David Altman is a South African-born entrepreneur, publisher, and art collector who divides his time between Los Angeles and Cape Town. For over three decades, he has worked at the intersection of trade, culture, education, and creativity—helping shape U.S.–South African relations and elevating contemporary African art on the global stage.

Earlier in his career, David worked as a talent agent in Los Angeles, representing artists, creatives, and cultural innovators. This experience deepened his understanding of storytelling, branding, and international creative exchange—principles that continue to inform his work.

In the early 1990s, he founded South Africa: The Journal of Trade, Industry and Investment to offer global investors and policymakers insights into the country’s post-apartheid economic transformation. Working alongside Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s first democratic government, he played a key role in advancing bilateral trade with the United States. During this period, he also partnered with the U.S. Department of Commerce to launch a landmark “Made in U.S.A.” trade exhibition series in Johannesburg, facilitating more than $3 billion in American exports to the region.

As a collector and cultural advocate, David has long championed African artists—supporting them through residencies, exhibitions, and international partnerships aimed at increasing visibility and opportunity for emerging talent. His current projects continue to weave together business, art, food, wine, and cross-cultural collaboration in new and meaningful ways.

Suzette and Brendon Bell-Roberts are the founders of ART AFRICA, the leading global publication dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora. Through their magazine, the ART AFRICA Foundation, and an expanding residency program, they’ve cultivated essential international networks among artists, curators, and institutions. With regular involvement in major biennales and art events, they bring informed, grounded perspectives to the evolving conversation around African art. Their work uplifts emerging artists, fosters cultural exchange, and plays a key role in shaping how African creativity is perceived and valued worldwide.

Virginia MacKenny is a practicing artist, curator, critic, and professor emeritus at the University of Cape Town. Her research centers on contemporary Southern African art and environmental issues. She has exhibited her work extensively across Southern Africa and has lectured internationally.

Tlalane Lekhanya-Tshikare is a linguist, cross-cultural expert, and Indigenous Knowledge advocate who teaches at the University of Cape Town, where she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. Her research—developed in collaboration with elders from the Maloti Mountains of Lesotho, where she spent much of her childhood—explores the transmission of Indigenous Knowledge. She is also the Managing Director of Zabalazaa Design, where she oversees business operations, studio projects, and collaborative initiatives rooted in cultural storytelling. Tlalane has contributed to acclaimed partnerships with artists such as Atang Tshikare on high-profile projects for Dior Maison and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

India Mandelkern is a historian, writer, and certified sommelier from Los Angeles. A graduate of Middlebury College, she earned her Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Berkeley. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, and her most recent book, Electric Moons, explores the art and politics of public lighting—an inquiry sparked by a Mellon/ACLS postdoctoral fellowship at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She has traveled extensively through the Western Cape and is currently working on a book about wine.