Prizm Art Fair champions global African identities

Sthenjwa Luthuli, Reaching For Stars (2020), part of Prizm Art F — Sthenjwa Luthuli, Reaching For Stars (2020) (Image credit: TBC)

In spite of widespread coronavirus-related hurdles, 2020 has offered glimmers of hope for the art world, particularly in the steps taken to highlight, and rectify the lack of diversity across the industry.

One art fair, Prizm, has been spotlighting diverse voices in contemporary visual art since 2013, with a core mission to widen the scope of international contemporary art from Africa and the African Diaspora.

By carving out a space for cross-cultural exchange in Miami and beyond, the fair seeks to address socio-political and cultural issues pertinent to people of African descent, while educating and nurturing the city’s inhabitants.

Victor Ekpuk, Mother Series #1 (2019) as seen at Prizm Art Fair. *Image courtesy of Morton Fine Art*

‘African Diasporic communities have attempted repeatedly to blanket themselves from a host of incessant obstacles – systemic injustice, racism, economic disparity, gender inequality – while the goal post of progress stretched farther away with each giant leap made towards it,’ says Mikhaile Solomon, founder and director of Prizm.

For its eighth edition, coinciding with an unsurprisingly scaled-down Miami Art Week, the fair’s online programme will feature 47 artists in ‘Noir, Noir: Meditations on African Cinema and its Influence on Visual Art’, an exhibition curated and organised by Solomon and interdisciplinary artist William Cordova. Noir, Noir references the African avant-garde film tradition and encourages a deeper understanding of global African identities through the intersection of cinema and contemporary visual art. Elsewhere, highlights include a programme of film screenings and talks led by leaders in Diasporic Visual arts.

Lititha 4 by John Baloyi — John Baloyi, *Lititha 4* (2020). *Courtesy of Dyman Gallery*

Participating galleries hail from eleven countries including the United States, Caribbean and the African continent including Barbados, Ethiopia, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Saint Maarten, South Africa and Trinidad. Featured artists include Victor Ekpuk, Yanira Collado, Sthenjwa Luthuli, Alicia Piller, Justice Mukheli, Versia Harris and Milena Carranza Valcárcel. Prizm will also spotlight emerging Miami-based artists who engage in socio-political issues pertinent to people of African descent, and in the city’s growth as a cultural hub.

Peter Wayne Lewis, Suite in Grey — Peter Wayne Lewis, *Suite in Grey # 13* (2010)

Contemporary modern art — Yanira Collado, *Untitled* (2020)

Prizm Art Fair - Justice Mukheli, Departure (2019) — Justice Mukheli, *Departure* (2019). *Courtesy of Dyman Gallery*

Francisco Maso, Obtuse Exercises for Dissenting Bodies - Prism art fair — Francisco Maso, *Obtuse Exercises for Dissenting Bodies* (2018 - ongoing)

Prizm art fair Milena Carranza Valcarcel Serie Afroperuvian Eggun 2010 — Milena Carranza Valcarcel Serie Afroperuvian Eggun 2010

INFORMATION

Prizm Art Fair will be accessible online until 21 December 2020. prizmartfair.com

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Harriet Lloyd-Smith was the Arts Editor of Wallpaper*, responsible for the art pages across digital and print, including profiles, exhibition reviews, and contemporary art collaborations. She started at Wallpaper* in 2017 and has written for leading contemporary art publications, auction houses and arts charities, and lectured on review writing and art journalism. When she’s not writing about art, she’s making her own.