The African Art Centre, located in The Tourist Junction in central Durban, is a non profit organisation founded in 1960 to promote the work of the black artists and craftspeople in KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa. For foreign tourists it opens a window onto a wide spectrum of art produced by black South Africans. Works range from serious to playful and colourful. It is a perfect place to purchase a memento of South Africa that is both unique and authentic. In addition to the general art shop the centre also hosts temporary exhibitions by selected artists.

The centre's focus on black artists was shaped against the backdrop of Apartheid South Africa in which the existence of black artists was neither acknowledged nor encouraged. It has a long history of developmental work. Involvement in community art and crafts projects, training workshops and exhibitions to promote individual and community groups are some of the activities, which are continuous. The African Art Centre functions, not only as a cultural centre, but also as a viable outlet for approximately 300 artists/craftspeople to sell their work and where they can learn realistic marketing trends and pricing.

The Centre aims to:

• provide an outlet for the promotion and sale of quality fine art and craft that is creative and original
• to nurture and promote young and emerging artists and craftspeople, by accessing funding for training, development, exhibitions and competitions
• assist individuals and organisations to become self-supporting through their art and craft
• provide a forum for the interchange of ideas between artists and craftspeople, the public and The African Art Centre
• collect and document fine art, artifacts of national significance and to provide biographical information about the artists and craftspeople, for research purposes

(...some of the above information adapted from The African Art Centre's website).