Born in Gqeberha and brought up among black South African cultural icons, Anelisa Mangcu’s life has been steeped in the transformative power of art. From supper- club salons in New Brighton to curatorial breakthroughs in Cape Town, the 33-year-old has carved a space in the South African visual arts scene. Founder of Under the Aegis, Anelisa plays a dual role as gallerist and curator, bridging commerce and scholarship to spotlight emerg- ing Africans. In 2024, her gallery won the Lexus Critics’ Choice Award and Best Stand Audience Award at RMB Latitudes Art Fair, and debuted Billie Zangewa’s institutional solo exhibition at the Norval Foundation. With a BA in creative brand communications (Vega School) and honours in curatorship (UCT), Anelisa’s academic and creative practices intersect with identity politics and postcolonial critique. She serves on boards including Victory of the Word, Art School Africa, and Soho House Cities Without Houses South Africa, advancing access and artistic exchange across borders. Her leadership builds spaces where African creativity thrives. Anelisa believes art is activism and inquiry that shapes identity, fuels healing and transforms society. She calls on the government to treat the arts as an economic force, advocating for funding, tax reform and business training for artists.
I have come to realise that we are often presented with polished, heavily edited versions of people’s origin stories — the “come up” narratives that smooth over the struggle and sanitise the mess. The first has a way of blurring memory; once people arrive at their destination, they often forget the rawness, the despair, the moments when things truly fell apart. But it is in those unfiltered moments — unseen, uncelebrated — that the most transformative growth occurs. For me, the real magic lies not in grand narratives of triumph, but in the quiet, complex humanity of the individuals I encounter. I seek out the brilliance in everyday people — not as potential protégés, not to cast myself in the role of mentor or role model — but because there is something radical and deeply human in simply seeing and being seen. In choosing presence over pedestal, conversation over instruction, I find a deeper kind of connection — one that honours vulnerability as much as vision.