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…
After the liberation and civil rights movements of the mid-century, phrases like “Black is Beautiful” came to epitomise Black empowerment. In recent years, films like Dark Girls (2011), brands like Fenty Beauty and figures like Lupita Nyong’o in Hollywood, Zozibini Tunzi in the pageant world or Anok Yai in fashion have brought more emphasis on…
Big tech’s impact on society is more pronounced than ever and it is said to be successful because it works. Whether it solves industrial, logistical, or biomedical problems, on the surface digital technology is sold as generally good for the future of humanity. To some extent, it is even linked to freedom and prosperity, but…
It was a sad day for the world of art when Carte Blanch released its investigative piece into the state of Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG). The episode revealed that the situation is dire, at best. The structural integrity of the building is below par, with resultant water leaks constantly damaging priceless works of art. Of…
As an insider within the black lesbian community and a visual activist, I want to ensure that my community, especially those lesbian women who come from the marginalized townships, are included in the women’s ‘canon’ – Zanele Muholi Depictions of the duality of love and pain, tenderness and suffering. Captured in the creases of the…
“A visual dissertation, a meditation on time, place, memory and personal history; amalgamating the passage through life and dreams, bridging philosophy, politics and prose. A reflection of my being in abstract form.” – Nkhensani Mkhari on his work. A dreamy reality caked with attention-halting architectural shots, documentary images and glamorous fashion depictions come together to…
Autumnal light cascades through the intersecting branches of a small avenue of plane trees. The occasional hoot peppers the ambient buzzing soundscape of Braamfontein. Adjacent, buildings are covered in corrugated shadow. Tucked away – just off Henri Street – a concrete and steel structure houses Lightfarm: a fine arts and photographic print studio. The space…
The black body is a highly contested terrain that demands serious and complex examination into the lived experience of marginalized people. The Black Portraitures conference III, “a series of conversations about imagining the black body” was held from the 17th till the 19th of November 2016. This event was to be “a forum that [gave]…
The free-standing building is isolated – a visual juxtaposition to the once-high-end and now dilapidated apartments around it. Surrounded by a colourful and bustling city center – it is a relic of a bygone era in Johannesburg. A façade of stone and traditional columns preceded by grand stairs elevate up from the local hustle and…
While it may be true that over the years certain features of the multilayered feminist project have been incorporated into laws and institutional structures, the emergent new wave expands on feminist ideals via new and varied avenues of protest against heteropatriarchal norms and values. In the South African context specifically, and across the globe more…
