10 JUN 2026South Africa’s art market is slowing down but collectors aren’t walking awayThe South African art market is in an interesting place. On the one hand, some of the country’s most important art…Kibo Ngowi6 min read

As living costs rise, art buyers are becoming more cautious, forcing galleries and artists to adapt to a changing market The South African art market is in an interesting place. On the one hand, some of the country’s most important art fairs continue to draw large crowds. FNB Art Joburg remains a fixture on the cultural calendar.

Investec Cape Town Art Fair continues to attract international attention. New galleries are opening and ambitious artists are finding audiences. On the other hand, the sector is navigating a cost-of-living crisis that has made consumers more cautious, galleries more vulnerable and the broader cultural ecosystem increasingly dependent on ingenuity to survive.

The contradiction is perhaps best illustrated by what has happened in Johannesburg over the past year. In July 2025, Kalashnikovv Gallery announced that it was closing after 12 years of operation. Founded by MJ Turpin and Matthew Dean Dowdle in 2013, the gallery established itself as one of the most influential independent contemporary art spaces in the country, known for championing younger artists and politically engaged work.

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Months later, Stevenson announced it would close its Johannesburg branch after 17 years while maintaining its Cape Town and Amsterdam operations. Stevenson is not merely another commercial gallery. Since opening in 2003, it has represented some of the most important contemporary artists working in South Africa and on the continent.

Viewed together, the closures raised uncomfortable questions. Were they evidence of a shrinking market? A warning sign about the sustainability of the gallery model?

Or simply part of an industry undergoing change? Art advisor and collector curator Monalisa Molefe believes the answer is more complicated than a narrative of decline. “These closures are significant but I would caution against reading them purely as evidence of decline,” she says.

In fact, the story of Kalashnikovv itself complicates a simplistic reading of events. Rather than disappearing from the art landscape, Turpin quickly re-emerged as co-founder of a new Johannesburg gallery, Kumalo | Turpin, alongside Zanele Kumalo. The gallery opened earlier this year and positions itself as part of a new generation of spaces attempting to rethink how audiences engage with contemporary art.

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