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In the true spirit of a guild, Southern Guild was founded on the principles of community and collaboration, and grew out of a desire to provoke new work, facilitate alliances between differing disciplines, and articulate what it means to be human.

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Established in 2008 by Trevyn and Julian McGowan, Southern Guild represents contemporary artists from Africa and its diaspora. Based in Cape Town and Los Angeles, the gallery’s programme furthers the continent’s contribution to global art movements. Southern Guild’s artists explore the preservation of culture, spirituality, identity, ancestral knowledge, and ecology within our current landscape.

In the true spirit of a guild, the gallery was founded on the principles of community and collaboration, and grew out of a desire to provoke new work, facilitate alliances between differing disciplines, and articulate what it means to be human. Having pioneered the collectible design category on the continent, the gallery showcases excellence across both functional and contemporary art. Southern Guild partners meaningfully with artists through artwork production and exhibition-making to foster their careers and propel their capacity for creative evolution. The gallery nurtures new talent through educational projects, talks, mentorship initiatives, and its own GUILD Residency, an international studio programme for artists seeking to engage with the local context.

Southern Guild is invested in the growth of the African creative ecosystem, cultivating an ethos of cultural exchange and interconnectedness through its robust international fair and biennale programme, and by partnering with curators, institutions, and museums to realise distinctive interdisciplinary projects.

Works by Southern Guild artists have been acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, LACMA, Art Institute of Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pérez Art Museum, Mint Museum, Harn Museum, Denver Art Museum, Vitra Museum, Design Museum Gent and National Gallery of Victoria. Gallery artists have also exhibited at institutions including Centre Pompidou, Brooklyn Museum, Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain in Saint-Étienne Métropole (MAMC+), Seoul Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, and African American Museum of Dallas.

Works by artists acquired by
  • Art Institute of Chicago
  • Brooklyn Museum
  • Centre Pompidou
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • Denver Art Museum
  • Design Museum Gent
  • Harn Museum of Art
  • LOEWE Foundation
  • Manchester Museum of Art
  • Mint Museum
  • Musée du Grand Hornu
  • Musée Fondation Dapper
  • Musée Mandet
  • Museum of Arts and Design
  • National Gallery of Victoria
  • New Taipei City Yingge Ceramic Museum
  • Pérez Art Museum Miami
  • Philadelphia Museum of Art
  • Victoria and Albert Museum
  • Vitra Design Museum
Artists exhibited at institutions including
  • Centre Pompidou
  • Brooklyn Museum
  • Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain in Saint-Étienne Métropole (MAMC+)
  • Seoul Museum of Art
  • Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto
  • Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Gardiner Museum
  • Kunst Palace Düsseldorf
  • Kunsthal KAdE
  • Mori Art Museum
  • Museum Mandet
  • Museum of the African Diaspora
  • Vitra Design Museum
Locations
  • Cape Town, South Africa
  • Los Angeles, United States
Senior Team
  • Trevyn McGowan

    Founder and CEO

  • Sarah Dawson

    Managing Director

  • Lindsey Raymond

    Gallery Director

  • Alejandro Bataille

    Director, Los Angeles

  • Kelly Berman

    Communications Director

  • Nicole Linh Anderson

    Registrar, Los Angeles

  • Julian McGowan

    Founder

  • Wendy McDonald

    COO

  • Jana Terblanche

    Director

  • Jacob McGowan

    Sales Director

  • Lisa Pienaar

    Financial Director

  • Lindokuhle Nkosi

    Cultural and Media Strategist