Shepstone Gardens, Johannesburg
The RMB Latitudes Art Fair 2025 transformed Shepstone Gardens into something more than an art fair, creating a living, breathing ecosystem of creativity, conversation, and visual delight.
The layout played a quiet trick on time. You’d find yourself slipping between sun-dappled courtyards and vaulted marble halls, never quite sure what was coming next. One moment, you’d round a corner and be confronted with the commanding presence of Mary Sibande’s A Queen Never Dies, majestic and immovable. Another turn, and you were standing before the beadwork of The Herd – each thread a story, each bead a gesture of memory and care.
This is where Latitudes distinguishes itself.
It resists the sterile, boxy format of conventional art fairs in favour of something more organic and more human. Between exhibitions, you’re offered small moments of pause: a hidden garden bench, a rooftop pavilion, a glass of wine under a tree. These natural intervals create breathing space between the visual encounters, letting each one settle before the next.
This sense of balance, between pause and presence, scale and subtlety, runs through the Fair. Established names, such as Stevenson and Everard Read, appear alongside smaller, independent artists and projects. This mix reflects Johannesburg’s diverse creative ecosystem, a city where established and emerging voices coexist and thrive. Even the presence of Strauss & Co., bridging the primary and secondary art markets, hinted at a broader, more inclusive vision of the art ecosystem.
As you moved through the grounds, one such pocket of stillness could be found in ESSAY, presented by Wendy Vincent and Geoffrey Armstrong. Tucked into a quiet corner, their space was almost hushed, a gentle collection of works made over the past 25 years at their Magaliesberg home. Every piece seemed to carry the weight of time and care, blending materials and philosophy into a practice that felt lived rather than made. It was the kind of space you sank into slowly.
From there, wandering up into the mezzanine, you stepped into Threads, a quiet, circular space that felt both crafted and cared for. The installation told the story of Johannesburg through weaving, beading and light. It traced the city’s history from gold beneath the ground to the impact of mining above it, shaped through the hands and voices of women. Built slowly and thoughtfully, Threads felt like a pause. A soft moment indoors that echoed the world outside.
Just beyond, the path led you to the rich, layered world of Thando Salman. His work focuses on the lives of young Black men in Johannesburg, exploring boyhood, identity, and emotional depth. Using painting, mixed media and natural symbolism, he creates dreamlike scenes where his figures often appear alone in wild landscapes. These works speak to the tension between tradition and change, showing the complexity of growing up. His booth invited viewers to slow down and reflect, standing in gentle contrast to the louder spaces around it.
Following that thread of contrast and flow, the path next brought you to The Herd, a collective of women beadworkers reinterpreting Ndzundza Ndebele traditions in collaboration with the Dong Museum. These were not static artefacts but active, breathing expressions of memory, labour, and imagination. By reimagining tradition rather than merely preserving it, The Herd’s work felt at once deeply rooted and entirely contemporary.
Continuing through the grounds, the Botswana Pavilion stood not as an introduction, but a confident declaration. Moving beyond heritage narratives, the work pushed into experimental territory, challenging conventional categories and centralised art-world thinking. These were not “emerging” voices. They were equal participants in a broader conversation – one that cut across borders, both real and imagined.
This sense of encounter, of crossing into something unexpected, extended beyond the artworks themselves into the fair’s intimate discussion spaces. Moving away from formal panels, the 2025 edition embraced smaller, open gatherings that ran from Friday through to Sunday, bringing together artists, cultural workers, and strategists in meaningful exchange.
In one such session, Decoding Cross-Cultural Currents – Austria, France & South Africa, held on Sunday 25 May, Marcus Neustetter (artist and cultural activist) and Eben Keun (representing IQOQO and Breinstorm Brand Architects) shared insights into evolving cultural strategies and the power of international creative networks. Moderated by Refiloe Mpakanyane, the discussion explored how African artists can carve out space in global conversations, not by conforming, but by leading with context, collaboration, and vision. Keun emphasised the need for multistakeholder partnerships rooted in balance, where no single agenda dominates, and where cultural industries drive innovation and sustainable development through shared ownership.
Latitudes also continues to innovate beyond its physical presence. Its year-round online platform offers emerging and established artists alike an accessible way to reach new audiences and facilitate art sales. From Nigeria to Kenya, Ghana to Côte d’Ivoire, the digital reach mirrors the physical one, grounded in pan-African exchange and creative autonomy.
By the end of the Fair, what stayed with you wasn’t just the individual artworks, but the way they spoke to each other. How they were held by the space. How they reflected the city – its tensions, its generosity, its grit and brilliance.
The 2025 edition of RMB Latitudes felt like a fair that had truly come into its own. It’s clear now that it’s no longer tentative or just testing the waters. It was confident, expansive, and quietly radical. A celebration of Johannesburg’s creative scene that reminded visitors why this city’s art matters – not just locally, but as part of a broader conversation about creativity, identity, and the power of place.
