Investec Cape Town Art Fair 2026 is announced long before one fully enters. Upon arrival, the stage is set. The energy inside the rooms signals the beginning of the most anticipated weekend of art in the city.

“As Africa's largest contemporary art fair, it continues to shine as a symbol of artistic excellence and innovation, bridging the gap between local creativity and international curiosity.” Peta Dixon, Head of Sponsorships at Investec.”

Dixon adds: “At Investec, we share this spirit, rooted in South Africa but globally minded, making us the ideal partner for this cultural exhibition. Our 2025 campaign, World-class partnerships leave lasting impressions, celebrates the transformative power of collaboration. It reflects our gratitude for our origins while embracing a vision that knows no borders.”

For both young and seasoned art enthusiasts, the 2026 edition of the iconic Art Fair was an inspiring experience for the body and mind. “Art demands to be felt” has always been an expression related to the ability of art to evoke emotions. The most notable exhibitions took this notion to new depths, invoking the need to physically touch the works on display. Each work of art, with incredible texture and vibrant colors, demanded viewers get closer.

From silk folded with incredible geometric precision (Pierre Louis Geldenhuys) and burlap meticulously sewn onto woven nylon (Emmanuel Kwaku Yaro), to a large wooden sculpture, which when you look closer, consists of hundreds of incredibly elaborate smaller sculptures (Dominique ZinkpÉ), and a wall installation I could never have imagined, thousands of the same safety pins I used to style my outfit that day, could be transformed just like that.

Telling stories through touch

Needless to say, along with the admiration for art in a space like this, there is also an observation of how artists around the world, often shaped by their lived experiences and environments, tend to make those stories come to life in their art. And although it is almost impossible to remember each of the works of art exhibited during the weekend, it has become equally impossible to forget a work titled “Here I saw my ancestors for the first time” by the notable Manyaku Mashilo. The piece expresses generations of women and the journeys they have undertaken, leaving us to contemplate where it comes from, where it is going and, once it is gone, what remains, a legacy, a story that continues. The piece embodies a story that will never tire of being seen, heard and told.

The art of admiration

As my afternoon at the fair drew to a close, my senses overstimulated in the best way, I found myself returning to something a friend once shared about art fairs in response to the familiar “stop taking pictures and buy art,” a sentiment that seems a bit reductive of what these spaces actually contain. Of course, supporting artists through acquisitions is important, but so is presence. So does admiration. So does inspiration. In an age so enamored of screens, there is something quietly indulgent about simply standing in front of a work and allowing it to move you. Art demands to be felt, and spaces like the art fair make room for exactly that.

About Said Matches

Baatile is an independent creative brand strategist and cultural practitioner with 9 years in the industry, specializing in brand development and creative direction in music, arts, culture and adjacent creative industries. Converging at the intersection of strategy, storytelling, campaign narratives and social media ecosystems, Baatile curates programs and collaborates with a broad network of artists and creatives, bringing together vision, structure and cultural relevance. With a strong academic background based on research and critical study, Baatile has championed some of the most notable moments in music and art in South Africa and is due to complete his PhD in Anthropology.