FNB Art Joburg returns
FNB Art Joburg returns for the 18th consecutive year Africa’s leading and longest running contemporary art fair open on Friday , 5 September 2025
Africa’s leading and longest running contemporary art fair, FNB Art Joburg is set to return for the 18th consecutive year. Taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre from Friday 05 September until Sunday 07 September, the fair promises to immerse the city in the best of the continent’s art, artists, and galleries.
“FNB’s longstanding partnership with Art Joburg reflects our unwavering belief in the prowess of African talent and our commitment to supporting the growth of the continent’s creative economy. As part of our Grassroots to Greatness sponsorship strategy, we go beyond traditional banking to actively help individuals and communities reach their potential. Through this partnership, we facilitate access to global markets, providing African artists with opportunities to showcase their work on the global stage,” says FNB’s Chief Marketing Officer, Faye Mfikwe.
Since inception, FNB Art Joburg has brought artists, galleries, collectors, writers, thinkers and art lovers together. This year’s edition revives a jam-packed lineup of best in contemporary culture, including Open City (28 August – 11 September).
“Johannesburg is more than a city; it is the African continent’s cultural engine. As a platform rooted and invested in Africa’s culture networks, our role as FNB Art Joburg is to champion the ideas, practices and partnerships that sustain contemporary African art. We are proud to contribute to an economy where culture is not a byproduct, but a driver of growth, imagination and possibility,” says FNB Art Joburg managing director, Mandla Sibeko.
Innovation remains key to FNB Art Joburg, as presented across several fair sections:
gallery HUB is the fair’s central section presenting the best in contemporary Africa art from across the continent and the world to reflect the fair’s objective to be a quality rather than quantity focused fair. This year's gallery HUB exhibitors are: BKhz, blank, Eclectica Contemporary, Everard Read, First Floor Gallery Harare, Gallery MOMO, Goodman Gallery, Kalashnikovv, Stevenson and Afriart Gallery.
gallery LAB presents and tests new ideas and business models aimed at transforming the contemporary African art landscape. The 2025 gallery LAB exhibitors are: 16/16, Modzi Arts Gallery, ORA LOAPI, Wunika Mukan Gallery, Windsor Gallery, Galarie MALABO, Kianda Contemporary Art Project, The Space Ethiopia, Koko TEN, kumalo | turpin, Rangi Gallery, Forster-Gallery Zanzibar, Citizen Projects, Yenwa Gallery, The Botswana Pavilion Collective and Logmo + Makon Gallery.
MAX houses installations or works that would present a challenge if presented in the conventionally sized gallery booth. This year’s MAX offering includes works by Ibrahim Khatab, Georgina Gratrix, Angus Taylor, Mikhael Subotzky, and a presentation by Johannesburg Art Gallery conceptualised by Thebe Ikalafeng.
ETC offers an abundance of books, prints, catalogues and zines. This year’s offering will be from: Artist Proof Studios, Jonathan Ball/ Exclusive Books, Loft Editions, Fresco Gallery, ArtThrob, Pulp Paper works, iwalewa books as well as the BMW Reading Lounge with a cinema attached to it.
ORG redefines how the public engages with art-focused organisations like museums, universities or private institutions, the section is a hands-on approach to examine bodies that were established for the good of the public. Audiences will have the opportunity to engage with the following institutions: Exhibition Match, Zeitz MOCAA and DIKAN Centre, the largest photo library on the African continent.
AUX brings industry leaders to the public to explore a plethora of topics impacting the contemporary art world through talks, screenings, public lectures, and audio essays. Talks will feature Kenneth Montague, Sam Nhlenghethwa, Greer Valley amongst other leaders in contemporary art..
GIF spotlights works by artists operating in the medium of film and photography. An intergenerational, cross-continental offering: the 2025 GIF presentation includes artists Natalie Paneng, Tatenda Chidora, Robin Rhode, and Artist As First Responders.
FNB Art Joburg is driven by the belief that art not only gives a voice to individuals to creatively express themselves but also provides an important alternative route to economic mobility and development to individuals and communities.
“As a bank that is deeply invested in the creative economy, our goal is to make art appreciation, creation, and ownership accessible. Moreover, we are energised by another opportunity to provide a platform for an outstanding African artist through the FNB Art Prize. We are confident that we will once again effectively support the cultivation of African creative talent and expression, elevating African art and artists to new heights,” concludes Mfikwe.
