Interest in African art is growing in the US and Europe, pushing the prices up for the market in western countries.
The increasing demand has made more creations from South Africa, Senegal and Ghana appear on the global market.
The international art auctioneers Bonhams has sold more than $60m-worth of South African art in London over the past nine years.
Most contemporary African art is sold for between $7,000 and $70,000.
However, experts say that only five percent of the African artists produce art that is commercially viable.
Al Jazeera's Fahmida Miller reports from Johannesburg.
