Africa is full of painters, art, music, and creativity. A lot of it used to go unnoticed by the masses in the past. However, since the 1990s, African music, art, artists, and painters are getting into the limelight and getting the recognition they truly deserve.

Popular painters in Africa

Wangechi Mutu

He’s currently based in New York and is originally from Kenya. Mutu is an artist that has captivated the landscape of art with his creativity. She’s famous for blending African culture with science and fiction to create beautiful and captivating art.

El Anatsui

El Anatsui grew to fame with her artwork, where she transformed thousands of bottle caps into gigantic luminous structures. He also used these structures to cover the walls of a variety of European institutions. He’s famous as a community artist and believes that his ideas are sourced from the community. Subsequently, he also believes that his work should play a role in addressing the issues that his community faces and show them to the outside world.

William Kentridge

William Kentridge rose to fame with his famous and unique charcoal drawings. His drawing often reflects the harsh history that Africa faced in the form of apartheid and other inequalities.

Famous sculptures in Africa

Peju Alatise

Peju Alatise works in two mediums – painting and sculpture. She strongly believes that African art is still highly influenced by the harsh social, political, and economic realities that her motherland has to face. She believes that the art from Africa is judged with a biased lens and condescending patronage. As an artist, she believes that African people should adequately shoulder the responsibility portray their art and culture to the world in a positive manner.

Goncalo Mabunda

Goncalo Mabunda is famous for making sculptures from used weapons. He believes that by using weapons in sculpting and destroying them, there’d be no weapon left to kill people anymore. His work is anti-war and reflects on his strong values of cherishing human lives by destroying the weapons harmful to human life.

Week-known contemporary art in Africa

Tracey Rose

She’s a contemporary multimedia artist and a known bold feminist. Rose is famous for her work that deals with politics related to sexual identity, racial identity, and gender-based themes. She made terrific video installations and eye-catching photographic works. Her work reflects upon her believes as a feminist and as a person vocal about her ancestry. She has had solo exhibitions in Europe, America, and South Africa and also participated in several international events.

Kudzanai Chiurai

He belonged to Zimbabwe and was exiled; thereafter, he depicted the country’s leader, Robert Mugabe, with horns and swallowed by flames. He now resides in Johannesburg. His work includes using dramatic and contemporary multimedia compositions. He used them to challenge the status quo and start a discussion about the issues that are being faced by African society. Issues like government corruption, xenophobia, violence, and displacement are reflected in his brutally honest work.