1 54 London 2026

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair returns to Somerset House from 15 to 18 October 2026 for its 14th consecutive London edition, unveiling a Special Projects programme rooted in craft and cultural memory.

At its centre is Flowing Upstream, a large-scale multimedia installation in the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Courtyard by Martin Wöllenstein, developed with Romeo Addai-Boateng Akoto of Ghana’s Supreme Masqueraders Society, Perve Galeria and OCUBO. The work reshapes discarded Ankos costumes into 54 modular panels tracing the outline of the African continent.

1-54 Presents returns with West Wind, a spotlight on Modernist artists from Africa and its diaspora curated by Dr. Nancy Dantas, South African-Portuguese art historian and visual studies scholar. The exhibition brings together works by Alexander ‘Skunder’ Boghossian, Bertina Lopes and Ibrahim El-Salahi, presented by Hannah O’Leary Fine Art, Selma Feriani Gallery and Vigo Gallery

In My London Rockstars, Hassan Hajjaj portrays a new generation shaping London’s cultural landscape, among them Central Cee, Slawn and Jorja Smith.

Nando’s returns with Spier Arts Trust to present Southern African artists Blessing Ntsikelelo Blaai, Lionel Tazvita Mbayiwa and Mellaney Roberts, built around a curatorial theme of belonging.

Borderlands Art presents Our Canvas Grows From The Soil, a display made entirely of barkcloth linking Ugandan artists Gloria Kiconco and Piloya Irene with London-based Othello De’Souza-Hartley.

DēpART presents Restan Lepase, in which Léon Radegonde treats history as an ongoing process, staining, burying and reassembling found surfaces.

The Midunu Institute traces Ghanaian cocoa from farm to finished product in Commodity / Couture, revealing that a farmer earns around 6p from a £4 chocolate bar.

(Re)Casting the Canon, led by Folasade Ologundudu, runs a multi-day critical writing lab exploring how African art history is shaped through collective memory.

I-JŌKŌ transforms the Navy Board Room into a Lounge with Hazendal Wine Estate, while ONMT (Office National Marocain du Tourisme), the fair’s Global Destination Partner, curates a further Lounge celebrating Moroccan culture.

ABLAKASSA presents Interlude, bridging the fair’s Marrakech edition through work by Jean Servais Somian, Arnold Fokam and King Houndekpinkou.

Kianda Contemporary Art Project surveys Angola’s artistic scene from the 1950s to today, and collector Michael Graham-Stewart spotlights sub-Saharan artists from his 50:50, Artist’s Africa collection.

An engaging Talks Programme runs throughout the fair, with panels featuring Christie’s, Oliver Enwonwu, Loeve&Co and The Defise / Almas Foundation, alongside a celebration of Addis Fine Art’s 10th anniversary.

VIP and Press Preview:
Thursday 15 October, 11:00 – 19:00

Public and VIP Opening:
Friday 16 October, 11:00 – 19:00
Saturday 17 October, 11:00 – 19:00
Sunday 18 October, 11:00 – 18:00