The Pan African Market

Beadwork for sale at the Pan African Market

© Dianne Tipping-Woods

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The Pan African Market is a dynamic space that reflects the changing array of artists whose work fills the three-story building in the heart of Cape Town.

This African craft market is well into its second decade and is the largest indoor African Art Market in South Africa.  It attracts artists and entrepreneurs from West, sub-Saharan and southern Africa with its reputation as a melting-pot of African craft and culture; and a breeding ground for new talent.

The rooms are filled with a mixture of old and new arts and crafts, as well as the studios of the individuals who produce them. This means that a visit to the market is a chance to buy original work, as well meet the person who created it. The artists are often happy to tell you about themselves, their cultures and the art they produce.

On one floor, you'll find colourful decorative and functional items made from just about any material you can imagine - tin, metal, glass, plastic, wire and fabric. A second floor is filled with drums, masks, wooden carvings, stone sculptures, figurines and paintings in oil, watercolour and acrylics. A third floor houses tailors who will sew something for you while you wait, hairdressers specialising in braids, an African restaurant and a range of other entrepreneurs.

In fact, the manifesto of this South African flea market values job creation and encourages the growth of small businesses linked to the arts. With this positive approach, the Pan African Market has given many small businesses in the Craft Sector a platform for their work.

Today, the market helps support a network of crafters and artists who produce work in townships and villages around the country. The use the space, business, training and shipping facilities provided by the market to cater to corporate clients that they would otherwise be able to do business with.