1-54 CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART FAIR
Creative Direction & Special Projects Across New York and London.
In 2025, Art Comes First was selected by the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair Selection Committee to develop official Special Projects for both the New York and London editions of the fair. Across Textile Language in New York and The Sartorial Spirit of Punk Tailors in London, ACF translated cultural research, craftsmanship and sartorial thinking into two distinct immersive environments.
Photography:
ACF
Bridgeforth
Overview
Two Cities. Two Special Projects.
Art Comes First’s 2025 collaboration with 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair unfolded across two international editions and two distinct cultural propositions.
In May, Textile Language was presented at 1-54 New York at Halo, 28 Liberty Street. The project explored textile histories, craftsmanship and cultural memory through an immersive installation centred around cotton and its wider cultural narratives.
In October, ACF returned for 1-54 London at Somerset House with The Sartorial Spirit of Punk Tailors, an exploration of African craftsmanship, British tailoring heritage and the relationship between tradition and rebellion.
While each project responded to a different subject and environment, both reflected a shared ACF methodology: researching culture, translating ideas through material and creating spaces that audiences could physically experience.
Selected Highlights
Selected by the 1-54 Selection Committee for two official Special Projects across New York and London in 2025
Two international presentations across New York and London within five months
Textile Language — immersive Special Project at Halo, 28 Liberty Street, New York
The Sartorial Spirit of Punk Tailors, multi-room Special Project at Somerset House, London
Creative direction spanning cultural research, installation, garments, objects, moving image and sound
Developed an Art Comes First × 1-54 collaborative capsule alongside the London presentation
International editorial recognition across art, culture and design media, including The World of Interiors, OkayAfrica, TRUE Africa, African Business and others
CLIENT / PARTNER
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
PROJECT
2025 Special Projects — New York & London
STATUS
Completed
YEAR
2025
LOCATION
New York · London
VENUES
Halo, 28 Liberty Street · Somerset House
INDUSTRY
Contemporary Art · Culture · Fashion · Installation
ACF SERVICES
Creative Direction · Concept Development · Cultural Research · Installation Design · Art Direction · Spatial Storytelling · Exhibition Development
CONTEXT
Expanding the ACF Practice Into the Contemporary Art Fair
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair is an international platform dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora, with editions spanning London, New York and Marrakech.
Beyond its gallery presentations, the fair’s Special Projects programme creates space for installations, commissions and interdisciplinary cultural practices that extend the experience of the fair.
Art Comes First has always operated across disciplines — using clothing, craftsmanship, objects, music, image and cultural research as interconnected forms of expression.
1-54 created an opportunity to bring those disciplines together within an international contemporary-art context.
Rather than approaching the fair through a conventional fashion presentation, ACF developed each Special Project as a complete cultural environment in which garments could exist alongside materials, objects, film, sound and spatial intervention.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Two Cities. Two Spaces. Two Distinct Propositions.
Selection for both New York and London presented ACF with a particular creative challenge: how could the same practice respond meaningfully to two cities, two spaces and two distinct cultural subjects without repeating itself?
Each presentation required its own research, narrative and spatial identity. New York would examine textile histories and cultural memory through Textile Language, while London would explore craftsmanship, tailoring and rebellion through The Sartorial Spirit of Punk Tailors.
The opportunity was to develop two independent cultural propositions — each responding to its location, subject and audience — while maintaining a recognisable ACF methodology across both.
Rather than creating a single exhibition format and adapting it between cities, ACF would build each Special Project from the research outward.
SCOPE OF COLLABORATION
Creative Direction
Developing the overarching concepts and creative language across both Special Projects..
✓ Creative concepts
✓ Cultural narratives
✓ Art direction
✓ Visual direction
✓ Material direction
✓ Exhibition concepts
✓ Spatial thinking
Cultural Research
Building each project from histories, practices and cultural references relevant to its subject.
✓ Textile histories
✓ Craft traditions
✓ Sartorial research
✓ Cultural references
✓ Material research
✓ Archive research
✓ Narrative development
Installation & Experience
Translating research and concepts into physical environments.
✓ Installation concepts
✓ Spatial storytelling
✓ Object presentation
✓ Garment presentation
✓ Moving image
✓ Sound integration
✓ Audience experience
Product & Collaboration
Extending selected ideas beyond the installation itself.
✓ Collaborative capsule
✓ Limited-edition product
✓ Product storytelling
✓ Graphic direction
✓ Styling
✓ Fair-team collaboration
✓ Cultural documentation
CREATIVE APPROACH
Research. Material. Space. Experience.
Rather than beginning with an exhibition format and filling it with objects, Art Comes First began each Special Project with its subject.
The methodology moved through four stages:
Understand the cultural context.
↓
Research the histories, materials and practices.
↓
Translate the research into a creative and spatial framework.
↓
Build an environment in which the audience can encounter the idea physically.
This methodology allowed New York and London to develop their own identities without losing the cultural language connecting them to Art Comes First.
The result was two independent presentations connected by one creative approach.
NEW YORK
Textile · Memory · Material
May 2025 — TEXTILE LANGUAGE
Context
For New York, Art Comes First explored the relationship between textile, history and cultural memory.
Rather than treating cloth purely as material, Textile Language considered how cotton and weaving can carry histories of labour, craftsmanship, identity, resistance and cultural inheritance.
The project connected histories across Africa and its diaspora, creating a framework through which material could become a form of cultural storytelling.
The project received two adjoining Special Project spaces — Booths 17 and 18 — within the New York fair.
Approach
ACF developed Textile Language as a two-room immersive installation, allowing two related narratives to exist in dialogue rather than compressing the subject into a single presentation.
Raw cotton, raffia, tailored garments, sculptural objects, moving image and symbolic interventions were brought together to create an environment in which material carried the narrative.
The first space centred on textile process, craftsmanship and memory.
The second shifted toward labour, commerce and reclamation, creating a deliberate contrast between the two environments.
Rather than presenting clothing as a conventional fashion collection, garments and objects became components within a wider spatial narrative.
The result allowed audiences to encounter textile not simply as something worn, but as material carrying history.
This two-room structure and its focus on Black cotton are also documented in contemporary coverage of the fair.
ACF Role
Creative Direction · Concept Development · Cultural Research · Installation Design · Spatial Direction · Art Direction · Garment & Object Presentation · Moving Image Integration · Cultural Storytelling
Outcome
Textile Language transformed material research into an immersive public experience.
The project established ACF within 1-54 New York's official Special Projects programme while demonstrating how the collective's sartorial practice could operate within a contemporary-art environment.
The presentation also generated significant independent cultural visibility. OkayAfrica dedicated coverage to the ACF Special Project; TRUE Africa highlighted it within 1-54's wider programme; and The World of Interiors selected Textile Language among the New York fair's notable events.
LONDON
Craft · Tailoring · Rebellion
October 2025 — THE SARTORIAL SPIRIT OF PUNK TAILORS
Context
For London, Art Comes First returned to one of the foundations of its creative practice: tailoring.
The city's relationship with Savile Row, craftsmanship and subculture provided the context for an exploration of the tension between discipline and rebellion.
The Sartorial Spirit of Punk Tailors brought African craftsmanship into dialogue with British tailoring history through ACF's philosophy of Punk Tailoring — respecting technique and tradition while questioning the rules surrounding them.
The project was presented as an official Special Project at Somerset House, with ACF occupying E18 within the fair.
Approach
Rather than presenting Punk Tailoring as a conventional garment exhibition, ACF developed an immersive environment spanning multiple rooms.
Garments, tailoring tools, archive, objects, imagery and sound were brought together to explore different dimensions of the philosophy.
The installation treated craftsmanship as something active rather than static.
Construction existed alongside deconstruction.
Tradition existed alongside rebellion.
African craftsmanship entered into conversation with British sartorial history.
And clothing became one component within a larger cultural environment.
The presentation was extended through a limited Art Comes First × 1-54 collaborative capsule, allowing ideas developed within the installation to move into wearable form. Contemporary coverage confirms both the multi-room format and collaborative capsule.
ART COMES FIRST X 1-54 COLLABORATIVE CAPSULE
Art Comes First also developed a limited collection of exclusive merchandise with 1-54.
Limited Edition Members Tees, More Fire Lighters, Stitchline Caps, hoodies and screen printing experience during activation.
The limited objects extended the experience beyond the physical installation, functioning as artefacts from the programme.
ACF Role
Creative Direction · Concept Development · Cultural Research · Exhibition Curation · Installation Direction · Spatial Storytelling · Art Direction · Garment & Object Presentation · Sound Integration · Collaborative Product Development
Outcome
The Sartorial Spirit of Punk Tailors positioned tailoring as both craft and cultural language.
Rather than treating heritage as something to preserve unchanged, the installation demonstrated how inherited techniques could be respected, questioned and reinterpreted.
The project extended ACF's multidisciplinary practice across exhibition, tailoring, objects, sound and collaborative product while positioning the work within the international contemporary-art context of 1-54 London.
The presentation also received independent recognition. African Business highlighted the multi-room installation, while 1-54 founding director Touria El Glaoui singled out The Sartorial Spirit of Punk Tailors when asked about her top Special Projects of 2025.
OVERALL OUTCOME
From Selection to International Cultural Platform
Across 2025, Art Comes First transformed two Selection Committee approvals into two distinct public cultural experiences in New York and London.
Textile Language and The Sartorial Spirit of Punk Tailors demonstrated ACF's ability to move from research and creative concept through spatial development, installation and public presentation.
Rather than repeating one successful format across two cities, each Special Project developed its own visual, material and cultural identity.
New York used textile to investigate memory, labour and heritage.
London used tailoring to investigate craftsmanship, discipline and rebellion.
Together, the projects expanded ACF's presence within the international contemporary-art landscape while demonstrating how its practice could move fluidly between fashion, art, craftsmanship, film, sound, objects and spatial experience.
The relationship also expanded beyond exhibition through collaborative product with 1-54 and generated international editorial visibility across both editions.
PRESS & RECOGNITION
THE WORLD OF INTERIORS
Art & Antiques Fairs — June 2025
Featured / Editorial Selection
Highlighted Textile Language among the notable presentations surrounding 1-54 New York, describing ACF's installation through the historical, cultural and social narratives carried by African fabrics.
OKAYAFRICA
Inside 1-54 New York: African Art Takes Center Stage at Manhattan's Halo →
Dedicated a section to The Art Comes First Special Project, examining Textile Language and its connections between weaving, cotton, heritage and contemporary design.
GUZANGS
1-54 New York 2025: African Artists Reshape the Narrative
Featured Textile Language by Art Comes First among the standout presentations at 1-54 New York, highlighting the project’s two-room installation and its exploration of Black cotton, textile heritage and cultural memory.
READ ARTICLE →
TRUE AFRICA
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair Moves to Lower Manhattan
Highlighted Textile Language among the New York Special Projects and its exploration of textiles, identity, resistance and heritage.
AFRICAN BUSINESS
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair: 100 Artists in London
Highlighted ACF's The Sartorial Spirit of Punk Tailors and its immersive dialogue between African craftsmanship and British sartorial traditions.
WAAU
1-54 London 2025 — Special Projects
Featured the ACF presentation, its Punk Tailoring philosophy, multi-room installation and collaborative capsule with 1-54.
SELECTA BISSO
The Sartorial Spirit of Punk Tailors
Dedicated coverage to ACF's Somerset House installation and its relationship between British tailoring tradition, African craftsmanship and rebellion.
LEGACY
Two Projects. One Expanding Practice.
The 2025 1-54 Special Projects marked an important development in the evolution of Art Comes First.
What began with Textile Language in New York expanded five months later into The Sartorial Spirit of Punk Tailors at Somerset House — two independent projects connected through ACF's belief that clothing, craft and objects can operate as carriers of cultural knowledge.
The projects demonstrated that ACF's methodology could move beyond the traditional boundaries of fashion into installation, spatial storytelling and contemporary cultural practice without abandoning the craftsmanship at its foundation.
They also established a developing relationship with one of the principal international platforms dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora — across two cities, two selections and two distinct bodies of work.
Most importantly, the projects established a methodology that can continue beyond 1-54:
Research becomes narrative.
Narrative becomes material.
Material becomes space.
Space becomes experience.
And experience becomes another way of carrying culture forward.
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