TOURIA EL GLAOUI

Founder of the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair

INTERVIEW

Please tell us about your journey and how you created the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
TEG: I have always been interested in art and art history. I grew up surrounded by art as my father, Hassan El Glaoui, was a painter. In my formative years, my father would also take us to galleries. After studying business in New York, I spent many years in the Telecom/IT business development industry. While working in the cooperate world I was fortunate enough to travel across Africa extensively and, as much as possible, I would visit galleries, museums, artist studios… However, I would never see any of this work being shown in Europe and the US, which became hugely frustrating. The global disconnect and lack of platforms for artists from Africa and its diaspora was disheartening.

The final prompt to move into the arts was putting together an exhibition of my father’s work at Leighton House in 2011. The process gave me an insight into the art world and the lack of support artists from the continent are faced with when bringing their work to Europe, and the numerous connections you need to do so. From this, the initial thoughts for 1-54 were conceived. I saw the potential to create a channel for international exchange. 1-54 was envisioned as a platform that could bridge the gap, increase international visibility for artists, foster further transcontinental and intercontinental dialogue, and generally widen the net of possibilities.


Besides the art itself, how is the 1-54 Art Fair different from other art fairs? What are the visitors like who come to the Fair?
TEG: The 1-54 model goes beyond commercial pursuits; it is about creating platforms for equitable practices, cross-cultural exchange, knowledge production, and collective empowerment. One of the more challenging and rewarding aspects of the fair is its independent model.  This means that we do not operate under a larger group/company. It provides more ‘freedom’; however, it also means we must think innovatively about how we develop and sustain the fair’s trajectory.

Collaborating with galleries is key, particularly for those who may not be able to operate internationally alone. We encourage our galleries and their artists to collaborate with us and between themselves to expand the range of opportunities available to artists and their visibility.

We accept galleries that sell work at multiple price points to encourage collectors with varying budgets. This ensures more diverse demographics of collectors and consequently that there is no reliance on a particular demographic. As a result, we should then have a more stable market.

We have an array of different people who come to our Fairs. We have art lovers from around the world, collectors from the continent and its diaspora, international collectors (from the Global North), and those who are dedicated fans of 1-54 and the work that we do.

How did your upbringing in Marrakech shape your aesthetic and vision? 
TEG: Being born in Morocco I feel very connected to the African continent in general because of my roots, but I am also very connected to art as I had a father who was an artist. He created a channel for me to learn about the arts in our family home and he gave me my first art education.

My father was very attached to his hometown as a source of inspiration and therefore we spent a lot of time in Marrakech growing up. I have to say I have formed the same attachment to the “ochre” city. The light, the architecture, the colours make the city aesthetically unique and beautiful.


The 1-54 Fair is one of our favourite art fairs, and indeed a fair that is instrumental in putting contemporary African artists on the map. What excites you the most about the contemporary African art market and its role in the global art scene?
TEG: What excites me the most about the contemporary African Art Market and its role in the global art scene is how much growth we are seeing on the continent. We are seeing growth in places like South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, and Ethiopia, with numerous institutions, educational spaces, galleries, and auctions houses being established and finding their way into the international art market.


How have you been able to pivot and navigate hosting a global art fair during the (ongoing) pandemic?
TEG: We’ve had to move very quickly and think strategically when delivering a global art fair during the ongoing pandemic. First, we made the decision to postpone/cancel the New York edition of the fair in 2020, and similarly, we’ve had to do so with our upcoming edition in Marrakech, which has now been moved to Paris in April 2022. Secondly, we’ve had to come up with a multitude of ways that would not only allow us to keep on showcasing artworks but would also reach a wide range of audiences, and we’ve done this by moving online and making our resources more accessible. We decided to take a hybrid approach we utilised for our London fair in 2020 (and 2021?). With this hybrid approach, we were able to give galleries choices, so they can choose an option that best suited their circumstances. Galleries could choose to participate in person, or they could participate just digitally through 1-54 Online Powered by Christie’s. So, as you can see, we’ve really had to be very flexible when hosting a global art fair during the (ongoing) pandemic.


How is 1-54 engaging in the NFT space?
TEG: 1-54 has engaged in the NFT space and we did so for our London show in 2021. We collaborated with Christie’s to present an auction of Nigerian crypto-artist Osinachi’s (born Prince Jacon Osinachi Igwe, 1991) NFT series Different Shades of Water. 

1-54 will continue to engage more NFT artists and projects with the objective to maximise sustainability in the NFT space (Carbon Net Negative NFT).

Believing that all people need – and deserve – to see great art, how do you reach new audiences for the Fair?
TEG: Firstly, the arts need to be more accessible and open, and this is something that I feel we do at 1-54. It is often understood that the arts are a place for the wealthy and for the highly educated. It is imperative that we dismantle this archaic notion. If an art ecosystem is sustainable and structured around being accessible to all, there is a place for everyone to be involved regardless of background, wealth, education.

Secondly, we also need to promote the collecting of art as a means of supporting artists and the arts in general, not as a monetary investment. We need to encourage South-to-South exchange by putting an emphasis on networks and systems of support working primarily on the continent and, by doing this, I believe this will begin to attract new audiences and art lovers. These are some of the ways in which we can and have attracted new audiences to our fairs.


What are you most excited about in the art world for 2022?
TEG: 1-54 NY will take place this year at the Harlem Parish after two years of absence in May 2022.  I am really looking forward to that and I am really excited that the Biennales of Dakar and Venice are taking place this coming spring!

Learn more about the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair here

For more information please contact info@entouragec.com