TAF TALKS is an informative talk series aimed at art enthusiasts who want to understand the art market in South Africa better.

Friday 28 July 2023

12PM: Art is Freedom: Some Artists Can Give You Two Heartbeats. 

Borrowing from a book titled, Some Writers Can Give You Two Heartbeats, this talk is centred around decolonial artistic practices as well as Pan-Africanist ideas. Questions such as What is Freedom of expression? What is Freedom of speech in the age of the internet of things and AI? How do artists work with each  other beyond continental borders and how do artists tell their own stories without being marginalised or prohibited from expressing their own creative ideas? This is a multidisciplinary, multi-pronged, Pan-African roundtable discussion with scholars, researchers,  artists and writers on how they have chosen to answer these questions through their work.

Moderated by Eve Fairbanks.

2PM: Art is Fashion: African By Design, Slow By Nature.

Climate Change and the Circular Economy are interchangeably key terms used in the Fashion Industry, nowadays. In this talk, sustainability experts, cultural practitioners and an Arts writer speak on the relevance of the African Fashion industry and slow fashion practices that can change how fashion is consumed and how buying local can save the planet.

Moderated by Modupe Oloruntoba.

4PM: Art is By Design:  African Creatives Talk Luxury and Collaborations.

This is a special conversation between two African creatives on their collaborative projects with local and international brands, which have been successfully executed in  an age of creative consent and social currency. The talk will also signal how collaborations play a role in the. fashion and art landscape.

Moderated by Annicia ‘Nich’ Manyaapelo.

Saturday 29 July 2023

10AM: Art is Storytelling: How personal stories create brands.

We all know the power of brands  and personal stories but do we know the power of personal branding? Between 2020 and 2022, we saw many African brands surfacing and using social media platforms more than ever, influencing the way creatives engage with brands and their followers. In this particular discussion, brand strategist, Thobile Dlamini is in conversation with women who are at the forefront of shaping some of S.A’s stories in the creative industries.

Moderated by Thobile Dlamini.

12PM: Art is Joburg: A Single Shot Tells A Story.

Johannesburg, Joburg, Johustleburg or bet yet, Jozi Maboneng is a place and space that’s different for  everyone who enters it or surrounds itself with it. In this particular talk, photographers and curators discuss the importance of telling stories through the lens and what Johannesburg means to them as a city for everybody, a photographer’s paradise and a  city dwellers dream.

Moderated by Mpho Mahlatsi.

2PM: Art is Personal: Being BOLD as an artist.

This is an intimate, curated talk with three womxn artists who will be honoured by the Turbine Art Fair for their contribution to the Visual Arts landscape and promoting South African Contemporary Art, internationally.

Moderated by Palesa Segomotso Motsumi.

Sunday 30 July 2023

11AM: Art is Education: The City As Palimpsest.

The writer, photographer and Art Historian, Teju Cole once said that a city is like a palimpsest and in most instances, its beauty is probably experienced through its architectural design and cultural. institutions. The history and impact of Arts  and Cultural institutions such as Rorke’s Drift and Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg have played a huge role in any artists’ creative work and much of it is written and hidden in books, journal articles and research papers. This talk acts as an intervention to discuss curatorial and art projects that are inspired by the cultural scene of cities like Lagos, Johannesburg, and New York.

Moderated by Eve Fairbanks.

3PM: Art is Archival: Music as an archive.

When histories have been erased and voices left unheard, music can provide another window into the past for us to learn from. In this talk, we look at sound archives and what that means within a South African context – from the perspective of DJs and diggers who carefully study history – to that of musicians who continue to feed our rich tradition. We also place emphasis on the value of sound and listening, to teach us in ways that other forms cannot. We discuss the importance of creating a music archive as a way to bridge the gaps that history has dealt us.

Moderated by Atiyyah Khan.

4PM: Art is Community: Building and Developing Artists.

It is no easy feat to work with emerging artists in the often tumultuous and ever-changing times of Contemporary Art. Art Curators, Art Practitioners and Art Administrators as well as Artists often have to engage at a community level, first, before presenting their work to  the public. This talk will include various creative voices who work in community to build and grow artists in different locations.

Moderatedby Bulumko Mbete.