LONDON.- 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, the leading international art fair dedicated to contemporary African art, has announced the galleries exhibiting in its fifth London edition, taking place at Somerset House, 5 – 8 October, with a VIP & Press preview on 4 October 2017. Floreat is 1:54 London Main Sponsor for the second consecutive year while Nando’s returns as Silver Sponsor.

1:54 strives to promote a diverse set of African perspectives from around the world and has carefully selected 42 leading galleries specialising in contemporary African art from 17 countries across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and North America: Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Among the exhibitors this year are 18 galleries from Africa: Addis Fine Art, AFRONOVA GALLERY, AGorgi Gallery, Arte de Gema, ARTLabAfrica, Barnard Gallery, Circle Art Gallery, Elmarsa, Galerie 127, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Gallery 1957, Gallery MOMO, L'Atelier 21, Selma Feriani Gallery, SMAC Gallery, SMO Contemporary Art, VOICE Gallery and WHATIFTHEWORLD.

Of the 42 exhibitors, 11 galleries will be welcomed to the fair for the first time: Arte de Gema, Beardsmore Gallery, Elmarsa, Galerie 127, Gallery MOMO, Ipsum Galeria, Lawrie Shabibi, Perve Galeria, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, Plutschow Gallery and SMO Contemporary Art.

The fair will showcase the work of more than 130 emerging and established African and African diaspora artists, working in a wide variety of mediums and from a spread of geographical backgrounds comprising 32 countries: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Haiti, Italy, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Portugal, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Togo, Trinidad, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zimbabwe.

Eight solo exhibitions have been announced: Nidhal Chamekh (Selma Feriani Gallery), Safaa Erruas (L’Atelier 21), Ahmed Keshta (Ipsum Galeria), Atta Kwami (Beardsmore Gallery), Nelson Makamo (Gallery of African Art GAFRA), Ndikhumbule Ngqinambi (Barnard Gallery), Abe Odedina (Ed Cross Fine Art) and Zineb Sedira (Plutschow Gallery).

Several artists will be presented at the fair for the first time, including: Cameroonian photographer Samuel Fosso, recognised as a master of studio portrait photography; Somali-Swedish mixed-media artist Ayan Farah, celebrated for her formally minimal, yet materially complex paintings; South African artist Buhlebezwe Siwani, who places the body at the centre of her performance, sculpture and installation works; and French-Algerian artist Zineb Sedira whose photographic and video work explores the consequences of cultural displacement and migration.

Building on the success of their expanded programme of non-profit Special Projects for the 2016 edition of the London fair, 1:54 will also present a number of collateral exhibitions in Somerset House.

For the fifth year in a row, 1:54 will be accompanied by FORUM, the fair’s extensive talks and events programme, including artist talks, film screenings and panel discussions with international curators, artists and cultural producers. FORUM is curated by Koyo Kouoh, Artistic Director of RAW Material Company, Dakar. The full programme will be announced in September.

Founding Director of 1:54, Touria El Glaoui, commented: “We are thrilled to announce such a wonderful mix of exhibitors for our fifth London edition. It is very exciting to welcome some new galleries and countries presenting for the first time, as well as many returning friends, and we’re especially proud to have such a strong contingent of galleries from Africa this year.”