Page 14 - 2020 Booklet

GIVING INDEPENDENT ARTISTS A VOICE
Visitors view the SA25 coins up close.
SA25 artwork displayed at LATITUDES.
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In 2019 the Mint partnered with LATITUDES
Art Fair (LATITUDES), a new art platform that
brings together a curated selection of artists,
galleries, independent curators and institutions.
Promoted by an all-female quintet, LATITUDES
seeks to expand and strengthen audiences for
contemporary African art and create a richer
understanding of African cultural production
globally.
Driven by the desire to go beyond traditional
sponsorships into cultural investment, the
Mint provided support for the curated
exhibition of early career artists with no gallery
representation called the INDEPENDENT, bring-
ing long-term benefits to not only the local
artists, but also providing a platform for its
own design mastery.
The INDEPENDENT will champion the works
of emerging and unrepresented artists, and
aim to introduce their work to galleries, buyers
and art industry professionals from around
the African continent participating in the fair.
The 2019 SA25 range of coins highlighted the
Mint’s influential role on the local art scene
through its collaboration with six artists to
commemorate 25 years of South Africa’s
constitutional democracy.
“The Mint is a purveyor of art. From the time
we minted our first coins to the recent SA25
series celebrating 25 years of constitutional
democracy, our coins have quintessentially
been the canvas for artists to take their art
public,” says Christine Roux, the Mint’s General
Manager for Sales and Marketing.