1-54

1:54 is a contemporary African art fair held annually in London, beginning in 2013.[1] As of 2015, 1:54 is the only art fair dedicated to contemporary African art in the primary art market.[2] Its name refers to the 54 countries that compose the African continent,[1] expressed as a ratio ("one continent: 54 countries").[3] Moroccan curator Touria El Glaoui, daughter of the artist Hassan El Glaoui, organized the fair to improve the representation of contemporary African art in worldwide art exhibitions.[1][4] Representation of non-Western countries in the contemporary art world has lagged behind that of other countries.[4][5] Representation of African countries, in particular, improved alongside the continent's economic growth.[4] El Glaoui said that the continent did not have a single art scene, and that there was great diversity between African nations. Accordingly, as in the fair's title, 1:54 tries to preserve rather than homogenize the differences between each country's histories and cultures.[6] In starting the fair, its founder was supported and advised by the British Council, the Francophonie, and partners ArtReview, Beaux Art magazine, and Art.sy. For each edition, the 1:54 organizers ask themselves "what is necessary, what can be achieved, how [to] do something different".[6] The fair's organizers choose exhibitors based on proposal submissions and the firms' reputation and plans. Travel visa issues have also affected whether invitees ultimately attend.[6]

Somerset House, where the London 1:54 fair is held

The fair debuted in October 2013 during Frieze Week, where about 6,000 people visited the fair held in the London Somerset House.[4][1] David Adjaye's company designed the fair's architectural features.[6] By the next year, held at the same time and venue,[7] the event had doubled in size,[1] with 10,000 visitors and a greater variety of curators from outside African-specific specialties.[4] Over 100 African artists exhibited in 27 galleries, including photographers J. D. 'Okhai Ojeikere, Malick Sidibé, Paul Sika, pop artist Hassan Hajjaj, sound artist Emeka Ogboh, and performance artist Athi-Patra Ruga.[1] Mid-twentieth century photography was in particular prominence.[8] The fair featured a series of lectures and panels, including a set curated by Koyo Kouoh of the Senegalese Raw Material Company,[1] film screenings, and curator discussions on the future of African art.[7] The 2014 event's primary sponsor was the Sindika Dokolo Foundation.[6]

After two years in London, 1:54 held a pop-up show, 1:54 NY, at the Red Hook art venue Pioneer Works during the May 2015 Frieze New York. Kouoh returned to lead a forum[7] on present and future ideas of African diasporic identities and practices,[6] and RA Projects, who had previously worked with 1:54, returned to design the New York exhibit.[7] The show used a standard gallery layout as the open, industrial space was divided into white-walled booths.[9] Sixteen international galleries participated—most were from American and European countries, apart from five South African galleries and one each from Côte d'Ivoire, Morocco, and Nigeria.[3] Exhibited artists were from African nations and the African diaspora, living in other Western countries.[6] They included William Kentridge, Malick Sidibé, Seydou Keïta, Peter Clarke, Lavar Munroe, Billie Zangewa, and Omar Victor Diop.[9] Particularly due to the New York event's smaller size, 1:54's founder said that they tried to show the most exciting artists and exhibitors rather than show a survey of the 54 countries. The expansion into New York was a "natural progression" for the fair, based on their existing institutional relationships. It also expanded the fair's scope into American and African American art professionals, and the American art market[6]—the show's foremost focus was bringing new artists to New York patronage.[9] The event was planned in six months.[9] 1:54 held a second New York show in 2016 with 17 galleries, including five based in Africa,[10] and a partnership with the Dakar Biennale.[11] Dartmouth's Hood Museum of Art purchased Eric Van Hove's Testosterone installation.[12] Compared to the London event, 1:54 NY is smaller and designed to be more intimate, with an active community and different audience, although the two shows are not significantly different.[11]

In its third year in London, the 2015 show had 15,000 visitors.[13] The fourth London show in October 2016 was three times the size of the original exhibition, and had expanded from a wing of the Somerset House to the rest of the building and its courtyard, where Zak Ové installed a site-specific work[14] that was purchased for a sculpture park in Berkshire.[15] The 2016 fair featured 130 artists, including the fair's first artists representing Egypt, Ethiopia, and Ghana.[14] Koyo Kouoh's forum series returned to the event as well.[16] Of the 40 exhibitors from 18 countries,[16] 40 percent were from Africa[14] and 17 galleries debuted at the show.[17] The fair's founder viewed these expansions as a sign of progress for the African art market.[18]

1:54 expanded into Marrakech in February 2018, its third location. Held at luxury hotel La Mamounia, the fair coincided with the 7th Marrakech Biennale.[19] While 1-54 skipped its 2020 New York exhibition due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[20] the London show exhibited in both 2020 and 2021.[21] The New York show returned in May 2021.[20] When 1-54's 2021 Marrakech fair was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a pop-up show in Paris was organized in its place in 18 of Christie's galleries. Paris and online access were more accessible to galleries and collectors than the more remote Marrakech.[22][23]

Okay Africa wrote that by its second year, the fair had become Europe's foremost contemporary African art fair,[1] and Naomi Rea of Artnet News called it a necessary visit during the London Frieze Art Fair.[14] In New York, Ben Davis of Artnet wrote that 1:54 NY was a highlight of the city's art fair week.[3] Critics had typically questioned whether art fairs with narrow geographic scope like 1:54 highlight or ostracize minority artists.[12] A gallery owner from Seattle saw the fair as a route for further integration into larger markets.[12] Artnet's Davis expressed distaste at the art fair trend of lumping artists by their geographic region and generalizing trends based on its parts, but nonetheless considered important 1:54's representation of Africa.[3] Critics initially noted the fair's lack of African gallery representation,[3][10] but cited justification including the African art scene's nascent state[3] and the continent's history of political instability, which affects both overseas trade and gallery security.[10] At the 2015 New York show, reviewers noted elements including the predominantly white gallery exhibition staff[9] and the marquee display of a popular artist at a fair for marginal artists.[5]

• Official website