2025:HALF YEAR IN REVIEW
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2025:HALF YEAR IN REVIEW
ART WRITING WORKSHOP - LUSAKA
In February, ARAK Collection launched a three-day writing workshop in collaboration with the Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre (LUCAC), hosted in Lusaka, Zambia. Led by esteemed art critic and scholar Thembinkosi Goniwe, the workshop welcomed emerging art writers and researchers to explore the theme Biographies Reimagined, focusing on the lives of both objects and subjects in art.Drawing on the ARAK Collection and the Viable Vision: Martin Phiri Retrospective, participants examined how artworks and artists are shaped by their historical, social, and cultural contexts. Inspired by Phiri’s life and practice, the workshop encouraged a biographical writing approach that reflects the entangled realities of creators, artefacts, and environments.
AFRICAN ART: THE ARAK COLLECTION: CAPE TOWN BOOK LAUNCH
During the 2025 Investec Cape Town Art Fair, ARAK launched its debut book African Art: The ARAK Collection at Strauss & Co. The event, held in partnership with Clarke’s Bookshop and Jonathan Ball, featured a lively discussion between Ashraf Jamal and David Mann, moderated by Nkgopoleng Moloi. Together, they reflected on the publication’s themes, the making of the Collection, and its growing influence across the continent.
Published by SKIRA, the book features works by over 100 artists from ARAK’s 4000-strong collection. Essays by Jamal, Nneoma Angela Okorie, and Barnabas Ticha Muvhuti explore themes of Abstraction, Portraiture, and Place, offering a layered narrative of African contemporary art today.
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AFRICAN ART: THE ARAK COLLECTION: JOHANNESBURG BOOK LAUNCH
On 24 February, ARAK hosted the Johannesburg launch of its debut publication African Art: The ARAK Collection at The Blue House on Jan Smuts Avenue. Supported by Jonathan Ball, the event featured a thought-provoking conversation between author Ashraf Jamal and artist Kagiso Patrick Mautloa, moderated by art critic David Mann.
Together, the speakers reflected on the book’s themes and the Collection’s growing significance as a platform for knowledge production and artistic community-building across Africa. The publication is available for purchase at David Krut Bookstore and via SKIRA’s website.
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AFRICAN ART: THE ARAK COLLECTION: PARIS BOOK LAUNCH
On 6 March, ARAK hosted the Paris launch of African Art: The ARAK Collection at SKIRA’s flagship bookstore on Rue de Grenelle. Led by ARAK’s chief curator Sven Christian, the event focused on the making of the book and its global positioning of African contemporary art. The discussion framed the Collection as a vital lens through which the world is increasingly engaging with the continent’s artistic narratives.
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A QUIET MIRACLE: THE ARAK COLLECTION IN SHENZHEN, CHINA
From 29 March to 29 June, ARAK Collection presented Perspectives from The ARAK Collection at Artron Art Centre in Shenzhen, China. Featuring three exhibitions by ARAK Curatorial Fellows—Jamil Osmar Parasol (Split Infinity), Nneoma Angela Okorie (Beyond the Chrysalis), and E.N. Mirembe (The Geography of Fixed Things). The project showcased diverse curatorial visions around illusion, materiality, and movement.The exhibition opened with Confluence, a two-day talks programme exploring the relevance of African art in China today. Together, the exhibition and conversations highlighted the importance of cross-cultural dialogue and exchange.
TALKING THREADS
From 7 to 21 April, ARAK Collection co-presented Talking Threads at Liwan Design Studios in Doha, in collaboration with VCUarts and LDS. Featuring five artists from Namibia, the exhibition explored textile-based practices—from weaving and embroidery to stitching and crochet—highlighting how these processes connect tradition, craft, and contemporary art.Through opening and closing public talks, the exhibition created space for deeper reflection on art-making in the Global South. Themes ranged from gendered perceptions of craft to evolving models of curatorial and educational practice across Africa.
TALKING THREADS - TALK ONE
The exhibition Talking Threads, opened with a discussion about arts making in the Global South with Dr. Neelima Jeychandran (moderator), Dr. Sara Bint Moneer Khan (curator, ARAK Collection), Dr. Pallavi Sriram (Colorado College), and Heba El Kayal (curator, writer, advisor). The discussion explored the shared and divergent conditions of artistic production across the Global South, unpacking questions of power, place, and cultural memory in contemporary practice.
TALKING THREADS - TALK TWO
The Talking Threads programme concluded on 21 April with a salon conversation featuring Sharlene Khan, Bernard Akoi-Jackson, Ato Annan, and Holiday Powers. The discussion explored contemporary art-making practices across Africa and how artists, curators, and scholar-practitioners are redefining African art, reshaping art education, and forging new directions for curatorial futures.
INHERITING // ENDURANCE - VCU
Students from our Art History 391 course, Global Contemporary Art collectively curated an exhibition recently titled, Inheriting // Endurance, which is based on loans of South African contemporary art held by the ARAK Collection.
ART DUBAI - TALKS PROGRAMME
In a conversation moderated by arts journalist Rawaa Talass, ARAK founder AbdulRahman AlKhelaifi joined this year’s Art Dubai Collector Talks to explore the evolving role of collectors in today’s art world. The discussion delved into whether motivations for collecting have shifted, the rise of ‘impact collecting,’ and how relationships with artists are increasingly shaped by purpose-driven engagement. Presented in partnership with Dubai Collection, the talk spotlighted AlKhelaifi’s vision for ARAK.
AFRICAN ART: THE ARAK COLLECTION: LONDON BOOK LAUNCH
On 1 May, ARAK hosted the UK launch of African Art: The ARAK Collection at Olympia Auctions in London. The event centred on the theme of collecting African art and featured a conversation between Heba El Kayal and Elikem Logan, moderated by Janet Rady.The discussion explored the rising global interest in African art, highlighting artists featured in the publication and the growing role of collectors in shaping new narratives.
AFRICAN ART: THE ARAK COLLECTION: NEW YORK BOOK LAUNCH
On 8 May, ARAK held a launch and talk at Pratt Institute in New York for African Art: The ARAK Collection, as part of the VIP Preview of 1:54 New York. The event featured a conversation between contributor Barnabas Ticha Muvhuti and Professor May Joseph, offering insights into the book’s themes and the evolving global presence of African contemporary art.
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AFRICAN ART: THE ARAK COLLECTION: FRANSCHHOEK BOOK LAUNCH
On 17 May, ARAK launched African Art: The ARAK Collection at Ebony Curated in Franschhoek as part of the 2025 Franschhoek Literary Festival. The event featured a conversation between art critics David Mann and Ashraf Jamal, who reflected on the publication as well as their own fiction writing.Their discussion explored the intersection of literature and art criticism, offering insights into how storytelling shapes the interpretation of visual culture.
NEW FELLOWS ANNOUNCEMENT
Soukaina Aboulaoula
As part of its 2025–2026 Curatorial Fellowship programme, ARAK Collection awarded a fellowship to Soukaina Aboulaoula. Her work explores image circulation, artistic sovereignty, and the legacy of archives in North and West Africa. Her curatorial research focuses on artists who challenge the politics of visibility and knowledge production through experimental visual languages.Her fellowship will culminate in a 2026 exhibition at the University of Johannesburg’s FADA Gallery. The exhibition marks a significant collaboration between ARAK Collection and FADA Gallery, furthering shared commitments to critical curatorial practice and contemporary African art.
Max Diallo Jakobsen
As part of its 2025–2026 Curatorial Fellowship programme, ARAK Collection awarded a fellowship to Max Diallo Jakobsen. Working across text, textile, and image, Jakobsen’s practice investigates materiality, memory, and cultural history. His curatorial research focuses on how contemporary African artists repurpose discarded or found materials—through layering, stitching, and assemblage—as acts of critique and transformation.His fellowship will culminate in a 2026 exhibition at the University of Johannesburg’s FADA Gallery. This will be the first ARAK Collection show to focus on its sculptural and mixed-media holdings, deepening public engagement with its lesser-known works.
AFRICAN ART: THE ARAK COLLECTION: LATITUDES ART FAIR BOOK LAUNCH
As part of its publishing and public engagement programme, ARAK Collection launched African Art: The ARAK Collection at the 2025 Latitudes Art Fair in Johannesburg. The launch formed part of Jonathan Ball Publishers’ official book programme and featured author Ashraf Jamal in conversation, followed by a live signing.
AFRICAN ART: THE ARAK COLLECTION: DOHA BOOK LAUNCH
As part of its international launch programme, ARAK Collection hosted the Doha launch of African Art: The ARAK Collection on 28 June 2025 at AlHosh Gallery. The event featured a conversation between contributor and former ARAK curator Nneoma Angela Okorie and Qatar Museums curator Zahra Khan, exploring the book’s making and the broader role of collecting and publishing in Qatar and across Africa.
