Centred around the theme “Oasis,” RMB Latitudes 2026 explores ideas of renewal, refuge, and creative abundance within challenging environments. The theme reflects on how art and cultural exchange continue to thrive across the continent, positioning creativity as both a site of connection and possibility.
Ahead of RMB Latitudes 2026, we had the opportunity to speak with Denzo Nyathi, Head of Sales at Latitudes Online, about this year’s theme, “Oasis,” and the evolving role of continental exchange within the African art landscape. In our conversation, we discuss the significance of the Nigeria Focus, the urgency of sustaining pan-African dialogue within the current South African context, and the ways in which commercial realities and curatorial intention continue to exist in tension with — and in support of — one another within the art fair ecosystem.
How does the idea of an “oasis” translate into the curatorial direction of the fair this year, beyond the visual or aesthetic interpretation?
In a beautiful way, all the departments that bring together our fair have run with the concept of ‘oasis’ in very unique ways. One of those has considered oasis in light of the unexpected discovery of something beautiful and generative in an unexpected context. Latitudes Live was born of this thinking and acts as our alternative to a fair’s traditional talks programming (which we still hold space for). Latitudes Live engages creative practitioners in the unique articulation of their specific form of artistry, platforming creatives even beyond the fine art space. As such, in thinking of nature and its phenomenal ability to grow even a rose through concrete (or, a luscious garden, in the heart of a bustling metropolitan), Latitudes Live seeks to celebrate the resilience and brilliance of our full creative ecosystem.
How do you balance curatorial intention with the commercial realities of an art fair like Latitudes?
One thing I have come to appreciate in this line of work is nuance. Recent popular discourse has been shockingly absolute, with the belief that the commercial and the artistic exist as polarities of one another. This view is not only categorically untrue, but also has limiting implications on artists, posing the ultimatum of success with the market or the critical success of one’s peers. The reality of the situation is that our art ecosystem is reliant on the market. To be more specific: everyone, including artists, needs and deserves to eat. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Curatorially speaking, there are plenty of artists to engage in the sphere of artistic discourse who present works that are both rich in their discursive qualities and something you may very well want to see in your home everyday. At RMB Latitudes Art Fair, the likes of Nathaniel Sheppard (with Kumalo | Turpin), Nwabisa Ntlokwana (INDEX), Marsi van de Heuvel (RESERVOIR) and Athi Patra Ruga (WHATIFTHEWORLD) are some favourites of mine who quickly come to mind as striking this balance with (what seems to be!) ease. We look out for these kind of artists in our special projects because we know our buying audience is an interested, curious and intelligent one. They deserve to be engaged with ideas and techniques that are deserving of the price they pay. After all, we do not take lightly the gesture of support that is in collecting the work of so many young, living artists.
We (Culture Club) are particularly interested in the Nigeria Focus because it keeps the pan-african exchange active in a moment of tension. How do you see Latitudes holding that space?
This also isn’t something we take lightly at all. Behind the scenes, we could write entire memoirs about the pains associated with trying to execute an exhibition like this on both countries’ soil through navigating what could be described as bureaucratic barbed wire. The idea of people – by virtue of where they were incidentally born – being illegal is an extremely dangerous one. Trickle down effect makes it such that the exchange of ideas (through art), while not being illegal per se, becomes something which feels very eerily close it.
Through it all, and with the support of an absolutely incredible community (partners, clients, collaborators), RMB Latitudes is still able to present an exhibition across two countries. This is a declaration of a commitment to people and culture, which flourishes in a way that barbed wire could never contain. The fair is a physical articulation of this commitment, where the Latitudes Online platform is always endeavouring to do the same with other pan-African and diasporic initiatives like RMB Latitudes CuratorLab, where we work with curators across the continent. Even as we anticipate our Johannesburg audience seeing the Nigeria Focus very soon, we are already imagining what exchange the continent has for us next.
In a year defined by “Oasis,” what should remain with us once the water settles?
Art and our natural world are beautiful things that, try as we might to explain them, are things that emerge from a place that will always remain slightly mystic. In a time where cynicism is a reflexive response and a comfortable place for the mind to settle, it’s worthwhile to occasionally turn our attention to this mysticism with a degree of reverence, and recognise that these are things worth investing in and protecting.
