Iyo Bisseck is at the intersection of technology and creativity, redefining digital landscapes and challenging the exclusionary narratives that have marginalized diverse voices. As an interaction designer, programmer, and artist, Bisseck exemplifies technology’s potential as both an artistic medium and a vehicle for social change. While the tech industry has historically reinforced colonial and patriarchal…
Traces in the Still Air, an installation by Lerato Motaung transliterates the unseen space grief and loss occupy in the recesses of memory as a new identity is carooned. This is the first installation-based exhibition from the artist whose artistic practice continues to examine interplays between individual and collective stories and is centrally concerned with…
Every art show has a press release that isn’t far behind, oftentimes both arrive together, either in a perfunctory email or at the space itself. When it came to Kapwani Kiwanga’s ‘Rudiments’ presentation at Goodman Gallery, however, this piece of paper was rather moot, largely because there wasn’t anything in it that the show, itself,…
Goodman Gallery prides itself on its unmatched stable of international artists. Recently, the leading gallery boasted Light Blue Violet, a solo exhibition by ruby onyinyechi amanze, an artist who divides her time between Philadelphia and Brooklyn, USA, considering multiple locations as home. The Johannesburg show was typically well attended. As visitors stepped into the space…
Opening on the 1st of September at Umhlabathi Collective, Ngiyobona Phambili, meaning “I (*will) see ahead,” marked Mlangeni’s return to the South African art scene after six years abroad. Featuring mostly landscape photographs taken between 2010 and 2020, the exhibition uncovered works that had previously languished in the dark—shining light on the lasting impact of…
Curating an exhibition, especially one as layered as Ngiyobona (sometimes *Ngiyabona) Phambili by Sabelo Mlangeni at Umhlabathi Collective, is as much a conversation as it is a craft. During a one on one walkabout with Kamogelo Walaza, the curator of the show, I encountered not only the logistical intricacies behind the exhibit but also reflections…
Opening days before Heritage Day, celebrating 30 years of South African democracy, We, The Purple at The Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria plays on Pretoria’s brand as the “Jacaranda City”, reflecting on events like #FeesMustFall and the 1989 “purple rain protest,” with themes of protest, identity, and land rights. In part thanks to…
Thanks to the support of Southern Guild, David Krut Bookshop, and Jonathan Ball Publishers the event, which took place on August 21, 2024, at Mamakashaka, Braamfontein included a conversation between the famous photographer Zanele Muholi and cultural theorist Ashraf Jamal. The occasion was to launch Muholi’s Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness, Volume II, which…
Vele everyone knows that kuyanyiwa emjolweni and Amaxelegu, directed by award-winning performer, theater-maker and activist Qondiswa James, is for those yearning for a piece specifically about the treachery of situationships in SA. A provocative play that took place at The Market Theatre in August 2024, thanks to the Market Theatre’s Play Development Programme, under Artistic…
As the 17th edition of FNB Art Joburg loomed upon us, the notion of obsession densely lingered in my mind. I’ve been influenced to know obsession as being negatively manic but time and observation has pointed to how it can serve as a powerful and positive force in the realm of artistic expression. When channelled…
For many, the art fair officially opened last night. For others, it’s today, but for the lucky few, art week has already been in full swing, with galleries vying for the viewer’s attention and only the strongest succeeding. Founded by painter Banele Khoza in 2018, BKhz Gallery, which began as a personal studio has triumphantly…
Reeling from the maddening maelstrom of this menacing city, I found myself waiting at Father Coffee in Rosebank, with enough time to feel reasonably ready to meet one of its most influential characters. I knew who he was, but now for a few moments, I had a chance to know him. Mandla Sibeko, the director and…
