The Wick List

Viewing 1-54 Contemporary Art Fair

The Wick Culture - Slawn, courtesy of Saatchi Yates.
Photographed by Georgia Jones

Above Slawn, courtesy of Saatchi Yates. Photographed by Georgia Jones

The Wick Culture - Abdelhak Benallou, Untitled, 2023.
Courtesy of the Artist and Les filles du calvaire

Above Abdelhak Benallou, Untitled, 2023. Courtesy of the Artist and Les filles du calvaire

The Wick Culture - Alimi Adewale, Luminous Essence, 2023.
Courtesy of the Artist and Pearl Lam Galleries

Above Alimi Adewale, Luminous Essence, 2023. Courtesy of the Artist and Pearl Lam Galleries

The Wick Culture - Ancestral Lungs, Metal Grid & Plants.

Above Ancestral Lungs, Metal Grid & Plants.

The Wick Culture - Portrait of Touria El Glaoui, London 2021.
Photo by Jim Winslet

Above Portrait of Touria El Glaoui, London 2021. Photo by Jim Winslet

The Wick Culture - Rugiyatou Jallow, Floating in Time, 2023
Courtesy of the Artist and Albertz Benda

Above Rugiyatou Jallow, Floating in Time, 2023 Courtesy of the Artist and Albertz Benda

The Wick Culture - Uzo Egonu, Painter at Work, 1977, Lithograph
Artist Proof, Courtesy of Nigeria Art Society UK

Above Uzo Egonu, Painter at Work, 1977, Lithograph Artist Proof, Courtesy of Nigeria Art Society UK

The Wick Culture - Ziyad El Mansouri, Marvel of shifting light, 2022.
Courtesy of House of Beau Gallery

Above Ziyad El Mansouri, Marvel of shifting light, 2022. Courtesy of House of Beau Gallery

Above Slawn, courtesy of Saatchi Yates. Photographed by Georgia Jones

Above Abdelhak Benallou, Untitled, 2023. Courtesy of the Artist and Les filles du calvaire

Above Alimi Adewale, Luminous Essence, 2023. Courtesy of the Artist and Pearl Lam Galleries

Above Ancestral Lungs, Metal Grid & Plants.

Above Portrait of Touria El Glaoui, London 2021. Photo by Jim Winslet

Above Rugiyatou Jallow, Floating in Time, 2023 Courtesy of the Artist and Albertz Benda

Above Uzo Egonu, Painter at Work, 1977, Lithograph Artist Proof, Courtesy of Nigeria Art Society UK

Above Ziyad El Mansouri, Marvel of shifting light, 2022. Courtesy of House of Beau Gallery

1-54

Somerset House
13 – 16 October 2022

Of course, there’s so much else going on to coincide with Frieze week. One of the most popular satellite fairs is 1-54, the fair – led by Founding Director Touria El Glaoui – dedicated solely to contemporary art from the African continent and its broad diaspora. Bringing together galleries from around the world in a range of mediums at Somerset House, 1-54 continues to lead the way forward in an international market that is still weighted towards the west.

This year’s fair will see 37 international galleries from 17 countries showcase work by more than 110 artists – a significant representation of the very best contemporary African artists working today. This year’s courtyard installation has been created by none other than Slawn, the young London-based Nigerian artist also known as Olaolu Akeredolu-Ale. His project, Transition, involves two iconic London double-decker buses – over 10 metres long and 4 metres high.

Also worth visiting is a partnership between Somerset House and 1-54, a retrospective exhibition devoted to the late Leila Alaoui, the French-Moroccan artist, photographer and activist who died in 2016 while working on a women’s rights campaign with Amnesty International. Alaoui was caught in gunfire during a terrorist attack in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and three days later died of her wounds. Honouring Alaoui’s photographic practice, the exhibition includes three of Alaoui’s defining series of works – Les Marocains, No Pasara and Natreen, as well as Alaoui’s final unfinished video work L’Île du Diable (Devil’s Island), exploring the lives of a 1960s generation of dispossessed migrant workers in France.