Continental shift: Whatiftheworld and Southern Guild join forces in Johannesburg

Two of Africa’s most influential galleries – Whatiftheworld and Southern Guild – joined forces recently to open a new platform in Johannesburg, a 300 sq m space in the StudioMAS-designed building in the Keyes Art Mile precinct. The two are renowned for shaping the continent’s contemporary art and design scene and bringing its spectrum of talents to the international arena.
The list of names that they are representing will be familiar to globetrotters visiting the world’s art fairs, and hail from as far afield as Senegal, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali, as well as South Africa. The inaugural show opened last week with artworks by, among others, Nigerian photographer Lakin Ogunbanwo, Zimbabwean sculptor Moffat Takadiwa and South African visual artist Athi-Patra Ruga. In addition were furniture and objects by leading designers such as Cheick Diallo and Hamed Ouattara as well as editions market darlings Gregor Jenkin, Porky Hefer and Dokter and Misses. The synergetic collection of work leads to a strong, united narrative. ‘We’re prepared to be non-conformist,’ says Justin Rhodes, founder of the contemporary art gallery Whatiftheworld. ‘What we’re representing is a continental perspective.’
Both galleries were founded in 2008 and are headquartered in Cape Town’s hipster district of Woodstock. Rhodes works with curator Ashleigh McLean on a roster of showcases featuring emerging artists, while Southern Guild’s design gallerists Trevyn and Julian McGowan devote their energy to developing the region’s first collectible designs platform. In the new space, the two retain their own names, but together they venture into interdisciplinary experimentation. ‘We each have strong, unique viewpoints, a desire to change the status quo, and as our galleries and our artists have matured we have found we share an approach and audience. This opportunity to combine our voices, to explore the intersection of art and design, promises results greater than the sum of our parts,’ says Trevyn McGowan.
Now, Southern Guild has teamed up with Porky Hefer to represent South Africa at the inaugural London Design Biennale, where the artist’s fantasised handcrafted animal cocoon is on show. One can also see Whatiftheworld at UNTITLED, ART in Miami this December – if your travels are taking you west rather than south.
The two galleries are renowned for shaping the continent’s contemporary art and design scene, and bringing its spectrum of talents to the international arena. Pictured above: Lounge Suite, by Cameron Platter, 2016. Below: Wat Wat cabinet, by Hamed Ouattara. Photography: Adriaan Louw
The inaugural show opened last week with artworks by, among others, Nigerian photographer Lakin Ogunbanwo, Zimbabwean sculptor Moffat Takadiwa and South African visual artist Athi-Patra Ruga. Pictured back: Graphite 2, by Maja Marx, 2016. Front: Pietà, by Sanell Aggenbach and Vos Altar table, by Xandre Kriel, 2014. Photography: Adriaan Louw
Pictured back: The Glamoring of a Versatile Queen, by Athi-Patra Ruga, 2015. Front, left to right: Dibi chair and Jesse Ede table, by Cheick Diallo. Photography: Adriaan Louw
The synergetic collection of work leads to a strong, united narrative. Photography: Anthea Pokroy
Southern Guild has also teamed up with Porky Hefer to represent South Africa at the inaugural London Design Biennale, where the artist’s handcrafted animal cocoon is on show. Photography: Anthea Pokroy
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Whatiftheworld website, or the Southern Guild website
ADDRESS
19 Keyes Avenue
Trumpet
Keyes Art Mile
Rosebank
Johannesburg
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Yoko Choy is the China editor at Wallpaper* magazine, where she has contributed for over a decade. Her work has also been featured in numerous Chinese and international publications. As a creative and communications consultant, Yoko has worked with renowned institutions such as Art Basel and Beijing Design Week, as well as brands such as Hermès and Assouline. With dual bases in Hong Kong and Amsterdam, Yoko is an active participant in design awards judging panels and conferences, where she shares her mission of promoting cross-cultural exchange and translating insights from both the Eastern and Western worlds into a common creative language. Yoko is currently working on several exciting projects, including a sustainable lifestyle concept and a book on Chinese contemporary design.
-
Mercedes-Benz previews its next-gen people mover with an ultra-luxury EV concept
The Mercedes-Benz Vision V Concept is an art deco picture palace on wheels, designed to immerse passengers in parallel worlds as they travel
By Jonathan Bell
-
Visit this Michelin-star New York restaurant that doubles as an art gallery
Artist Mr.StarCity is exhibiting his emotionally charged yet optimistic ‘Bloomers’ portrait series at Frevo, a Greenwich Village hidden haunt
By Adrian Madlener
-
Nina Runsdorf brings classic jewellery back to life to mark 20 years
New York-based jewellery designer Nina Runsdorf celebrates her eponymous brand’s anniversary with a new jewellery collection, ‘Archive’
By Hannah Silver
-
Don’t miss these artists at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair 2024
As the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair returns to London (10-13 October 2024), here are the artists to see
By Gameli Hamelo
-
How Amy Sall is highlighting the beauty of African cinema
Amy Sall is highlighting the cultural impact of African filmmakers with ‘The African Gaze: Photography, Cinema and Power’, published by Thames & Hudson
By Marris Adikwu
-
Ghana’s artists celebrated in new book by Manju Journal
‘Voices: Ghana’s artists in their own words’, from Manju Journal, celebrates 80 Ghanaian creatives
By Ugonna-Ora Owoh
-
Wallpaper* contributing editor Ekow Eshun considers time, identity and cultural memory in Ghana
‘In and Out of Time’, held at Gallery 1957 in Accra, Ghana, and curated by Wallpaper* contributing editor Ekow Eshun, celebrates the concept of Sankofa with artists including Malala Andrialavidrazana, Shiraz Bayjoo and Godfried Donkor
By Hannah Silver
-
‘The Art of Advocacy’: Aïda Muluneh’s vivid photographs are forces for change
At Efie Gallery, Dubai, Aïda Muluneh’s upcoming show, ‘The Art of Advocacy’ (12 January – 24 February 2023) surveys the photographer’s art as a tool for change, and debuts a new work, revealed exclusively here
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith
-
San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora reopens with Billie Zangewa and Amoako Boafo
Reopening for the first time since the onset of Covid-19, San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora is staging epic exhibitions by Amoako Boafo and Billie Zangewa
By Pei-Ru Keh
-
Ibrahim Mahama explores bats, Ghana, and new beginnings at White Cube
Ibrahim Mahama’s ‘Lazarus’, a new exhibition at White Cube (until 7 November 2021), sees the Ghanaian artist explore the hidden life of Nkrumah Volini, a brutalist grain silo from Ghana’s immediate postcolonial era
By Tom Seymour
-
Kudzanai-Violet Hwami’s modern-pop portraits frame gender, sexuality and race
The Zimbabwean-born artist, who explores identity through vivid cartoon-inspired collages, headlines our January 2021 Next Generation issue. Writer Amah-Rose Abrams interviewed Hwami ahead of today's announcement that she has joined the roster of Victoria Miro Gallery
By Amah-Rose Abrams