RMB Latitudes CuratorLab is back is a mentorship initiative designed to support early-career curators from Africa through hands-on experience, peer engagement, and professional development. Applications are open for our mentorship programme!

Cultural Foundations is an invitation to that excavation, a body of work that asks collectors, curators, institutions, and governments to look not just at what is on the surface but at the layers underneath.

By Mary Corrigall “I feel like I’m at a South African Venice Biennale,” a first-time visitor to the RMB Latitudes quipped. Though you don’t need to travel by boat to get from one venue to the next at Shepstone Gardens, the Italian-inspired buildings and the sheer volume of art to be seen could perhaps trick you into thinking you have slipped into an art-centric universe. Certainly, if you wanted to get a taste of South African art in its myriad forms and at different levels, this much-anticipated annual art event in Joburg could function as a ‘national pavilion’ as per the Venice Biennale format. RMB Latitudes Art Fair 2026, photography by Anthea Pokroy. As the art fair has grown, adding new display areas and partners ranging from the National Arts Council to La Motte Ateljee and grassroots players in the art ecosystem, it has become more representative of South African expression in all its breadth. This may be why this year, there was a noticeable contingent from Cape Town’s art world in attendance: where else can you gauge art from the grassroots up, and in such a pleasing setting? First-timers tend to marvel at the novelty of attending a fair that seemed to take the visitor experience into account. With comfy chairs, tables and pop-up drinking holes and Motherland coffee within reach wherever you were, there was a sense that your attendance at the event was not only considered but also that the wheels of conversation and exchange were being greased at every corner. This culture, unique to the fair, positions art as a natural extension of life rather than an elitist pursuit centred on objects removed from everyday experience and accessible only on a higher plane of consciousness, as white-cube and convention-centre settings often suggest. RMB Latitudes Art Fair 2026, photography by Anthea Pokroy. Since its inception, RMB Latitudes Art Fair founders, Lucy MacGarry and Roberta Coci, have sought to refine an appropriate art fair model for Africans and Joburgers. They embraced independent artists and African-based galleries, and artists could be accommodated in shared booths. However, you could argue that setting the fair outside a convention centre and across a pleasing rambling pseudo-Italian setting – Shepstone Gardens – was perhaps their boldest move. Joburgers are in love with this annual art event – tickets for the whole weekend sold out days before the fair started. The location continues to delight visitors with its cobbled paths leading to new art discoveries and bubbling brooks and lush gardens, engendering this idea that you are enjoying a day out somewhere foreign. These characteristics aligned closely with the theme of the art fair this year – Oasis. However, Joburgers are notoriously fickle. They grow tired of newness quickly. Art nodes have been unstable in this city – with Victoria Yards replacing Maboneng and Nine Yards said to be usurping the former. How do you keep Joburgers curious and, perhaps more importantly, keen to buy art? RMB Latitudes Art Fair 2026, photography by Anthea Pokroy. The art offering at this fair isn’t predictable and keeps the event fresh. There was such a smorgasbord of art this year. This is a fair where you can find an auction-rated work (at the Strauss booth) by the likes of William Kentridge, a Trechikoff worth millions to art by graduates at booths presented by Veto Collective, RMB Talent Unlocked, Aisebenze Art Atelier and Root Formula. The setting, with its multiple venues, quietly enforces the boundaries between art at different levels, which probably helps keep a few egos intact. Each venue has assumed its own status, with the Latitudes Centre for the Arts (LCA) naturally at the top. Yet the space also hosted an intriguing mix: Cape Town heavyweights with an international focus, such as Whatiftheworld (appearing at the fair for the first time) and Stevenson, alongside the ex-Kalashnikovv owners’ two new Joburg ventures, Kumalo/Turpin (which recently opened at Nine Yards) and Chrome Yellow, as well as Cape Town rising stars Untitled and EBONY/CURATED. It also featured a specially curated aesthetic dialogue between Jan Neethling and the late Robert Hodgins. Untitled took a calculated risk with their entire stand dedicated to Nazeer Japie, a rising Cape Town artist making haunting existentialist paintings, as did Reservoir (on the second floor of the LCA) with their collection of mostly abstract works – most galleries opted for a mix of modes. The latter was handed the Lexus Best Booth Award, which wasn’t surprising – the works were all texturally satisfying yet all unique for the novel choice of materials – sand, tape, disused archival records and fabric. In short, this gallery adopted an aesthetic position and stuck to it. In a way these were the booths that worked well, particularly when a single colour united the display, such as La Motte Ateljee’s verdant green booth that tied in with Jaco van Schalkwyk’s ethereal nature-driven paintings or Kooooos’s distinctive brown palette, which ran throughout the different mediums and works. Robert Hodgins, Untitled, price on request, presented by Latitudes Online. Locus, who seems bereft of a physical location, also braved an all-abstract art presentation, which was a pleasing mix of female painters. Gallery 2, one of my favourite Joburg spaces, also concentrated on female painters with impressive abstract works by Jenny Stadler that align with the kind of abstract works finding traction in Europe – layered, complex, textural compositions that somehow embody the complexity of our times. These booths stood out in Centre Court – though many were admiring the technical finesse of the Kentridge concertina-like prints at Jillian Ross Print. Surprisingly, it was Lucinda Mudge’s vivid paintings – rather than her ceramics – that stood out at the Everard Read booth at the Chapel, having already marvelled at Zander Blom’s miniature paintings at a previous fair. Aside from the quirky collection of small figurines at Kooooos’s stand in the Glass Marquee, miniature art was less prevalent at this fair, with only Everard Read going for a booth filled with miniature bunnies by Guy du Toit. This may well be a way to deal with what many economic commentators are calling an austerity era – but I wanted a wow work from this gallery, given all the artists, the incredible Joburg-based artists they work with. Are Cape Town artists taking over this art fair? A highlight of the fair is always the Round Room installation, and this year Dada Khanyisa’s expansive sculptural work, Above and Beyond, didn’t disappoint. It evoked religious bas-relief art, though its subject matter was thoroughly contemporary: a birthday celebration tinged with 1980s nostalgia. RMB Latitudes Art Fair 2026, photography by Anthea Pokroy. Offering Joburgers what isn’t on their doorstep is one way of keeping them curious, as is offering such a different range of art by producers at different levels. The art was accessible on a monetary level; you could acquire a decent artwork (a one-off, not an edition) for around R10k if you browsed carefully. Inclusivity was reflected not only in the range of artists and artworks, but also in the programme of talks and off-site events focused on other art forms and venues. This coincided with the inaugural Jozi aMuse: Festival of Museums, and the talks engaged issues relevant to other artistic disciplines. It always helps when art fairs run alongside other city programming: it draws out-of-towners and gives locals who cannot access the fair a chance to experience some of the weekend’s creativity. It also reinforces the idea that an art fair can do more than sit at the centre of a creative scene or funnel talent through its event; it can help develop that scene further. Corrigall is a Cape Town-based art commentator, consultant, and director of the Heat Winter Arts Festival.

Lexus Best Stand Award at RMB Latitudes 2026 This year, Lexus, in addition to providing private chauffeured drives to the RMB Latitudes Art Fair, presents the third year of the Lexus Best Stand Award, which celebrates the Best Stand at RMB Latitudes 2026. Meet our 2026 Lexus Best Stand Winner: Reservoir Founders of Reservoir at RMB Latitudes Art Fair 2026 - Image courtesy of Anthea Pokroy. Meet our 2026 Lexus Best Stand Audience Award Winner: Dada Khaniysa Dada Khanyisa at RMB Latitudes Art Fair 2026 - Image courtesy of Anthea Pokroy. The top 5 finalists Untitled, Stevenson, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Reservoir, and Dada Khaniysa. Image 1: Untitled, Image 2: Reservoir, Image 3: Stevenson, Image 4: WHATIFTHEWORLD, Image 5: Dada Khanyisa, Meet the committee More about the Selection Committee Khetiwe McClain Khetiwe McClain’s passion for art began early and was shaped through extensive studies in Italy, including Fine Arts at the Accademia di Belle Arti Pietro Vannucci in Perugia, architecture at the University of Florence, and specialised studies in Mannerism at the European University Institute in Tuscany. Following her studies, she worked at the South African Embassy in Rome in the Trade and Multilateral sectors, where she helped curate exhibitions and cultural programmes across Italy during the post-1994 democratic transition. After returning to South Africa in 1999, Khetiwe built a distinguished career in the mining sector, holding senior executive and board positions focused on mineral beneficiation and socio-economic development. Alongside this work, she championed creative industries and artisan development, collaborating on jewellery initiatives with emerging South African designers and international partners, including Sotheby’s. Her commitment to supporting underrepresented talent led to her appointment as a judge for the De Beers Shining Light Awards. With a deep network across the arts and cultural sectors, Khetiwe has come full circle in returning to her first passion. She joined Strauss & Co as Client Advisory Executive Director in July 2023. Kagiso Patrick Mautloa Kagiso Patrick Mautloa studied at the Rorke’s Drift Art Centre in KwaZulu-Natal and the Mofolo Art Centre in Soweto. He has participated in the influential Thupelo and Triangle workshops, exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions, and is represented in major public collections across South Africa. Working from the Bag Factory Artists’ Studios in downtown Johannesburg, Mautloa draws inspiration from the everyday rhythms of urban street life — from traders and hawkers to women roasting mielies on street corners. Texture plays a central role in his practice, with worn surfaces and found materials often informing his layered compositions. His work moves fluidly between abstraction and figuration, combining delicate drawing, expressive mark-making, collage, found objects, installation, and photography. Primarily working in oils and acrylics, Mautloa’s practice continually invites viewers to see beauty and meaning in the overlooked details of daily life. Pumla Maswanganyi Pumla Maswanganyi is a strategist, researcher, critical designer, and founder of the interdisciplinary collective, with another. With a background spanning fine art, globalisation, and development, she has lived and worked across five continents, shaping systems, products, services, and experiences rooted in the realities of the Global Majority. She is the author of the African Life-Centric Design (ALCD) framework, which transforms cultural intelligence into scalable social and commercial value. Her work focuses on localising design systems through knowledge architecture, material innovation, and speculative prototyping. Maswanganyi has advised global corporations, cultural institutions, and governance bodies including Samsung, Mozilla, Cisco, the African Union (AfCFTA), the British Council, and the Clinton Foundation. She is also deeply committed to mentoring emerging curators and designers across Africa and regularly serves on international juries and selection panels, including the Core77 Design Awards. As a keynote speaker and thought leader, she advocates for resilient, relational, and contextually grounded systems that reimagine the future of design and society. Federico Freschi Federico Freschi is Executive Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Johannesburg, a role he resumed in 2023 after previously serving from 2013 to 2019. An art historian, academic leader, curator, and cultural practitioner, his career spans more than three decades across higher education, research, and the creative industries. Between his terms at UJ, he served as Professor and Head of College at Te Maru Pūmanawa | Creative Practice & Enterprise at Otago Polytechnic in Aotearoa New Zealand, where he led organisational restructuring and strengthened creative sector engagement. He has also held academic positions at UCT, Stellenbosch University, and Wits University, where he was Associate Professor in Art History and Acting Head of the Wits School of Arts. Freschi’s research explores public art, architecture, national identity, and the role of the art market in shaping historical narratives. He has received fellowships from institutions including the Getty Foundation and WISER, and has published and edited several major scholarly works. In 2016, he curated Henri Matisse: Rhythm and Meaning, the first major exhibition of Matisse’s work on the African continent. Alongside his academic and curatorial work, Freschi maintains an active creative practice as a classical baritone and performs regularly as a concert soloist. About Lexus Lexus is an automotive company that takes inspired design, relentless innovation and uninhibited performance and turns them into passionate, moving experiences. But that's only part of the Lexus DNA. They are equally dedicated to offering exceptional customer experiences. And in doing so, creating loyalty throughout the world—not just with the people who buy their vehicles, but the people in the communities around them. 13 May 2026