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. Southern Guild nurtures new talent through educational projects, talks and its own GUILD Residency programme. 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, Denver Art Museum and National Gallery of Victoria, among others.