You can still buy the Whitechapel editions shown at 1-54, from £350

The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair closed at Somerset House in London on 18 October. It was the fair's 14th consecutive London edition. For the first time, Whitechapel Gallery made an institutional appearance there, with new artist editions.

Though the fair is over, the work is still easy to find. Online, the gallery's shop still lists the editions, with prices. In its own words, the shop sells affordable artworks.

Louisa Buck wrote in The Art Newspaper that the editions support the gallery's Errantry Fund. That fund backs the representation of artists from the Global South and diasporas. Joy Labinjo, Veronica Ryan, Virginia Chihota, Joy Gregory and William Kentridge made the editions.

What the shop lists

• Joy Labinjo's Girl on the sofa (2025) costs £550, or £495 for members.
• Veronica Ryan's The Smell of Magnolia (2026) costs £2,000, or £1,800 for members.
• Virginia Chihota has a 2026 edition at £350, or £315 for members.
• Joy Gregory's two 2025 editions, Definitely Waving and Explosive Barbie, cost £450 each, or £405 for members.
• William Kentridge's Poetry is Elsewhere (2025) is sold out.

Members pay 10% less on every listed edition, by our sums. The page gives no edition sizes, so ask the gallery how many exist.

The context

The gallery calls the Errantry Fund a philanthropy fund. The fund aims to back artists of the Global South and the diaspora whose work has been neglected. Major shows, books and tours with partner museums are on its list. Édouard Glissant's idea of errantry gave the fund its name. Bimpe Nkontchou, Frank Bowling and Rachel Scott are in its founding circle, with the Ford Foundation.

This year's fair also added a spotlight on Modern artists from Africa and its diaspora. West Wind, a show curated by Nancy Dantas, came with it. Collector Michael Graham-Stuart curated 50:50, a project on artists active from the 1840s to the 1980s. Hassan Hajjaj showed My London Rockstars, portraits of artists, musicians and designers. Touria El Glaoui, the fair's founding director, said the edition places African artists "where they belong".

Our view

We think the shop page and the fund page are worth reading together before you buy.

My bank balance has already voted against the larger frames.

One edition is already sold out, so look sooner rather than later.

What do you think?