Addis Fine Art
Addis Fine Art is a privately-held contemporary African art gallery representing 20+ Ethiopian and Horn of Africa artists through its Addis Ababa flagship, international art fair participation, and collaborative exhibitions with partner galleries worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Addis Fine Art does
Addis Fine Art is a privately-held contemporary African art gallery founded in January 2016 by Mesai Haileleul and Rakeb Sile, specializing in art from Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa diaspora. The gallery represents 20+ artists spanning first-generation Ethiopian modernists, mid-career contemporary, diaspora, and emerging practitioners, and operates a flagship gallery in Addis Ababa (3rd Floor Wold Fiker Building, Bole Medhane Alem) opened in January 2016. A London presence evolved from a 2016 project space through Cromwell Place (South Kensington, Autumn 2020) to a permanent Fitzrovia gallery in 2021, before that space was closed in June 2024 due to rising overhead costs and market uncertainty for niche galleries. The underlying technology stack is limited to Artlogic CMS for the gallery website and basic email/newsletter tooling; there is no proprietary technology platform or AI capability.
The gallery's core products are artist representation, physical exhibitions, international art fair participation (1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Art Dubai, Frieze London, FNB Joburg Art Fair, Art X Lagos), collaborative exhibitions with partner galleries (Vigo Gallery, CFHILL Art Space, John Martin Gallery), artist publications and catalogues, and video content. Revenue is generated entirely on a commission basis from art sales — a transaction-fee model with no publicly disclosed pricing. Distribution runs through owned gallery spaces (now Addis Ababa-only), international art fairs, and co-exhibited shows with peer galleries. Customer segments are high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutional collectors (museums such as Rubell Museum and Walther Collection Museum have made documented acquisitions). GTM is enterprise/event-driven: art fair booths and curated exhibitions are the primary mechanism for reaching global collectors.
Addis Fine Art firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Addis Fine Art
- Legal name
- Addis Fine Art Limited
- Website
- https://addisfineart.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Addis Fine Art is a privately-held contemporary African art gallery representing 20+ Ethiopian and Horn of Africa artists through its Addis Ababa flagship, international art fair participation, and collaborative exhibitions with partner galleries worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Addis Fine Art industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Contemporary African Art Gallery
- NAICS
- Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH)
Keywords
Where Addis Fine Art is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Addis Fine Art business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Art sales and commissions: Gallery earns revenue through commissions on sales of artworks by represented artists. Collectors purchase directly through the gallery or at art fairs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Art sales through gallery |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Addis Fine Art product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Addis Fine Art is a contemporary African art gallery specializing in art from Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa diaspora, operating physical exhibition spaces and selling artworks on commission from represented artists. The gallery represents over 20 artists across modernist, contemporary, diaspora, and emerging categories, hosting solo and group exhibitions in Addis Ababa and previously London, and participating in major international art fairs including 1-54, Art Dubai, Frieze London, FNB Joburg Art Fair, and Art X Lagos.
Product overview
Addis Fine Art operates as a unified gallery brand offering artist representation, physical exhibition spaces in Addis Ababa and London, international art fair participation, artist publications and catalogues, and video content production. The gallery's core offering centers on exhibiting and promoting contemporary artists from Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa diaspora through its gallery spaces, digital presence, and participation in major international art fairs including 1-54, Art Dubai, and Frieze London.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Addis Fine Art Gallery Exhibitions Physical gallery exhibitions showcasing contemporary art from Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa diaspora, including solo and group shows featuring represented and visiting artists. Operated from the flagship Addis Ababa location at 3rd Floor Wold Fiker Building, Bole Medhane Alem, with a former permanent London space in Fitzrovia (opened 2021, closed June 2024).
- Artist Representation Full-service representation of contemporary artists from Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, including promotion through exhibitions at gallery spaces, international art fairs (1-54, Art Dubai, Frieze London, FNB Joburg Art Fair, Art X Lagos), and collaborative exhibitions with partner galleries. Roster spans 20+ artists across Modernists, Contemporary (mid-career), Diaspora, and Emerging categories.
- Artist Publications and Catalogues
Quantifiable outcome
- First Ethiopia representation at Venice Biennale (2024)
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Addis Fine Art
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Addis Fine Art technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Addis Fine Art partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.
- CFHILL Art SpacemajorPartnership for From Modern to Contemporary exhibition (June-August 2021) featuring 19 artists from Horn of Africa and diaspora in Stockholm. First major survey exhibition of this region in Scandinavia.
- Vigo GallerymajorJoint exhibition partnership for Tadesse Mesfin's 'Where We Coalesce' (September-November 2024), shown simultaneously at Vigo Gallery London and Addis Fine Art Addis Ababa.
- John Martin GalleryminorJoint exhibition collaboration featuring Adiskidan Ambaye in group show (September 2024) following Addis Fine Art London closure.
- 1-54 Contemporary African Art FaircoreRegular participant at 1-54 London (2017, 2019, 2024) and planning return for October 2024. Premier platform for African contemporary art.
- Art DubaicoreMultiple participations at Art Dubai (2019, 2020, 2021, fourth time in 2021). Key regional art fair for Middle East market access.
- Frieze LondoncoreGallery represented at Frieze London with booth including Helina Metaferia's first London exhibition (2023). Premier international art fair.
- FNB Joburg Art FaircoreParticipant at Africa's premium visual art event (2018, multiple years). Represents Ethiopian artists at key continental art market event.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Addis Fine Art competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Jack Shainman Gallery: New York gallery with deep contemporary African and African diaspora representation (incl. long-running programs with artists like El Anatsui and Dawit Petros). Compares on the diaspora artist pipeline and on US institutional collector outreach that Addis Fine Art similarly cultivates.
- Vigo Gallery: London gallery focused on contemporary art from Africa and the diaspora. Directly comparable as a co-exhibition partner (Tadesse Mesfin's 'Where We Coalesce' 2024) and a London-based specialist competing for the same collector and artist pool.
- Goodman Gallery: Leading contemporary African art gallery with locations in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and London. Directly comparable: similar focus on canonical and contemporary African artists, similar fair- and institutional-driven distribution, and overlapping collector base across Africa, Europe, and the US.
- Tiwani Contemporary: London-based gallery representing contemporary African and diaspora artists. Closely comparable as a London-anchored specialist with overlapping roster positioning, fair participation, and HNW diaspora collector focus.
- Stevenson Gallery: Cape Town- and Johannesburg-based contemporary African art gallery with a strong international fair presence (Frieze, 1-54, Art Basel). Directly comparable as a specialist in contemporary African art with similar artist-development orientation and institutional collector relationships.
- CFHILL Art Space: Stockholm-based contemporary African art platform. Directly comparable: partnered with Addis Fine Art on the 2021 'From Modern to Contemporary' survey, similar niche focus on African contemporary artists, similar institutional programming model.
Emerging players
- Gallery 1957: Accra- and London-based contemporary African art gallery. Compares as a younger, Africa-anchored gallery pursuing similar London market entry and participating in the same African-art fair circuit.
Broad incumbents
- Saatchi Yates: London mega-gallery with a strong contemporary and emerging-artist program. Comparably relevant as a co-representation partner for Tesfaye Urgessa during Venice Biennale 2024 — illustrating how African art-focused galleries increasingly co-list breakout artists with larger incumbents.
- Gagosian: World's largest commercial gallery with selective but meaningful contemporary African programming. Relevant as the upper bound of gallery scale and a competitor at the very top of the African contemporary price ladder.
- Galleria Continua: Global mega-gallery with multi-location contemporary and African art programming. Relevant as a broader incumbent that competes for top collectors and museum commissions and provides a benchmark for international gallery scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Addis Fine Art social profiles
Digital presenceAddis Fine Art financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Addis Fine Art leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Addis Fine Art funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Addis Fine Art M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Addis Fine Art
What does Addis Fine Art do?
Addis Fine Art is a contemporary African art gallery specializing in art from Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa diaspora, operating physical exhibition spaces and selling artworks on commission from represented artists. The gallery represents over 20 artists across modernist, contemporary, diaspora, and emerging categories, hosting solo and group exhibitions in Addis Ababa and previously London, and participating in major international art fairs including 1-54, Art Dubai, Frieze London, FNB Joburg Art Fair, and Art X Lagos.
Is Addis Fine Art a public or private company?
Addis Fine Art is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Addis Fine Art founded?
Addis Fine Art was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Addis Fine Art based?
Addis Fine Art is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Addis Fine Art make money?
One revenue line is on record: art sales and commissions.
Who are Addis Fine Art's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Jack Shainman Gallery, Vigo Gallery, Goodman Gallery, Tiwani Contemporary, Stevenson Gallery and CFHILL Art Space. Gallery 1957 is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Saatchi Yates, Gagosian and Galleria Continua.
Does Addis Fine Art have an API?
No public API is recorded for Addis Fine Art.
What industry is Addis Fine Art in?
Addis Fine Art's product category is Contemporary African Art Gallery. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJADAH, Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit). Its NAICS code is 7121.