🔅 African Art Market Soars
Plus: Botswana's bling boom, Pope condemns the "poison of greed", Boeing 737 Max Crash — US vs Ethiopia, And much more… ☕
Photo of the day: Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
Markets:
🔺 Nigerian SE: 53,499.68 (+0.49%)
🔺 Johannesburg SE: 79,816.87 (+0.43%)
🔺 Ghana SE: 2,411.40 (+2.44%)
🔺 Nairobi SE: 127.64 (+1.37%)
🔻 US S&P 500: 4,054.53 (-0.54%)
🔺 Shanghai Composite: 3,284.92 (+0.90%)
Botswana's Bling Boom: The African nation earned record-breaking profits from diamonds last year, thanks to global demand for diamond jewellery and a certain Eastern European country’s (hint: it rhymes with skussia) sanctions. Almost a third of the world’s diamonds usually come from this country, but since they’re no longer an option, Botswana has filled the void and made a cool $4.5 billion off rough diamonds.
Mali's Cotton Crop Gets Pestered: Mali’s cotton output forecast has been downgraded yet again, this time by 29%. That’s because pests have been ruining the country’s cotton crop. The state cotton company said the West African country’s cotton output is now estimated at 526,000 tonnes for the 2022/23 season. Last month, the forecast was already lowered from 810,000 tonnes to 740,000.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
CULTURE
African Art Market Soars
The South African art market appears to be thriving, with auction house Strauss & Co reporting sales totalling $20.6m in 2022—just shy of their record of $20.7m the year before.
So what's driving this near-record year?
The success has been attributed to an increase in global demand for African art and access to the market, as well as South Africa's maturing art ecosystem. International buyers have increased by 60% over the past five years.
This reflects the country's production of “artists of extraordinary ability [who have] managed to grab attention worldwide and [are] addressing contemporary issues in a way that is both thought provoking,” according to Frank Kilbourn, the auction house’s chairperson.
The country has also seen a growth in galleries, museums, art fairs, and biennales, which have helped attract global attention.
What has the top art been?
Irma Stern’s 1941 Portrait of a Clairvoyant sold for $435,000, while the other top works include those by Robert Hodgins, William Kentridge, J.H. Pierneef, Amoako Boafo, Cinga Samson, Igshaan Adams, Yinka Shonibare and Michael Armitage.
What about the rest of Africa?
Though South Africa has long held the dominant share of the African art market, Nigeria has been slowly gaining ground. Last year, west Africa increased its market share in the continent from 28% to 41%, challenging South Africa’s historical dominance.
What's next?
Strauss & Co is introducing a new sale format on 28 February, bringing together primary and secondary works by artists from across Africa. Six leading curators have selected the lots. Additionally, proceeds from the sale will fund a new internship focusing on both the primary and secondary art markets—the first in Africa of its kind.
Ultimately the aim is to forge a new African art market, built by and for Africans. "I believe it is time to reclaim that narrative and build an African art market that develops in a way that adapts to and beautifies the specificities and uniqueness of African cultures," said Dana Endundo Ferreira, the founder and chief executive of Pavilion54 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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OTHER HEADLINES
Across the Continent
🕊️ Pope Francis Condemns Greed in Africa | Pope Francis is taking a stand against the “poison of greed” driving conflicts in Africa. He began his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo by condemning “terrible forms of exploitation” in the country, where mineral wealth has fuelled war, displacement, and hunger. “Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hands off Africa. Stop choking Africa: it is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered,” Francis said. The Pope then took a shot at the rich world, saying they needed to realise that people were more precious than the minerals in the earth beneath them. “It is a tragedy that these lands, and more generally the whole African continent, continue to endure various forms of exploitation,” he said. Francis will wrap up his African tour in South Sudan., where the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of Scotland Moderator will join him. Together, they will be on a “pilgrimage of peace” to the world’s youngest nation.
🛫 Boeing 737 Max Crash — US vs Ethiopia | The US government is not happy with Ethiopia's findings on the Boeing 737 Max crash that happened outside Addis Ababa in 2019. In an unusual move, the US National Transportation Safety Board called out the Ethiopian Accident Investigation Bureau for claiming the jetliner had an electrical failure. The US says the claim is "unsupported by evidence." It's a high-stakes game of who's-right-and-who's-wrong, and we'll have to wait and see who wins the crash clash.
💻 Africa's Bigger, Bolder Startups | African startups are growing bigger and bolder. Last year, they more than doubled the debt they raised—a sign that the African tech sector is still on the rise even in an economic downturn. With debt financing more accessible than equity funding, it looks like this trend is here to stay.
🌪️ Tropical Storm Cheneso Strikes Madagascar | Tropical Storm Cheneso has struck Madagascar, leaving 30 dead and thousands displaced. The Indian Ocean island nation is no stranger to tropical storms, but this was especially devastating. According to the Office for Risk and Disaster Management, nearly 37,000 people were left homeless and 20 are still missing. If this sounds familiar, it’s because the same thing happened last year, when four major storms hit Madagascar, leaving 138 dead and 130,000 without homes.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
“You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla.”
— Congolese Proverb.
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