Thank you to the press, sponsors, galleries and others for attending the 3rd Joburg Art Fair
press launch. It’s good to see some of you for the 3rd year running.
I am very happy that the Fair has passed the 2 year mark; a difficult milestone for any business
and even more difficult for an annual art event.

When we finished last year’s Art Fair and the
recession hit, it was touch and go at one stage as to whether there would ever be another
Joburg Art Fair.
At the time of the second Art Fair, there was talk of every second gallery in New York and
London closing shop and the possibility of a similar situation in South Africa. Luckily it didn’t
happen. We have only lost three galleries from last year: Warren Siebrits Gallery, Bell Roberts
Gallery and Erdmann Gallery, and they have been replaced with others. The Art Fair would be
nothing without the ongoing commitment of the top local, African and foreign galleries that focus
on work from the continent. We rely on them to maintain the high standard of contemporary
African art that audiences have come to expect.
Whilst I don’t think business was particularly brisk for the art market over the last year, it seems
that the public have not become cynical about the art market and, in particular, contemporary
art. I think at a time when all markets and values have had to be re-valued, art has stood up
remarkably well.
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The sponsorship game was tough last year too. We have re-negotiated a three-year deal with
First National Bank as the Primary Sponsor and look forward to working with Lezanne Human,
CEO Investment Product House, who has taken over from Robert Keip as official spokesperson
for the Art Fair from FNB.
I am sure you remember the Grolsch Bar at last year’s Fair. That was the start of a relationship
that has resulted in Grolsch signing up as a secondary sponsor of this year’s Art Fair and the
major sponsor of the Spring Art Tour, an event we hope to replicate this year. I would like to
introduce you to Mashinka Fourie, Executive Brand Manager for South African Breweries and
specifically Grolsch, who will speak after Lezanne. It’s pleasing to have one of the country’s
most successful international companies, in addition to being a global brand, involved in the
Fair and very satisfying to see SAB enter the arts on this level.
Gauteng Provincial Government once again signed up as a Secondary Sponsor, enabling us to
do a number of developmental projects, including the FUNDA Development Booth, the Artspace
Mentorship Program and the Screening Stations, which selected work from local art and film
schools in the province. Thank you to Mthunzi Ndimande, who will speak after Mashinka. It is
gratifying to see artists in positions of governance.
With a new property such as the Art Fair, one tries to shape it so it is relevant to both the time
and place we live in. Geographically, we will continue to represent work from the continent
despite the difficulties involved in getting work from the rest of Africa. In terms of time, for me
the most significant outcome of the last year’s recession was the 1 million jobs this country lost.
A major challenge to us South Africans and foreigners who are committed to living in this
country is how to create work for the unemployed and the army of school-leavers that enter into
the economy every year.
Art has the potential to play a bigger role in our economy by partnering with industry. One
cannot underestimate the ability of the contemporary, cutting-edge and “cool” to generate
demand for local products and in so doing contribute to improving the brand of creative South
Africa (it will be interesting to see how we use the 2010 opportunity to brand ourselves as a new
nation).
The collaboration between art and industry is an international phenomenon that has benefited
both artists and industry. It is with this in mind that we are using the Joburg Art Fair as a
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platform for these exchanges to take place and making the outcome of these collaborations
available to visitors attending the Fair in March.
Traditionally, a company like ours would sell the rights to be associated with art. We have taken
that concept one step further, and are now collaborating with companies to make products that
benefit artists, the public and the company brand.
The genesis of the Grolsch collaboration was simple enough. Grolsch wanted an artwork
manufactured from green glass, as the Grolsch bottle is such a distinctive characteristic of this
beer. Martli Jansen van Rensburg, an artist who works in glass, was an obvious choice. You
will be able to see her finished product in the Grolsch lounge that is positioned at the middle of
the Fair.
We were keen to collaborate with one of the fabric houses to use an artist’s work to make
fabric. Gary Searle of St. Leger & Viney was quick to see the potential in the project and
offered us the resources of his company for the collaboration. We chose a work of Lawrence
Lemaoana’s, entitled Dancers on the Wall. You will see this fabric in various places at the Fair,
and it can even be bought at the Fair.
Pirelli’s new director in South Africa is Gianluca Renato who, coming from Milan, has witnessed
the many collaborations Pirelli has accomplished with artists. He was keen to fund a work at the
Fair this year. Artist Willem Boshoff drew on his long-held fascination with spoor and tracks in
the sand to make a work that links with Pirelli tyres.
One of the reasons we believe Art & Industry has legs is the extraordinary resources of industry
in this country. PG Glass have just brought in a R4 million machine that can now print any
image directly onto glass without having to go via a silkscreen process. Hugh Fraser is once
again helping us to make these impressive glass objects, which will showcase what PG Glass
is capable of doing.
PG Bison has allowed us to experiment with a relatively new product. Called Solid Core, it is
made from compressing paper soaked with resin. You will see the tables at the Fair are made
of this material.
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The Art Talks have found a new sponsor, Alpha Romeo, and will feature the overriding theme of
this year’s Fair, Art & Industry. We are grateful to the Goethe Institut once again for bringing
out speakers from Germany.
Last year we introduced design for the first time. Trevyn McGowan from Source’s curated