsight I am not certain the trade-off was sustainable. The experience underscored how essential clear, decisive leadership is for complex events to function well, and how quickly things unravel without it.
Art Joburg also exposed me to a higher level of sponsorship management and the realities of high-stakes, publicly visible events. It reinforced that the experiential elements are as critical as the aesthetic ones, and that neither can exist meaningfully without the other. Perhaps most importantly, it reaffirmed that treating suppliers, partners and teams with patience and respect consistently brings out the best in people, even under pressure.
Looking back, Art Joburg sits as a defining and clarifying chapter. It consolidated my experience in complex cultural environments, but it also sharpened my understanding of the kind of work I want to do going forward: work rooted in experience, place and hospitality, and built for longevity rather than constant crisis.