In Africa craft is very old, but ‘’design’’ is very young. In the established world of collectible design, South Africa has something new to say. Part of the appeal of contemporary South African design is that it’s unfettered, imaginative and energetic. It invites you to think.
If your fingers are on the pulse of the wild and exuberant beast that is the international design scene, then you know that African design is on the rise.
At the forefront of this evolving design revolution is the couple Trevyn and Julian McGowan,
co-founders of the design gallery and all-around African design tour-de-force, Southern Guild
– a pioneering gallery that commissions, produces and exhibits contemporary, collectible design by the most compelling local Southern African talent.
Located in the über-hip Silo District in Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, near the Thomas Heatherwick building housing the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), their chic showroom hosts limited-edition and one-off pieces that have garnered multiple awards and caught the attention of the world’s leading collectors, auction houses and museums.
It was the first African gallery to present at Christie’s London’s annual design auction (2015) and Design Miami (2011), where it shows regularly (in both the US and Basel).
The gallery has also participated in fairs such as PAD London, The Salon Art & Design, Collective New York and Design Days Dubai.
It has partnered with renowned New York City-based galleries R & Company, Friedman Benda Todd Merrill, Galerie 56, further exposing its artist-designers to the most important international audiences. It’s 2024 Los Angeles outpost makes it one of the few Africa-founded galleries to have a presence in the United States.
For more on CEO Trevyn McGowan, the driving force behind Southern Guild, see here.