African Art Centre

During the past 50 years the African Art Centre has provided thousands of artists and craftspeople with opportunities for self-employment and the realization of their talents. Originally a project of the South African Institute of Race Relations, the Durban African Art Centre has, since 1984, operated as an autonomous, non-profit organization. Visit our shop and gallery where we showcase the best of traditional and contemporary South African art and craft by Master Craftspeople and Fine Artists. Products include Antique Zulu and Xhosa fine beadwork and artefacts, telephone wire products, Ilala Palm Baskets, handmade ceramics, paintings, works on paper, sculpture and embroidery.

Regular Development Projects presented by the African Art Centre not only focus on skills transfer and product development but also on the preservation of traditional craft skills. Over the past 50 years, the Centre has represented the interest of craftspeople and artists by supporting and promoting their work at the shop and also via retail markets and art galleries in the rest of the country and abroad.

Today operating from premises in Florida Road, Durban the African Art Centre has adapted to the changed political, economic and artistic landscape and expanded its operations. It is proud to be recognized as the longest surviving South African organization involved in the development and promotion of black artists and craft-workers

The vision of The African Art Centre is a society where the work of indigenous artists and craftspeople is acknowledged, respected, appreciated, promoted and preserved to ensure that they are able to earn a sustainable living from their artistic creativity and craftsmanship.

Objectives:

The African Art Centre contributes to the development, promotion and appreciation of the works of artists and craftspeople by:

* providing creative and craft skills development training for groups of talented youth, and targeted male and female crafts people, primarily in KwaZulu Natal

* actively discovering, encouraging and nurturing works of creativity, originality and of the highest quality

* providing an outlet for the exhibition, sale and dispatch of artists’ and crafts persons’ work, based on the principles of fair trade

* assisting young and established artists/craftspeople to become self-supporting by accessing funding for training, development and for exhibitions/ displays and publicity

* communicating and documenting traditional and contemporary trends in art and craft

* preserving our cultural heritage