This week, Somerset House in London once again becomes a meeting point for art from Africa and its diaspora. The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair holds its 14th consecutive London edition from 15 to 18 October 2026, during Frieze Week, with a press and VIP preview on the opening day.
The novelty this year is a look back. The fair introduces a spotlight on modernist artists from Africa and the diaspora, through curated gallery booths and an exhibition titled West Wind, curated by art historian Dr Nancy Dantas. Its title comes from a 1966 song and an epithet for African unity.
West Wind gathers figures such as Gerard Sekoto, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Papa Ibra Tall, Skunder Boghossian, Bertina Lopes, Uzo Egonu, Kofi Antubam and Baya. Elsewhere in the fair, The Gallery of Everything pays solo tribute to sculptor Seyni Awa Camara, and ArtTalks | Kanafani Gallery presents Egyptian modernists including Inji Efflatoun and Gazbia Sirry.
Galleries come from Lagos, Cairo, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Harare, Casablanca and Accra, among other cities. Côte d'Ivoire is represented through FILAFRIQUES, a gallery based between Geneva and Abidjan, which shows Joseph Eze and Maliza Kiasuwa.
The special projects widen the frame: Perve Galeria installs Martin Wöllenstein's Flowing Upstream in the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court, Hassan Hajjaj shows his My London Rockstars portraits, and ABLAKASSA presents Interlude, with Jean Servais Somian, Arnold Fokam and King Houndekpinkou. For founding director Touria El Glaoui, West Wind helps "to see the present differently".
