Selim Bouafsoun has been amassing his eclectic collection of contemporary art for nearly ten years. The London-based financier—who was born in Tunisia and grew up in Saudi Arabia—began with a focus on geometrical abstraction, inspired by the Islamic art that he was surrounded by in his youth. Today, his holdings have expanded into several “pillars”, including a strand of socially engaged works exploring power structures, such as gender, race, patriarchy, colonialism and more.

Bouafsoun was a co-founder of the charity Nafas Tunis, which raised money for Tunisian hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic. Alongside his collaborations with the London-based Gasworks arts organisation, he also supports the Delfina Foundation and Chisenhale Gallery.

The Art Newspaper: How did your journey into collecting begin?

Selim Bouafsoun: After I bought my first flat, a collector, who was kind of a mentor to me, came over and said, “Very nice, but your walls are empty.” Later, we ended up at [the art fair] Vienna Contemporary, which was my first acquaintance with art professionals, including the team at Dubai’s Carbon 12 gallery. I flew back to Dubai, where I was based, and a person from the gallery was like, “OK, I’m going to suggest works to you and we’re going to keep within a reasonable budget.”

Are there particular types of gallery that you are drawn to?

If you ask me which galleries I’m the closest to in London, it would be Carlos/Ishikawa, for example. It’s galleries that are of my generation. It’s also good to promote the younger galleries; I believe in giving back and helping people get on the wheel.

You have been a patron of several organisations and supported important causes. How has this developed in recent years?

I am affiliated or close with what I call the “holy trinity”, which is Delfina, Gasworks and Chisenhale. But the question that comes at the end of the day is: what do you expect out of all these patronages? Over the past year, I noticed that people are helping their people. And I started reflecting and saying, ‘I’m from Tunisia, I’m from North Africa.’ And I realised that there’s very little patronage work being done. So I’ve partnered with Gasworks to start working on a North Africa residency, which will involve artists based in Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Morocco. I have just organised a research trip to Tunisia [with help from Selma Feriani Gallery], with people from Gasworks, Chisenhale, Ikon Gallery, Triangle Network and Tate.

My patronage or support work began with the charity, Nafas Tunis—Nafas means to breathe in Arabic. Initially it was an initiative that I did during Covid, selling artworks and buying oxygen concentrators and things like that. It worked well, and I kept the name which I hope later on will be the name of a foundation.

What was the last work you bought?

I have this problem where I buy a lot: I’ve bought 17 artworks this year so far. Last week I bought this artist called Alia Ahmad, from Saudi Arabia. It was from this gallery called Lawrie Shabibi in Dubai, which is going to be present at Frieze Masters. I also recently purchased a work by the Chilean artist Johanna Unzueta. And I was in Tunisia three weeks ago, so I bought work by some Tunisian artists such as Nidhal Chamekh.

Are you looking out for anything in particular at Frieze this year?

I go to Frieze every year, and arrive at 11 o’clock, which is important because the good works sell out quickly. There are a few booths that I think are going to be interesting—such as Selma Feriani Gallery’s display of work by Massinissa Selmani, and Savannah Harris at Harlesden High Street—but I always go with the intention of just discovering new artists because that’s what I think art fairs are good for.

What else would you recommend doing or seeing in London during the fair?

I love going to east London. I am excited for Antonio Tarsis’s solo show at Carlos/Ishikawa. Cork Street and the whole area has become really nice: Tiwani Contemporary has a beautiful show of Emma Prempeh, which I look forward to seeing. You have to walk around Fitzrovia, and I would also try to venture into other parts of London, too. Go to see Palmer Gallery in Lisson Grove—they put on good shows.