Beyond Acquisitions: A Collaborative Vision

‍Beyond Acquisitions: A Collaborative Vision

In conversation with ARAK founder AbdulRahman AlKhelaifi

‍By Nneoma Okorie 

“My approach to collecting came naturally. It is borne out of a genuine curiosity and interest in a culture and region that felt close, yet far away. This approach led me to be open to all that African art had to offer at the time I started collecting. I asked questions, visited artist studios, galleries, and art fairs. I had conversations with the artists, makers of some of the art that is now part of the ARAK Collection. These questions led to answers that shaped the way the ARAK Collection functions today, which is with a mindset of giving back first. Our mission at ARAK is led by the ethical imperative to be an education platform on African art, through our fellowship programs, workshops, and publications which highlight the rich and varied history and cultural impact of African art, regionally and globally.” 

This was the answer to what was perhaps the third question I posed to AbdulRahman AlKhelaifi, founder and owner of the ARAK Collection. It was a question loosely alternating between ethical concerns—why an African Art Collection was important to him, and of course, its intended impact. 

When I sat with AlKhelaifi to have this conversation, it was ahead of the development of a definitive book on the ARAK Collection, and it was unclear what format was fitting, or what shape the interview would take at the time. What questions could reveal who he is first as a collector – to paint a comprehensive, yet incomplete profile of the man behind the collection. This story began with a 15-day trip via the Rovos Rail from Dar es Salaam to Cape Town, where AbdulRahman AlKhulafi first developed an interest in African art.

The ARAK Collection is a story that is still being formed, worlds still becoming through all of ARAK’s programmes, AlKhelaifi unending ideas and fecund imagination. He tells this story from the beginning, pining on years, cities and chance meetings, but I lay bare these journeys in clusters – first artwork, first studio visit, the earliest elation amongst other things – as this is often the precursor to how things continue to shape and are reshaped, hedged off in between these intuitive cycles of movements across borders. Despite efforts to convey it in text, this account fails to capture the earnestness that comes off strongly as he speaks. 

What comes first? What informs his thinking when he acquires an artwork? For AlKhelaifi, it began with what he liked. He had always been an art enthusiast. He had been to art fairs in Hong Kong, Basel, Miami, and London, but it wasn't until 2017 that he started collecting African Art. 

“The colors, objects, and themes were different,” he says. In 2017, he visited the Cape Town Art Fair for the first time and was introduced to artists from all over the continent. His first acquisitions were from Addis Ababa based artists, Girma Berta and Leikun Nahusenay. He soon started to put together the collection, and commissioned a few pieces. From then on, he kept going to art fairs, like 1:54 and AKAA, soaking in all that was presented. He also made a trip to Paris Photo when AKAA teamed up with them. Now, every October, it has become a tradition to visit 1:54, and then hop on a train to Paris to check out AKAA and Paris + to see what is new. He is not one to follow trends, nor is he easily swayed by popular opinion. 

My questions to him led to considered responses, and what I find in the end, is that this is not merely a window into the man, but also his ambition as he circles back to trace his relentless pursuits. Collecting is so often the preoccupation of status, wealth, materialistic desires and possession. Here, however, there is a lingering impression that beneath these pursuits remain possibilities, a consideration, and a push-and-pull engagement devoid of self-importance. Working with AlKhelaifi, I understand what is increasingly important to the collection – to contribute to the art community, and the knowledge exchange that is already happening on the continent. 

How might a collection of works from the continent reclaim narratives long relegated to the ‘margins of history’? When does it become an institution and whom does it serve? What does it delineate beyond a heterogeneous selection of artworks? In this collection, and at its central point, is the interpretation and reinterpretation of how the artists are reclaiming spaces, identities and stories, while breathing new life into forgotten myths. Often, it is also the exercise of drawing connections of the social and political climates that have influenced certain artistic themes and production. A good number of artworks in the collection offer a vantage point from which the artists draw inspiration. As a character in Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah puts it:

‍The story is our escort; without it we are blind. Does the blind own his escort? No, neither do we the story; rather it is the story that owns us and directs us. It is the thing that makes us different from cattle; it is the mark on the face that sets one people apart from their neighbors. 

For myself, and other curators and writers who, through the ARAK Collection fellowship programmes have explored versions of this contemporaneity—these practices are presented alongside each other, and in the end, articulate the multiplicities of artistic visions and perspectives represented within the collection. The ARAK fellowships began in 2020. AlKhelaifi had been collecting, but had no space to store these works. Some of them were in storage. Some of them were hanging around his home. In 2019, together with a friend of his, they came up with a name for the collection, ARAK—AbdulRahman AlKhelaifi, his family name. 

“And later we thought, why don't we develop a fellowship programme?” he says. The fellowship programme started with four curators: Sarah Abdu Bushra from Ethiopia, Fulufhelo Mobadi from South Africa, Favour Ritaro from Nigeria, and Abdel Rahiem Faisal from Sudan. At the time, the fellowship was fully online because of COVID. Since then, many curators and art writers have passed through the programme, including E.N Mirembe, Barnabas Ticha Muvhuti, Jamil Osmar (Parasol), from countries including Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Angola. 

“I'm all about what I genuinely like and what complements my own vision of African art. My main goal? To support emerging artists, plain and simple. I want to see them thrive, so I always encourage them to pursue their passion full-time. That is why ARAK is interested in these engagements with curators and art writers—It is all about building that community. And our publication? That is the heart of it all. It is how we document everything, from the artists to the curators, and share unbridled perspectives on contemporary African art.”

“In 2018, I was with my family on a summer vacation in Cape Town, and when they flew back home, I went to Nairobi to visit a couple of studios. It was the first experience for me to go into a studio to look at pieces. It was also my first time going to the Joburg Art Fair. In the same year, I got the chance to visit some galleries in Johannesburg, too. One of the owners of these galleries was too kind to take me to August House and Bag Factory to see the studios. It was the same in Kampala, the first time too. It was a fantastic journey to see how the artists practice and make such beautiful pieces. You know, you always look at the artworks, the galleries, art institutions, but looking at it from the studio perspective is always different. When you visit the studio you learn a lot about the artist, how he practices, how he does his things, how he tries to bring new ideas, new innovations of his pieces around paper, the canvases, the installations, the sculptures and others,” AlKhelaifi reflects. 

There has also been a shift in taste, as AlKhelaifi has continued to visit artist studios, galleries, and art fairs. This exposure to seeing more artworks has broadened his selection and diversified what is available in the collection. While there have been significant changes in his selections since he started collecting, his focus remains on contemporary African Art and its depth. 

The collection might appear skewed to Southern African art, but this wasn't a deliberate decision. South Africa was the first place that AlKhelaifi started collecting African art. In 2017, he visited Nairobi, Kampala, and Khartoum. For four days in Khartoum, he was immersed in the city’s art scene. In the same year, he visited the Joburg Art Fair. The galleries in these cities predominantly showcased and represented artists from Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia, and South Africa, naturally leading to the inclusion of Southern African artists in the collection. 

“It wasn't made on purpose, it goes with my journey of collecting pieces from the continent. And on the other side of buying art, our collection tries to diversify our selection of buying art or purchasing artworks directly from the artists or art dealers, galleries, art fairs and sometimes from auction houses. For example, at the Olympia auction in Britain, we bought artworks from a Nigerian and Tanzanian artists; Ufuoma Onobrakpeya, George Lilanga, and Mohamed Charinda. I bought works for the first time from a Cameroonian artist, Ajarb Bernard Ategwa in March at Bonhams and Zemba Luzamba, a Congolese artist from Strauss & Co. in South Africa. This has really given us the edge to have more artworks across the continent from different sources,” he says.

What is common in AlKhelaifi’s stories is the exploration of these cities, visiting artist studios, residencies, learning methods of practice, and artistic styles—building strong connections along the way, and also to see new works from the artists already in the collection. Despite these visits being majorly referential, AlKhelaifi does his own research online. These visits were interrupted during the pandemic when he stayed in Doha for two years, with a halt to his travels. In 2023, driven by an insatiable curiosity, he was back at the Cape Town Art Fair. 

“I visited three cities before going to Cape Town. Gaborone (Botswana), Luanda (Angola), and Windhoek (Namibia). It was my first time in these cities, except for Botswana, which I had crossed with the train. It was my first art tour on the continent. I commissioned a few artists in Kampala. It was very helpful and very, how can I say it, enriching to the collection and to the artists,” says AlKhelaifi.

Despite not having a large space to hold these artworks, and also with a view to present exhibitions, AlKhelaifi stays committed to collecting from the artists he is drawn to. Sometimes, he buys more than 10 of these works at a time, a gesture which is less about his preoccupations, but more about setting the stage for emerging artists to be shown (in both solo shows and group exhibitions), known, and to be written about. To also give the chance to art writers, curators, and researchers to engage with a variety of works from these artists in the collection. 

As we start to wrap up our conversation, AlKhelaifi mentions a triangle that holds ARAK’s goals and frames its objectives. “Acquiring an emerging artist’s work, bringing on board curators, art writers, and closing the triangle with publishing. As I have mentioned before, ARAK started seven years ago. Today, the collection has works from 27 countries, with more than 300 artists for the collection, and 4,000-plus artworks. I believe this is a legacy of an African collection, not for me, a guy collecting African art to present it here in Qatar, and to the world, no, I believe it is for the continent. It is really an interesting story to tell, for people to see what kind of collection it is, who is behind it, what is there, what can be seen. And I believe it will continue to grow in the coming years with more artists, more cities, more mediums, and more fellows, from curators to art writers. The collection is honoured to have a prestigious Advisory board including Heba Elkayal, Ashraf Jamal, Sven Christian, Tandazani Dhlakama, and Thembinkosi Goniwe, who continue to shape up the fellowship programme.”

‍