As the Silver Sponsor of 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair for the second consecutive year, Nando’s has close relationship with the fair. At this year’s fifth London edition of 1:54, Nando’s will be showcasing works by four multidisciplinary artists, represented in the Nando’s body of work and in restaurants internationally.

As patrons of many young contemporary Southern African artists, they have supported different initiatives to cultivate the continent’s art sector and, having partnered with Spiers Arts Trust, Nando’s has been part of career development opportunities for emerging artists: Nando’s Chicken Run, Creative Block, Qubeka Bead Studio and Spier Arts Academy.

This summer, 1:54 joined forces with Nando’s and hosted a panel discussion in celebration of the first pop-up art gallery by Nando’s in their Soho branch in London. The panelists included Touria El Glaoui, Founding Director 1:54, Emma Menell from Tyburn Gallery, Tamlin Blake, curator of Nando’s body of work, Hannah O’Leary from Sothebys and moderator Gemma Rolls-Bentley from Artsy. The discussion focused on the market reception of South African Art and delved in the ascension of contemporary African art on the global market.

You can watch the panel discussion here:

“We see a clear synergy between 1:54 and Nando’s ambitions to showcase emerging artists from Africa and making African art more accessible internationally. That’s why we’re delighted to offer our support to this exhibition, which we think is a great way of promoting these exciting artists and engaging new audiences with African art.” – Touria El Glaoui