Having just been to 1-54 and Frieze in New York, I am thrilled to see the interest and appreciation for African contemporary art exploding on the international art stage. Indeed, art has become the cultural lifeblood of South Africa’s spectacular Mother City - my home. Cape Town is now the destination for cutting-edge contemporary art, creativity and community thanks to galleries like Southern Guild, Stevenson, Goodman, Smac, Michaelis Galleries, 99 Loop and goliaths like Zeitz MOCAA and the Norval Foundation, to name but a few. While I may have hosted some of you reading in 2017 for the fabulous Zeitz MOCAA opening gala, I am delighted to unite these tangents of art, culture, access and experience once again in a brand-new trip to Cape Town during the city’s world-renowned Investec Cape Town Art Fair (February 19-25, 2025) to benefit American Friends of Zeitz MOCAA.
I was recently appointed as a founding patron of American Friends of Zeitz MOCAA, a true honor and a testament to the friendships formed through travel. This appointment grants me the opportunity to do what I love doing – showcasing the incredible talent and wonder of my homeland with guests, this time through the lens of art. But then again, art is intrinsic to all we do at ROAR AFRICA. From introducing friends and guests to the continent’s leading gallerists and private collections, which few people ever get to see in person, to infusing our own journeys with the delicate art of sensitivity, thoughtfulness, beauty and insider access.
On this spectacular trip, we will take you to the Zeitz MOCAA Gala as well as its celebrated party sponsored by Gucci, fabulous private dinners with Africa’s most renowned artists, and exclusive studio visits. We will showcase the best of the best across culture, cuisine, and landscape in Cape Town, immersing in the natural beauty and rich history of this special slice of the world. To learn more about this once-in-a-lifetime itinerary, click here.
The 2017 opening of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa marked a watershed moment for Cape Town’s art scene. Housed in a stunningly converted grain silo on the iconic V&A Waterfront, the museum holds the most extensive, cutting-edge collection of contemporary African and African Diasporic art on the continent, drawing art enthusiasts and collectors to the Mother City from all over the world. In addition to Zeitz MOCAA, Trevyn and Julian McGowan, gallerists and co-founders of Southern Guild, have long had their skilled hands on the beating pulse of Africa’s creative heart. Their influence covers the entire continent, evident when you see their roster of artists, including Porky Hefer and Zizipho Poswa of South Africa, Patrick Bongoy of the DRC and Mali’s Cheick Diallo, amongst others. (The duo has also recently opened a vast Los Angeles outpost of Southern Guild, America’s first South African gallery, which we covered here and curated the ‘living gallery’ within Botswana’s esteemed Xigera lodge.) On this highly rarified trip, we will actually enter the studios of these world-celebrated artists, seeing their craft and creative process up close.
In our frenzied world, taking a moment to nurture our consciousness by stepping into the world of creativity and color is a hard reset and a reminder of the spectacular ingenuity, nuance and imagination our eyes rarely see. Our souls need art just as our minds crave creativity – this journey honors those primal needs. Aside from studio visits with the likes of multimedia artists Penny Siopsis, sculptor Zizipho Poswa, and an extraordinarily special, exclusive to ROAR AFRICA Xhosa sound ceremony led by artist Andile Dyalvane, this trip delivers guests right into the heart of the Investec Cape Town Art Fair action and the luminaries who traverse the world to attend.
Sharing one’s home is always completely different from just selling a destination. Eye-opening authenticity is what we search for when we travel. For me, that authenticity is about accessing what is not for sale, led by those who know and love the place they are showcasing …the place they call home.
This unforgettable experience, an homage to Africa’s innate creativity in partnership with The American Friends of Zeitz MOCAA, will take place February 19-25, 2025, and costs $16 200 per person or $24 300 for solo travelers. To learn more or to reserve a place, kindly contact welcome@roarafrica.com or click here. I do hope you’ll join us!
If Mother Nature’s sheer power and resilience could be exemplified in one place on the planet, it would be the dramatic, unimaginably vast landscapes of Namibia.
I love Kentridge’s monochromatic signature style and so I made it my mission to visit the Norval Foundation last year in August when it opened.
The Greatest Safari on Earth isn’t just about redefining ‘beyond first class’ travel, it’s about learning more about our world and how we show up in it. A kind of “haute voyage.” It’s about what truly matters. That undefinable feeling of intimacy and connection so central to our well-being and to the richness of our human experience. Isn’t that what we’re all searching for on this journey called life?
