Beyond the Booth: Africa Basel’s Strategic Rethink with Co-founder Benjamin Füglister
Africa Basel, founded by Benjamin Füglister and Sven Eisenhut-Hug, emerges as a timely response to an art market experiencing two consecutive years of decline and increasing pressure on galleries to balance visibility with sustainability. Launching its first edition in June 2025, Africa Basel introduces a smaller yet strategically structured model : hosting around twenty galleries, forgoing standard booths, and centering dialogue and accessibility. In this interview with Mayi Arts, co-founder Benjamin Füglister shares the vision behind Africa Basel and beyond, with plans to extend conversations that reflect a growing appetite for more intentional, human-scaled platforms that privilege depth over scale. For galleries navigating rising costs and shifting market dynamics, Africa Basel marks both a pivotal moment and a bold challenge: to engage meaningfully with the African art ecosystem on the international stage.
In this interview, Benjamin Füglister shares the vision behind Africa Basel, set to debut in June 2025. Positioned alongside established fairs like 1-54 and AKAA, Africa Basel introduces a different model—smaller in scale and intentional. It marks both a pivotal moment and a bold challenge : to engage more meaningfully with the African art ecosystem on the international stage all amidst tempered global art economics
Africa Basel set to takeover Basel from 18-22 June 2025 for the first time
NGALULA MAFWATA : What inspired you to launch Africa Basel and particularly with its smaller-scale, more focused model?
Benjamin FÜGLISTER : Art fairs and major events can be quite overwhelming, especially for professionals who are only present for just a few days. Everyone is trying to squeeze as much as possible into a limited timeframe: visitors, exhibitors, collectors, we all do the best that we can. I was born and raised in Basel, and the city’s identity is deeply rooted in the arts, especially in art fairs. Through the years I have seen fairs expanding, branching out to other cities around the world at the same time. Half of the fairs we see today didn’t even exist a decade ago. When we researched whether we wanted to do Africa Basel or not, we obviously visited a number of established fairs, including AKAA, 1-54, Untitled, and Art Basel Miami, where you can see up to 2,000 galleries exhibiting in just one week. It is impressive, but as you walk in, you begin to wonder Who is all this really for? Of course, galleries benefit from it, they are commercial enterprises at first and traffic means they are more than likely to make sales during the fair. But the scale and pace can become too much. For these reasons, we believed it was time to refocus.
NGALULA MAFWATA : Does slowing down also open the door to more benefits alongside a slower pace of actions for galleries and visitors attending ?
Benjamin FÜGLISTER : For Africa Basel, we reduced it to the maximum that can be done and we only have about twenty exhibitors, we believe we can cater to this number. From an organizer’s perspective, once you have more than 40 exhibitors, it becomes nearly impossible to cater to everyone’s needs. That’s something I’ve learned from experience and through conversations with gallerists. Often, fairs come with the promise to galleries of access to high-level collectors and institutional representatives, but when there are too many participants, attention gets diluted. With fewer exhibitors, you can actually follow through, you have the time and space to introduce serious collectors to more galleries. That’s the core idea behind Africa Basel. I’m not saying it’ll necessarily slow things down, there are still overlapping events, social gatherings, and competing agendas during the fair but a smaller, focused fair does feel more manageable and human-scaled. The risks are lower, too. Economically, it is more sustainable, we can offer more competitive pricing and a more intimate experience, without compromising on quality.
NGALULA MAFWATA : What does that mean in terms of curation and experience?
Benjamin FÜGLISTER: Art fairs often say they are curated, but you can only curate to a certain extent. At the end of the day, we are working with commercial entities that are here to sell. As a fair, it's a balancing act: if you advise a gallery to bring certain works and then nothing sells, who is to pay ? In the end, the exhibitor is the client. They pay for their booth and access, so there's a limit to how much you can influence. That’s why I prefer to speak of advisory rather than curation. At Africa Basel, we don’t have an artistic director, but a curatorial board composed of Azu NWAGBOGU, Michèle SANDOZ, and Serge TIROCHE who advised on the selection of exhibitors. Because of our intentionally small scale, we were able to create space for meaningful conversations between the board and the galleries well ahead of time. This made the selection process feel more organic, we more or less knew who would make the cut from the beginning. Again, that’s only possible when you work on a small scale.
Africa Basel curatorial board Azu NWAGBOGU, Michèle SANDOZ, Serge TIROCHE and Greer VALLEY. Credits : Africa Basel
“As a fair, it’s a balancing act: if you advise a gallery to bring certain works and then nothing sells, who is to pay ? In the end, the exhibitor is the client. They pay for their booth and access, so there’s a limit to how much you can influence.”
The layout of the fair is designed to reflect that. We’re using an open-floor concept with no standard display booths so it feels more like an exhibition than a trade fair. The galleries will still have their own spaces, of course, but we encouraged them to bring fewer artists, creating a more considered and enjoyable experience for visitors. The venue also plays a huge role. We’re in a 14th-century compound, a former printing factory flooded with daylight, which changes everything in terms of atmosphere.
There’s also a dedicated, free-access area for performances and music. Two halls are reserved for the galleries, and one will be entirely dedicated to conversations, which are central to our vision. Talks and panels have become more frequent, thanks in part to fairs such as 1-54, which played a major role in putting contemporary African art on the global map. But too often, these conversations are one-off moments—they’re not recorded nor made available afterward, and that momentum is lost. We want to do it differently. All conversations at Africa Basel will be free to attend and professionally recorded. We’re also planning to continue these discussions after the fair by partnering with other venues and fairs to keep the dialogue going.
NGALULA MAFWATA : With Africa Basel, you're introducing more diversity in the landscape of platforms dedicated to African contemporary art as we have been relying on key players like 1-54 and AKAA. At the same time, we’re witnessing a shift, as African art becomes increasingly integrated into the global circuit. How do you position Africa Basel within this evolving dynamic ?
Benjamin FÜGLISTER : Well, by labelling and dedicating an Art Fair to Africa, you already made many mistakes. Laughs. On one hand, you're building a platform for underrepresented artists and galleries, which is essential. But on the other hand, you are secluding yourself from the world implicitly suggesting that Africa exists in a separate world. So the real question is: does Africa actually need to be treated separately? The reality is that the density of the art market on the African continent just isn’t comparable to what exists in North America, Europe, or Asia. The infrastructure, especially the number of commercial galleries is still limited. To change that, the local economy has to grow first. That’s why platforms like Africa Basel or 1-54 play an important role, they help create visibility and foster long-term growth for the African art ecosystem.
NGALULA MAFWATA : We hear 'Global South' more frequently now, while major auction houses are shutting down regional departments and reorganising around eras instead. Do you think these are just semantic gymnastics or do they signal something deeper about how the art market is evolving ?
Benjamin FÜGLISTER : The term “Global South”, let’s be honest, it’s a label invented by the Global North. I doubt the so-called Global South would define itself that way. It’s a well-meaning term, and it can help open doors for inclusion. But in many ways, it’s already becoming obsolete. We're talking about the majority of the world’s population here. And yet, when we sit in places like Paris, Basel, London, or New York, we still view ourselves as the norm. It's probably not right for us to define the rest of the world the way we think.
You can’t set one price for your local market and a different one for the same work at an international fairs, it damages credibility and this is the kind of knowledge that travels fast amongst global collectors
Benjamin FÜGLISTER, Africa Basel
Ngalula MAFWATA : Fairs are still the favoured space to discover new and emerging artists, even though you are acting as advisory board, can we expect more newness at Africa Basel ?
Benjamin FÜGLISTER : There is a mix of things, it is new galleries and established galleries, African and non-African galleries, established artists and new artists. The idea is to create an environment where collectors can discover new things and not see the same things they saw at 1-54 already, Art Basel or AKAA for example and for the galleries you also need to include the established artists of course for commercial purposes opposed to younger artists. This is interesting and makes me think, we also have to consider art economics at a global level. Yes, Africa Basel is more affordable compared to many other fairs, but we’re still operating within the Swiss economy—laughs—which means galleries will likely aim for higher price points. This leads to a tricky pricing dynamics for galleries coming from regions with weaker economies. You can’t set one price for your local market and a different one for the same work at an international fairs, it damages credibility and this is the kind of knowledge that travels fast amongst global collectors not fond of this kind of discrepancies. Yet this issue keeps resurfacing in the context of African art markets, and it's something we all need to navigate more consciously.
“The reality is that the density of the art market on the African continent just isn’t comparable to what exists in North America, Europe, or Asia. The infrastructure, especially the number of commercial galleries is still limited. To change that, the local economy has to grow first. ”
NGALULA MAFWATA : Are there any notable trends you’ve observed from the applications or the current art market?
Benjamin FÜGLISTER : Textiles and fabrics are definitely still trending, we have seen a lot of that in the applications. Ceramics too have been gaining momentum, something I’ve personally noticed becoming more and more popular. Art Basel is the art fair, everyone is in town for it and it shapes what is being shown. However we shouldn't underestimate the local Swiss market. The economy here is very stable. The Swiss economy is very stable, every physiotherapist if they want can afford an artwork for five thousands dollars. That’s about the average entry price point. Combine that with the fact that Swiss homes tend to be smaller than, say, homes in Miami these factors really influence what galleries choose to exhibit. In Miami, for instance, you’re more likely to bring the bold, colourful pieces compared to here. For Africa Basel, we have also advised against too much figurative paintings, it’s become a bit oversaturated. There’s so much of it out there right now, and we wanted to encourage exhibitors to consider a broader visual language.
AFRICA BASEL CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART FAIR PREVIEW, MAYI ARTS PICKS :
Ngalula MAFWATA : How can we intentionally engage and appreciate arts in a meaningful manner ?
Benjamin FÜGLISTER: I think it is important to get in, especially for younger audiences who aren’t collecting yet, it’s often about taking that very first step. Buying your first piece at a more accessible price point, giving it a proper place in your flat, and inviting people over—not to show off, but to live with the work, to share it. That’s how it starts. This reminds me of Ernst Beyeler, founder of the Beyeler Foundation and one of the original founders of Art Basel, who had this habit: when he liked an artist, he’d buy two works—one for himself, and one he was open to selling. He’d hang the second piece somewhere visible, like in the dining room. When friends came over, they’d see it, ask about it, and eventually someone would want to buy it. That’s how he supported artists and spread their work and actually started his first gallery. It was organic, social and even strategic in a very human way.
Africa Basel will take place from June 18 - 22, 2025, St. Johannsvorstadt 19/21 4056 Basel Switzerland, www.africabasel.com
Galleries and Exhibitors : LIS10 Gallery Hong Kong, MCC Gallery, Galerie Dix9, October Gallery, The African Art Hub, Nubuke Foundation, Modzi Arts Gallery, Africa First, Galerie Le Sud, First Floor Gallery Harare, AKKA Project, Gallery Brulhart, UNX Art, TGM Gallery, La Galerie 38, Gallery Soview, Circle Art Gallery
