Contemporary artists from across the Global South have taken a prominent position at London Art Fair 2026, with The Southern Art Hub presenting a focused showcase highlighting voices from Africa and Latin America.
Taking place from 21–25 January 2026 at the Business Design Centre, Islington, Uncontextualised Souths brings together works by Nigerian painter Kingsley Ayogu, Zambian-born London artist Kay Gasei, and Latin American painter Alessandra Risi, signalling a growing international appetite for art shaped by global histories, diasporic identities and alternative narratives of power.
A Platform Expanding the Global Canon
The Southern Art Hub is a newly expanded initiative building on the foundations of the African Art Hub, which has been championing African artists since its inception. For its 2026 iteration, the platform broadens its remit to include artists from Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, Oceania and the global diaspora, while maintaining a strong commitment to African contemporary art.
Presenting at London Art Fair — one of the UK’s most established annual art events — marks a significant moment for the platform as it brings Global South perspectives directly into one of Europe’s key commercial and curatorial settings.
Kingsley Ayogu: Reimagining Power Through Portraiture
Emerald Is The Warmest Colour, 2025
Based in Lagos, Nigerian painter Kingsley Ayogu is known internationally for hyperrealist portraits that reinterpret historical imagery and challenge dominant political narratives. His work gained widespread attention in 2021 when a painting depicting Malcolm X seated in the White House circulated globally, reimagining an alternative political history through the familiar visual language of power.
Ayogu continued this exploration in his Icons in the White House series, portraying figures such as Muhammad Ali, Fela Kuti, Virgil Abloh, Chinua Achebe, Thomas Sankara, and Kwame Nkrumah in symbolic political settings. A finalist for the Art X Lagos Prize in 2022 and a Future Awards Africa winner, Ayogu’s work sits at the intersection of technical mastery and cultural provocation.
Kay Gasei: Myth, Community and Cultural Memory
Moonlight Series Iii: Ourprimesentinal, 2026
London-based artist Kay Gasei, who has Zambian heritage, works across painting, illustration and mixed media. His practice draws on mythology, storytelling and social structures, reflecting a long-standing interest in anthropology and cultural history.
Gasei has exhibited internationally at fairs including Art Basel Miami, The Other Art Fair, and The Affordable Art Fair, and was awarded the Kate Bryan Soho House Residency in 2021, becoming Soho House’s first Soho Home artist-in-residence. Alongside his studio practice, Gasei has led design workshops with young offenders — work he has described as his most meaningful achievement.
Commenting on his influences, Gasei has said:
“I’m into stories, myths, all the minutiae that contributes to the tapestry of life.” He has been described by GUAP magazine as “establishing himself as a powerhouse in the London art world.”
Alessandra Risi: A New Voice from Latin America
Reflejo, 2025
The presentation also includes work by Alessandra Risi, a Latin American painter and recent graduate of the Royal College of Art. Risi has already exhibited at Art Basel Miami and Somerset House, and represents a new generation of artists engaging with materiality, identity and transnational cultural exchange.
Her inclusion reflects The Southern Art Hub’s wider ambition to position emerging Global South artists alongside more established international figures, creating dialogue across regions and practices.
The Southern Art Hub Curator Antonia Mejía Arango comments:
“Across the Global South we are seeing artists forming new creative networks that bypass traditional gatekeepers. These are not emerging scenes — they are established, confident, interconnected cultures finally being seen on their own terms.”
Kingsley Ayogu, Kay Gasei and Alessandra Risi are exhibiting with The Southern Art Hub at London Art Fair 2026, from 21–25 January, at the Business Design Centre, Islington.
For more information, visit: taah.co.uk
