Addis to Nairobi: a gallery circuit finds its own market
Work is increasingly priced where it is made, and shipping costs more than the sale often supports.
A circuit of galleries, fairs and residencies across the region has grown into something that prices work locally instead of waiting for a European fair to do it.
Collectors based in the region are part of that shift. When buyers and artists share a city, the gallery stops being an export desk and starts behaving like a market.
Infrastructure is the limiting factor: shipping, insurance, framing and the paperwork for moving work across borders all cost more here than the sale price often supports.
The interesting question is what happens to prices set in Nairobi or Addis when the same artists are shown abroad — whether the two markets converge, or drift.