AFRICAN ART: THE ARAK COLLECTION: CAPE TOWN BOOK LAUNCH
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AFRICAN ART: THE ARAK COLLECTION: CAPE TOWN BOOK LAUNCH
On 19 February 2025, at Strauss & Co Cape Town, ARAK launched African Art: The ARAK Collection, the definitive and debut publication of the Qatar-based ARAK Collection—founded by Abdul Rahman AlKhulaifi and home to over 4000 works by artists from Sub-Saharan Africa.
Held in collaboration with Strauss & Co, Clarke’s Bookshop, and Jonathan Ball, the Cape Town launch took place during the 2025 Investec Cape Town Art Fair, and took the form of a discussion between art critics Ashraf Jamal and David Mann, moderated by Nkgopoleng Moloi (editor of Artthrob ).
The talk provided context into the making of the book, the works therein, and the speakers’ ongoing engagement with the Collection, particularly its role in strengthening artistic communities on the continent and forging platforms for the production and dissemination of knowledge.
Published by SKIRA , African Art: The ARAK Collection features artworks from more than 100 artists. It serves as both an essential framing text for the ARAK Collection, and a comprehensive overview of contemporary art from the continent.
Arranged according to the selectively identified themes of Abstraction, Portraiture, and Place—each with an accompanying contextual essay by Ashraf Jamal—the publication also features short, informative texts on each artist written by Jamal, as well as curator and researcher Nneoma Angela Okorie, and art historian and writer Barnabas Ticha Muvhuti.
Through considered editorial decisions and engaging prose, African Art: The ARAK Collection places African art, and indeed the continent itself, at the centre of the world, and demonstrates why the rest of the globe is shifting its focus toward African artists.
The book is available for purchase on SKIRA’s website.
