Author: Oreoluwa Oyinlola

With African talents from various artistic spheres such as music and films enjoying global attention, the world of visual arts has not been left out. African artists have enjoyed an increase in representation at domestic and international art fairs like the Miami Basel, Frieze Art Fair, and Art Basel. AMAKA sat down with Liza Essers, director of Goodman Gallery, who wants the world to show intentional interest in African artists, their work and what they present.

When Liza Essers bought Goodman Gallery in 2008, her plan was to reshape South Africa’s art scene by bringing international artists into the gallery. However, she has a different strategy now. In recent years, she has focused on exhibiting African artists, whose art centre and engage the African and post-colonial contexts. Since Essers took the reins, Goodman Gallery has grown by over 30 international artists and established outposts from South Africa’s Johannesburg and Cape Town, to London and pop up spaces in Miami and the Hamptons.

Where does your love for art and culture come from?

As a child, I was more exposed to music than to visual art. I grew up in Durban with a father who played the trumpet and had a passion for jazz which was contagious. I would go with him to listen to live jazz from a young age and remember seeing Sam Nhlengethwa – one of South Africa’s most important artists who was influenced by jazz – on a couple of occasions. My first truly meaningful experience with visual art came later, when I saw William Kentridge’s Drawings for Projection films at Constitution Hill.

How would you describe your journey into the African art scene? 

My journey started in the world of finance and meandered into film – I co-produced Tsotsi and made a documentary on Kentridge and Marlene Dumas. From there I segued into contemporary art, reading voraciously, taking art history courses and working as an art consultant. In 2008, at age 34, I took a leap and bought the historic and iconic Goodman Gallery, inheriting a stable of extraordinary artists in a new era in which it has been important to broaden the vision for the gallery.

Navigating the business of art in Africa

How have you been able to turn your passion into a profitable business as a creative entrepreneur, especially in a space where there is no structure to support the process?

My business brain has been an important factor for taking on and growing the gallery from a preeminent gallery on the African continent to an international gallery showcasing the best from the Global South and beyond. I’ve taken calculated risks along the way, often programming exhibitions that bring work by emerging and established artists to the continent for the first time. At times, my focus has been more curatorial than commercial, organising powerful and needed ongoing curatorial initiatives like ‘In Context’ and ‘South South.’

I wouldn’t say there is no structure of support in South Africa, however it is certainly limited compared to a country like the US, for example, where the art market has had many decades to grow with a strong general ecosystem. When I took the helm in the late 2000s, there were a number of commercial galleries on the scene but few museums. Today, we have Zeitz MOCAA, A4 Arts Foundation and the Norval Foundation, among others, in addition to the state-run museums. This growth is exciting to see not just in South Africa, but also in countries like Nigeria where David Adjaye is working on the new Edo Museum of West African Art and Yinka Shonibare has just launched a major new residency programme, Guest Artists Space Foundation. 

What are some of the challenges you have recognised and encountered within the art space on local and international levels, and how have you been able to navigate them for a more positive outcome?

It has been clear for some time now that the world is finally taking note of contemporary art from the African continent and diaspora. How this interest is managed is important to help ensure this global engagement is meaningful and sustainable. Museums like Tate have been filling in the gaps in their collections and paying more attention to the key voices emerging on the continent, which is deeply significant. It’s essential, I believe, that artists hitherto consigned to the global margins are gaining the traction they deserve and becoming important players in art history. The rise of museums on the African continent is another important factor here as it is crucial that investment in art from the continent also comes from within the continent itself. 

Aisha Shehu Is Retelling the Fulani Story Through Her Fashion Label, BABAYO

"It has been clear for some time now that the world is finally taking note of contemporary art from the African continent and diaspora. How this interest is managed is important to help ensure this global engagement is meaningful and sustainable"

Art, artists, and collaboration

Most people think of art as a one-man show where the man here is the artist. How would you explain the business of art to them? 

There’s an entire team of dedicated professionals backing an artist and ensuring their trajectory of success. For some artists, this starts in the studio with assistants and managers, which extends to the backend of a gallery where we have teams of people committed to sales, curatorial and communications. Galleries work closely with the artists they represent to think about the direction of their practice and to promote their work to audiences far and wide. It can be a very meaningful commitment to be a part of shaping an artist’s journey and rare for an artist to achieve international visibility and recognition without the support of a gallery.

How is Goodman Gallery’s work within the contemporary African art ecosystem helping artists leapfrog with growth, sales and adding value to their work?

Giving our artists the opportunity to exhibit in state-of-the-art spaces, both on the African continent and in the UK, allows their work to gain exposure to a diverse range of people. We also exhibit at major international art fairs, which means our artists are seen by top collectors and curators in New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Hong Kong. 

Accelerator Programme Targets Women-led Agribusinesses in Uganda

Why is it important for women in the sector to approach it as a business rather than a hobby?

Anyone who thinks they can run a gallery merely as a hobby would be in for quite a shock. It’s a constant juggle between production costs and cash flow. Managing artists means taking care of people’s careers and livelihoods – it is serious business.

How have you been able to navigate the art scene as a woman in a white-male dominated space?

As a white person in South Africa I have significant privilege. Many galleries in South Africa are male-owned, however, so it has at times felt like a boys club. I try to navigate the art world from an awareness of my position of privilege and otherness as a woman and as a Jew. It’s important to me to facilitate the careers of women of all races and ethnicities. Women form the backbone of the Goodman Gallery team. My experience as the daughter of a refugee has also given me the ability to relate to people from diverse backgrounds and has meant that I have gravitated towards representing artists like Shirin Neshat who lives in exile from her home country.

What does the future hold for Goodman Gallery?

Many more exciting collaborations and challenging exhibitions. 

What is your advice to other creative entrepreneurs? 

Trust your gut and don’t be afraid of failures along the way.