South Africa is known for its unique sense of art and craft, but nowhere else is that sense of art more visible than Cape Town. The best art galleries in Cape Town are some of the most revered depositories for art.
These are the best known places to find contemporary art, they are frequently visited by tourists coming in from every corner of the world. Believe it or not, some people actually come to Cape Town primarily looking for works of art to add to their collections back home.
It is thanks to these wonderful art galleries that the city has gained a reputation as a great place to find beautiful works of art at great prices.
Top 20 Art Galleries In Cape Town
1. Artvark Gallery
Artvark Gallery is located at 48 Main Rd, Kalk Bay, Cape Town, 7975, South Africa. This is a popular haunt, frequented by tourists and locals alike. The gallery has all kinds of art, including paintings, drawings, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, crafts and so on.
Artvark Gallery has everything called art under one roof. The gallery also practical things that can be put to some use; such as the ceramics which although decorative, can be used in the kitchen or dining table.
Artvark Gallery is a great place to discover contemporary South African art.
2. Whatiftheworld
Whatiftheworld is located at First Floor, 16 Buiten St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa. It is another great place to discover contemporary South African art, including abstract paintings and sculptures.
Getting their art into this gallery is a sign that an artist is good, which explains why so many emerging South African artists are keen to have their works displayed in this gallery.
Whatiftheworld can therefore be described as the place to discover the latest new talent in the city’s art scene. Some of the artists who step here go on to become internationally recognized artists.
3. Iziko South African National Gallery
Iziko South African National Gallery is the premier place for the appreciation of art in South Africa. This gallery has a noteworthy collection of Dutch, French, and British artworks from the 17th to 19th century.
Therefore, this is one of the best places to appreciate world renowned pieces of art, it may not be the best place to actually pick up art because many of the pieces on display are in their permanent collection.
Nevertheless, this is a place without which no art tour to Cape Town would be complete.
4. The African Portrait Art Gallery
The African Portrait Art Gallery is a wonderful place to feel the culture and spirit of Africa. This is one of the most noteworthy art galleries in cape town because it proudly displays the true concept of what it means to be African, in a world where everything is getting increasingly whitewashed.
Whitewashed in the sense that contemporary artists these days tend to produce art that are globalized, or made for the global audience. In a sense those works lose their African identity.
The African Portrait Art Gallery does not fall into that category; it fully embraces its African identity, and sells it to visitors from everywhere in the world.
5. StateoftheART Gallery
StateoftheART Gallery is located at The Square, 50 Buitenkant St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa. This is a well-known art gallery with a strong online presence. This art gallery has a rich collection of works by contemporary South African artists.
Some of the works include paintings, pencil drawings, photographs, and sculptures. These artworks can be abstract, while there is a good number of those with political undertones, as well as those that highlight social issues.
6. Loop Gallery
Loop Gallery is located at 99 Loop St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa. This is a proper art gallery, it holds a rich treasure vault of contemporary South African art, and that treasure vault is thrown open every month in the monthly exhibitions held at this gallery.
Loop Gallery is a great place to discover pencil drawings, paintings, and other forms of art that stimulate the mind. This is also one of the best places to find emerging South African artists, those that can go all the way to become great artists.
7. The Stevenson Gallery
The Stevenson Gallery was established in 2003, and has since grown to become one of the top art galleries in Cape Town, South Africa. The Stevenson Gallery is located at the Ground floor of Buchanan Building, 160 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa.
The Stevenson Gallery is a great place to find contemporary South African art made by established and emerging artists. The gallery also has collections from artists all over eastern and southern Africa.
The Stevenson gallery is a spacious place; and the design of the interior also adds to the feeling of originality of the exhibits.
8. Knext Art Gallery
Knext Art Gallery is located at 115C Harrington St, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa. This is an ambitious project designed to bring local South African artists some exposure. The gallery has paintings, drawings, and other works of art.
Knext Art Gallery is one of the truly African galleries, with exhibits that capture the African spirit. This gallery holds regular exhibitions, and the exhibitions are always attended by visiting tourists who love to pick up African art.
9. Goodman Gallery
Goodman Gallery is located at 37A Somerset Rd, Green Point, Cape Town, 8051, South Africa. This is one of the top art galleries in South Africa; it was established back in 1966, and has locations in Johannesburg and London.
This is where people come to buy art as an investment; paintings that can be worth something in the future. The gallery holds works from accomplished South African artists, as well as renowned artists in the region.
The gallery hosts regular exhibitions in which people come in from all over the world to see what real art looks like, and to pick up something for themselves. This is a regular haunt for art lovers.
10. Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa is located at the V&A Waterfront Silo District, S Arm Rd, Waterfront, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa. This is a public, non profit museum, which is a home of everything art.
Paintings, sculptures, pencil drawings, carvings, pottery, ceramics, as well as beads and jewelry. It was opened in 2017 as the largest treasure vault of African art. This museum prides itself in holding purely African art, for the benefit of now and the future.
It holds regular exhibitions and they are usually broken into different themes; including abstract art, political, and environmental.
11. The Gallery MOMO Cape Town
The Gallery MOMO Cape Town is located at 16 Buiten St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa. This gallery has a contemporary collection of African art, as well as African diaspora art. From its founding, it is designed to have an international appeal; serving like a bridge between African people in the diaspora, and Africans at home.
It has regular exhibitions in which it showcases works by local artists, as well as international ones. It also takes local art on display internationally; it participates at the Start Art Fair in London.
12. The Cape Gallery
The Cape Gallery is located at 60 Church St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa. It is a gallery that holds contemporary African paintings, sculptures and ceramics, which are rotated in regular exhibits.
This is another truly African art gallery; most of the works reflect the goal for which it was founded; which is to promote and preserve African art.
13. Eclectica Contemporary
Eclectica Contemporary is located at 56 Church Street, Cape Town. It is a gallery that holds contemporary African art, of different kinds, but with the same purpose of providing exposure to African art and African artists.
Eclectica Contemporary has regular exhibitions, often containing works by some of the big names in South African art. This is a regular haunt for art lovers both local and international; a tour of the South African art scene without checking out this gallery is incomplete.
14. Norval Foundation
Norval Foundation is located at 4 Steenberg Rd, Tokai, Cape Town, 7945, South Africa. This is an art gallery and museum that is dedicated to showcasing and understanding African art, and the role it plays in African consciousness.
The gallery holds regular exhibitions, and its pieces are frequently rotated to keep them fresh and inspiring. Lovers of African art, and the African culture will find this quite a refreshing place to visit.
15. Christopher Moller Gallery
Christopher Moller Gallery is located at 7 Kloof Nek Rd, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa. This is one of the top art galleries in Cape Town; with a goal of empowering local South African artists. This gallery is located in a stately Victorian house, and has become quite popular among tourists and locals alike.
Christopher Moller Gallery holds exhibitions regularly, and houses pieces from artists coming from all over Africa, although many of them are resident in South Africa.
16. SMAC Gallery
SMAC Gallery is located at 1st floor, The Palms, 145 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock, Cape Town. This gallery has a rich collection of African artworks, works by South African artists, as well as those by artists from all over the continent.
Exhibitions are held regularly; and the design of the building itself is very impressive. This gallery was established in 2011, and has grown to be one of the more successful art galleries in the city.
17. 18 Gangster Museum
18 Gangster Museum is located at Dullar Omar Street, Mandela Park, Cape Town, South Africa. This is a unique gallery in the whole of Africa; it brings a completely different aspect to art. Unfortunately, gangs have become a steady mention in the commentary of South Africa, and this has had a huge impact on the shape of South African society.
The purpose of this museum and gallery is to capture that effect, and put it on display for the benefit of future generations. It is certainly worth visiting.
18. Rust-en-Vrede Gallery
Rust-en-Vrede Gallery is located at art centre, Rust-en-Vrede, Wellington Rd, Durbanville, 7550, South Africa. This is one of the most important art galleries in Cape Town; it offers something different; clay works.
This gallery and museum showcases a rich collection of unglazed ceramic works, done by established and upcoming artists. The gallery also hosts different studios where one can witness artworks in the making.
19. Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden
Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden is located at Paradyskloof Rd, Paradyskloof, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa. This is a renown sculpture gallery; a refreshingly different kind of art gallery which is frequented by visitors and locals alike.
There is so much to witness at this gallery; animal forms, abstracts, apocalyptic and also works with deep philosophical meanings.
20. Barnard Gallery
Barnard Gallery is located at 55 Main St, Newlands, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa. This is a private gallery which has been in existence since 2010. This gallery exhibits works by both African and European artists.
It is a place where visitors come from all over the world to feast their eyes on works that can be worth a lot of money in the future. This is a collector of quality artworks; the owner has a reputation to defend.
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Closing
Cape Town has a bustling art scene. The top art galleries in Cape Town are inadvertently also some of the best art galleries in South Africa. Appreciation for art and craft is also one of the main motivations for tourists coming into the country.
Art is serious business in Cape Town; much of the artworks that start their lives hanging on walls in Cape Town end up in galleries and private collections in Europe and America.