THE fourth iteration of RMB Latitudes Art Fair experienced yet another successful staging of the ever popular art fest from 22 to 24 May at Shepstone Gardens, Mountain View, Johannesburg – reaffirming its position as a leading platform for contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora.
Known for its distinctive model prioritising exchange, sustainability and long-term visibility, the fair brought together artists, galleries and cultural partners in a setting which encouraged meaningful engagement with art.
This year’s fair placed Nigeria at the centre of its 2026 International Focus programme, spotlighting one of the continent’s most dynamic art scenes while deepening cultural and market connections across Africa.
The programme opened with a curated exhibition at MILIKI in Lagos on April 15, 2026, launching a cross-continental project which culminated at RMB Latitudes Art Fair in Johannesburg.
Developed in partnership with Yenwa Gallery, the exhibition introduced a selection of contemporary Nigerian artists who had initially presented their work in Lagos before exhibiting again within the Nigeria Pavilion at the fair.
“Initiatives like the International Focus programme allow us to engage meaningfully with artists and cultural communities across Africa,” says Lucy MacGarry, Co-founder of RMB Latitudes.
“Nigeria Focus creates an opportunity to build lasting relationships while bringing new perspectives into the fair,” further stated MacGarry.
A media release noted that since its introduction in 2023, the International Focus programme has evolved into a key platform for cross-continental exchange, combining in-country exhibitions with presentations at the fair.
“Working within each country before the fair allows us to collaborate with artists and cultural practitioners in their own contexts,” the curator at RMB Latitudes Boitumelo Makousu, was quoted as saying.
“This approach helps us build meaningful relationships while presenting work that reflects the richness of each artistic ecosystem,” added Makousu. Nigeria Focus 2026 continues this model across Lagos and Johannesburg, as well as RMB Latitudes Art Fair’s commitment to strengthening intra-African exchange and supporting the growth of the continent’s creative economy – the release noted.
The Nigeria Pavilion at the 2026 Fair offered collectors and institutions direct access to one of Africa’s most dynamic and influential art scenes.
The roster of selected artists – more than 40 of them – presented a wide range of works composed of varying media which referenced the West African nation’s cultural identity.
As one of the indicators how the Nigerians’ sojourn at the fair turned out, by the Sunday afternoon of its conclusion, Emalohi Iruobe, the director of Root Formula – a creative practice where design, storytelling and cultural production meet, with a presence in Nigeria, South Africa, the United States and France – wore a smile of contentment in reaction to the extent of sales achieved by her booth.
In betwixt her and husband Adey Omotade welcoming visitors to the space, Iruobe hinted at the affirmative potential of such pan-africanistic collaborations – in contrast to the currently brewing xenophobic ructions between Nigeria and South Africa.
Another participant who, along with their work, came into focus at the fair, was Woodstock-based Michaelis School of Fine Art alumna Dada Khanyisa – a featured Special Project artist at this year’s fair – who garnered the Lexus Best Stand Audience Award for their installation titled Above and Beyond.
Composed of an assemblage of painted wood featuring subjects with distinct round noses, their sculptural paintings were presented within a hexagonal turret referred to as The Round Room – and attracted the admiration of a myriad of curious visitors, enough for it to earn the accolade.
The manner in which Khanyisa – an undoubtedly talented creative force who studied Digital Animation – and their team installed the work was acknowledged as responding “directly to the unique architectural character of the space, immersing viewers in an environment where painting becomes spatial, social and experiential.”
It was further described as moving “fluidly between painting, collage, relief sculpture and installation,” drawing from contemporary South African social life to transform “intimate everyday interactions into reflections on youth culture, belonging and collective identity.”
Quoted as pointing out that their subjects are people they encounter, inter alia, through the internet, one of Khanyisa’s panels limn a character known as Miss Jackson who in 2017 gained notoriety for her cheating scandal when her alleged lover disclosed that they had been indulged in intimacy some mere hours before appearing on the reality TV show Couples Court with the Cutlers.
Her shocked reaction in court, in the presence of her husband – with whom she had been attempting to reconcile their marriage – instantly became a viral meme across social media platforms. Upon beholding Miss Jackson’s caricature, a good-natured visitor enquired whether it was the erstwhile Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela – a misidentification which was understandable considering the resemblance.
Evidently a sculptor who is meticulous with detail, another of Khanyisa’s installations features an inverted clock — peradventure a fortuitous reference to Salvador Dalí’s 1931 masterpiece, The Persistence of Memory, depicting “melting” or inverted clocks symbolizing the fluidity and subjectivity of time in the unconscious mind which the Surrealist artist explained as having been inspired by watching soft Camembert cheese melt in the sun.
Another topnotch accolade was presented to exhibitor, Reservoir – which was listed among a select group of top-tier galleries – which scooped the Lexus Best Stand Award as a result of an adjudication process presided over by a selection committee comprising of, et al., veteran artist Pat Mautloa and Federico Freschi, the University of Johannesburg’s Executive Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture.
This year’s RMB Latitudes Art Fair also showcased an exhibition of independent artists from across the continent presented by the National Arts Council of South Africa through a platform known as INDEX 2026 .
It is a partnership which aligns with the NAC’s mandate to support, develop, and promote the arts by creating meaningful opportunities through enhancement of artist visibility, market accessibility and support of professional development by connecting emerging artists to collectors, curators and broader audiences.
“Our priority is, and always has been, to put artists first – centring their voices, supporting their long-term visibility, and building pathways for sustainable practice. RMB Latitudes reimagines how the art ecosystem can work more inclusively, for artists and for the wider cultural community,” said MacGarry.
Howbeit, even with the pull power of proven exhibitors such as Strauss & Co with its treasure trove of Sterns, Pierneefs, Pembas, Prellers, et al, the fair was not all sculptures and paintings as – following on the successful launch of the Design Showcase (a collaboration betwixt Design Week South Africa and RMB Latitudes Art Fair) in 2025 – the project returned with quadruple design spaces featuring over 25 African brands offering anything from ceramics to leathercraft.
A bespoke must-attend social calendar event, the RMB Latitudes Art Fair has for the past three years on its inception been held at the spectacular Shepstone Gardens – one of the original Witwatersrand Ridge houses from the turn of the 20th Century – in Mountain View.
And for those with a proclivity for a “Top Billing” lifestyle, no occasion would be more aptly curated: from being chauffeured in top range Lexus SUVs to being offered a variety of eats complimented by selection of wines, bubbles and coffee.
No wonder, the event has been graced by the presence of art collectors such as Phuthuma Nhleko, et al. – in the past.
As has been the case from preceding editions, the who’s-who of society such as dancer Nomsa Manaka (whose son Sthu also exhibited), broadcasters, Talk Radio 702’s Bongani Bingwa, the SABC’s Liezle Wilson and Oliver Dickson and Judi Nwokedi – et al. – were spotted browsing around the plethora of exhibitors’ booths throughout the fair’s duration.
This year’s fair was themed Oasis in celebration of 140 years of Johannesburg – one of the youngest major cities in the world which, upon the discovery of gold in 1886, was built sans access to a major body of water but was able to sustain itself thereafter.
Top Image Jacob MAWELA (Boitumelo Makousu, Latitudes Curator, limned inside the Nigerian Focus pavilion on the first day of the 2026 iteration of the RMB Latitudes Art Fair, at Shepstone Gardens, Johannesburg.)
