Historic art auction in Accra

Accra, March 10, Ghanadot - ARTcapital, purveyors of the finest African contemporary Art, has indeed broken new ground. Its first auction on March 4, 2010 in Accra was attended by an enthusiastic, standing room only crowd; it was eminently successful.

The auction was preceded by a two day long exhibition of the lots starting on March 2. All thirty six lots were very ably displayed in ARTcapital’s 1800 sq ft display space (dubbed the ban2gallery) located within the premises of ARTcapital.

The invited local cognoscenti congregated there on the first evening of the exhibition for champagne. On the morning of the auction, other cognoscenti arrived from various African countries at the near by Kotoka International Airport to view the exhibition before the auction commenced in the afternoon.

In an address to the participants just before bidding begun, the President of ARTcapital stated that the response to the auction from across the globe had been overwhelming- akin to a tsunami. Consequently, eighteen lots had already been sold and were therefore withdrawn from bidding.

A distinguished group of celebrity auctioneers then proceeded to conduct an orderly but animated bidding session for the remainder of the lots.

Commenting on the event, Mr. Seth Dei, a renowned collector of contemporary African Art and founder of the Dei Center, said, “ARTcapital has blazed a trail that will enhance the aesthetic appreciation of contemporary African Art while drawing strong attention to its capital value”, he added “we are all greatly encouraged by and supportive of the efforts of ARTcapital”.

Another notable collector- the Accra lawyer, Mrs. Emma Amakye remarked, “the quality of the art work, the organization and execution of the auction catalog, exhibition space and auction have all been at a high standard”.

Ms. Damali Kelly, Vice President of ARTcapital stated that “contemporary African Art is of, by and for people of African descent and should therefore be showcased and presented properly especially on the African continent”.

She continued, “since the appreciation of its aesthetic merits is inclusive, the potential of this unique capital asset must be unleashed for the benefit of all”.

ARTcapital has already started receiving and accepting consignments for its next auction. This is scheduled for October 2010. A journal of contemporary African Art called ban2ART is to be published twice a year by ARTcapital; the maiden edition will be available in May 2010.
 

Historic art auction in Accra

Accra, March 10, Ghanadot - ARTcapital, purveyors of the finest African contemporary Art, has indeed broken new ground. Its first auction on March 4, 2010 in Accra was attended by an enthusiastic, standing room only crowd; it was eminently successful... ...More