Poverty is one of the biggest and most complex problems our world currently faces. People living in poverty lack access to resources such as food, education, finance, sanitation and medical care. In short, their basic human needs simply aren’t being met. Fighting poverty is therefore an enormous challenge. And in 2020 it has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
In its latest report, The World Bank says the pandemic, and the global recession that is set to follow, will push an additional 150 million people into extreme poverty by 2021. Where people are suffering, we know we can play an important role by using our force for good.
When it comes to buying African Art on the internet, there are many options you can choose from. If you were looking for a really expensive African Art piece worth more than hundreds of thousands of dollars, this may not be the place for you. But if you are looking for a piece that speaks to you, you've come to the right place.
TingaTinga African Art stands out from the rest of the websites on the internet because of some important reasons:
- TingaTinga African Art is the world's largest African Art marketplace and African print-on-demand studio. We have our own art studio located in Tanzania, East Africa and have been selling African wall art, home décor, apparel, kitchen accessories and other products since 1986 and are home to the work of hundreds of of local talented African artists. With just a few clicks, prospective buyers can buy any African paintings from our website. Tingatinga African Art fulfills each order on behalf of the artists - taking care of the manufacturing process, packaging, shipping and collecting payments from the buyers.
- We are the only African Art gallery in Africa operating large-scale. We have more than 100+ artists who can paint ANYTHING. Nobody on the internet comes close to our level of skills, labor availability and expertise.
- We offer free worldwide shipping to any country on the planet. To date, we have shipped to over thirty countries with professional couriers and have a 100% customer satisfaction rate and a 0% returns. Shipping from Tanzania to any location takes on average 3 to 10 days with professional couriers.
- Unlike other websites that price their African art exorbitantly, we operate under fair trade principles, which means all our artworks are priced fairly. You will not find any website on the internet that prices African art the way we do. Our competitors buy African Art in bulk and keep them in their domiciled countries while we, being located in Tanzania are able to trade and sell them at their most affordable price whilst maintaining their quality.
- We offer options to create a new African art piece just for you or any piece tailored just for you. Any African art piece can be created and commissioned. We have commissioned pieces from photographs, digital prints, JPEGs and PNGs to paintings. "Anything is possible" is our motto. So, if you have any special piece that you'd like to commission, let us know and we will have it brought to life.
- We are committed to creating African Art that has positive impacts not just on our customers and the earth, but on the quality of life of our community. Long neglected by the Western art world, contemporary African art is now at the forefront of the scene. This is a welcome revival, that attracts collectors from all over the world and finally allows African artists to gain their rightful recognition. In a climate of equal appreciation of all cultures, the opening of the art market to African culture was essential. However, it is sometimes difficult for African artists to take off without a means of momentum as institutional art events are rare on the continent. However, new technologies have changed this situation.
- We are the only dedicated African art website offering any payment solution, including Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Bank transfer, Paypal and money orders. We also accept payments by Remitly and Worldremit. Our payment gateway provider is PCI DSS Level 1 Certified and GDPR compliant. We accept xpay for customers also on the DPO network. We also accept payments via UBA Bank's Africash facility or Ecobank's Rapidtransfer for customers in Africa unable to pay by credit card or Mobile Money. Ecobank currently operates in countries in West, Central, East and Southern Africa, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. UBA Bank has banking subsidiaries in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Chad, Cameroon, Kenya, Gabon, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Liberia, Sierra-Leone, Mozambique, Senegal, DR Congo, Congo Brazzaville and Mali. In case you need our products or services but do not have access to a credit card, debit card or Paypal, you can always use Rapidtransfer or Africash provided by these two banks to send funds.
- We also accept Bitcoin and Ethereum, making us one of the few art galleries in Africa that do accept this method of payment.
- We also make it easier for you to find works that reflect your preferences: you’ll receive personalized artwork suggestions, you can view curated artwork selections created by our in-house experts, browse content about your favorite artists, and take advantage of our customer support Advisory, which provides personalized advice throughout the buying process.
- We are the ONLY African art website in the world accepting mobile money payments across the entire African continent for prospective customers in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Malawi, Ghana, Zambia and others using M-Pesa, Airtel Money, tigo pesa and MTN Money.
- We have served many high-profile customers all over the world, including large hotels, national parks, embassies and other companies who were looking for African paintings including Rotana Hotel in Tanzania, the largest five-star hotel here.
- The price of each artwork is set by us and the artist based on various criteria, such as the artist's rating and reputation, the quality of the work, its size, its medium, method of production and so on. This ensures customers are not overcharged for any piece and middlemen are circumvented.
- All our artists are proficiently trained, have many years of experience and are reliable.
- For all our African artworks, you can negotiate the price if you believe it is above your budget. If the price of the work is negotiable, there will be a 'Make an offer' option under the 'Add to cart' button. To submit your offer, you must state the desired amount. Your offer will then be saved and forwarded to us, who reserves the right to accept or reject it. If your offer is rejected, you will not be charged. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
- We seek to build long term relationships with both our African artists we represent and our clients. We spend time getting to know our African artists we represent and we share our knowledge with our clients in the gallery and with wider audiences via artist films and interviews. We understand the importance of finding an African painting that ‘speaks to you’ and we pride ourselves on providing a relaxed and un-pressured gallery environment. We always encourage browsing and taking time to find the right work of African Art, whether this process takes minutes, months, or years.
- Our no-hassle 100% moneyback guarantee is part of every purchase you make, because your satisfaction is of the utmost importance. We always want to be your #1 resource for purchasing fine African art.
- If for any reason you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase within days of receipt of art, we will issue a full refund. If the work arrives and there is any damage please contact us right away. We offer a money back guarantee policy if you are not happy with your African paintings, subject to our guarantee policy.
- We are the only African art store with a brand. We have a history behind our art dating back to the 1900's. Read more about how we got started here.
- We have the largest catalog of African art. Each piece of African art is available in more than five different sizes making the total number of artworks on our website more than a thousand. The possibility is endless. Think about it, any piece can be commissioned and delivered to you free.
- In most countries around the world, Art, specifically those handmade, are exempted from import duty and other taxes and levies. This means that when you import duty into your country, you will receive it DUTY-FREE. Contact us to know if your country qualifies for this 0% rate.
- We developed a creative panel to ensure that our high standards our met with every piece that leaves our gallery. Each painting is vetted by the panel of our most experienced artists through every step of the painting process. They work with the artists to make sure their reproductions match the color, expression and character of the original. And when the artist is creating a new piece, they help ensure that we’ve captured every detail of our customer’s request.
- Our checkout process is easy and straightforward. We use Shopify as our e-commerce platform and DPO as our payment gateway provider. DPO is GDPR compliant offering customers in EU a robust and private payment processor. DPO is Africa's largest payment processor.
- Did you know that Tingatinga African paintings were the inspiration for the BBC's show, Tinga Tinga Tales? It's true! Inspired by traditional African animal folktales and the art of Tanzania, Tinga Tinga Tales opens up a fantastical world of colour, characters and transformation. Produced on location in Kenya by Tiger Aspect Productions in conjunction with Homeboyz Entertainment, the show draws upon the inspiring talent of local artists and musicians and is expertly computer-animated using beautiful, hand-painted imagery. Tinga Tinga Tales was a British–Kenyan flash animated children's television series, based on African folk tales, aimed at 4 to 6-year-olds and that is similar to 64 Zoo Lane, Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies and Funky Valley. It was commissioned by the BBC for its CBeebies channel, and by Disney Channel for its Disney Junior block. The series was first conceived by Claudia Lloyd, head of animation at the London-based Tiger Aspect Productions, while travelling through Africa. The first three episodes premiered on the BBC website in early February 2010. The distribution rights have been bought by Entertainment Rights (which in 2009 merged with Classic Media, then in 2012 it was acquired by DreamWorks Animation and renamed into DreamWorks Classics, and ultimately became the property of Universal Television in 2016). Read more here.
- We can paint any piece on any medium, whether its canvas, wood or even concrete. We are experts in painting murals on walls and have worked with several businesses in Tanzania to facilitate this.
- We are the only African Art company to be featured on some of the largest media companies abroad, including CGTN, CNN, Los Angeles Times and other mainstream publications. We have a built a reputation of quality, trust and exceeding expectations.
- Our packaging materials are made from environmentally sustainable, locally produced paper tubes or PVC materials made right here in Tanzania. This robust construction is built to last. There have been no reports of damaged packages upon delivery.
- We offer free shipping to every corner of the planet, including the most remotest of locations absolutely free. Our paintings are shipped with professional couriers, including DHL, FedEx, EMS and other reputable providers. To date, our delivery rate is 100% with all shipments reaching their intended destination within 14 days subsequent to shipping.
- We offer transparency and invite our customers to rate us on Trustpilot, which hosts reviews of businesses worldwide. Our website has a solid rating on Trustpilot and all our reviews are genuine from real customers.
- Our African Art gallery in Dar es Salaam has a 5 star rating on TripAdvisor making it one of the few art galleries in Africa to have received this rating and accreditation. Our studio in Dar es Salaam has received over 200 five star reviews.
- Our business is one that’s driven by customer recommendations. If you’re merely happy with the work you receive, you may tell a friend. If your expectations are exceeded, you’ll tell everyone about TingaTinga African Art. That’s why, from the materials we use to the artists we employ to the selection we offer, we’re driven to be the best.
We are #1 on the internet, period! Trust us. Each African artwork is custom made by our artisans, whose expert knowledge of materials, technical craftsmanship, and aesthetics guarantees that your work will be skillfully made to the highest museum-grade standards. We can match any price, anywhere, anytime!
