Athi Mongezeleli Joja

Athi Mongezeleli Joja is an art critic based in Johannesburg, South Africa. A member of the art collective Gugulective, he is currently studying toward his MFA at the University of the Witswatersrand on the critical practice of late critic Colin Richards. His writing has appeared in publications such as The Mail and Guardian, Art Throb, Contemporary And (C&), Chimurenga Chronic, and Africanah.

Pretensions of fighting for the oppressed and the totality of white power

Article Athi Mongezeleli Joja - 17 Apr 2020

We should be wary of taking theories of commitment and agency as self-evident; we should instead question their unspoken assumptions as we also question the motivations attendant to them

Drawing lines in art and politics

Article Athi Mongezeleli Joja - 13 Dec 2019

Judy Ann Seidman’s retrospective shows the complicity of antiblack racism in the white left

A Black Aesthetic lacks rigour

Article Athi Mongezeleli Joja - 5 Apr 2019

A Black Aesthetics as being uninventive and politically questionable

Fictive world is not escapist

Article Athi Mongezeleli Joja - 15 Feb 2019

Simphiwe Ndzube’s solo show in Cape Town offers no easy answers to deracinated utopias

Psychology of colour, texture

Article Athi Mongezeleli Joja - 18 Jan 2019

There is much more to the way Jody Paulsen uses his palette in ‘Water Me’

Ngobeni’s beautiful nightmare

Article Athi Mongezeleli Joja - 23 Nov 2018

The artist says our errors may give us the wisdom needed to confront these difficult times

Art and politics: Blessing Ngobeni brings us back to the reality

Article Athi Mongezeleli Joja - 5 Aug 2015

Despite seeming flamboyant or childlike, the artist's latest exhibition As If You Care tackles pertinent issues and shows his penchant for politic.

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Athi-Patra Ruga’s latest art shows ‘Azania’ without a purpose

Article Athi Mongezeleli Joja - 21 Jul 2015

Athi-Patra Ruga's National Arts Festival show brings to mind a neo-avant-gardist catwalk display or an opening act for Lady Gaga, writes Athi Joja.

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Simon Gush: Images, words and sounds expound on the global work ethic

Article Athi Mongezeleli Joja - 9 Jun 2015

Simon Gush’s latest exhibition interrogates the central role played by work in the construction and perception of our identities.

Writing’s on the wall for Robin Rhode

Article Athi Mongezeleli Joja - 1 Apr 2015

Now based in Berlin, South Africa’s ‘poet of street art’ is back home with an exhibition that signals his intent to keep ‘flipping’ the art world.

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Story of destruction told through photos of eerie beauty

Article Athi Mongezeleli Joja - 23 Mar 2015

Photographer Cedric Nunn's travelling exhibition puts the spotlight on the South Africa's past that's been neglected, distorted or forgotten.

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Artist Kemang wa Lehulere’s journey through relics and erasures

Article Athi Mongezeleli Joja - 29 Jan 2015

Many of Kemang wa Lehulere’s signature items are present in his latest show, giving it a sense of being ongoing and transmuting.

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Press Releases

Special Reports

Request for Quotation for Benguela Current Convention Secretariat

special reports - 19 Sep 2020

A chartered aircraft for an aerial survey and counting software for cape fur seals and seabirds in Angola, Namibia and South Africa is required

Special Reports

Fifteen additional speakers for SingularityU SA Online Summit 2020

special reports - 18 Sep 2020

SingularityU hosts global line-up with an extra 15 speakers to address thought-provoking topics to help solve the world's grand challenges

Special Reports

Recyling water and waste management

special reports - 18 Sep 2020

One solution to South Africa's water shortage is to install infrastructure that will save rainwater from run-off into the stormwater system

Special Reports

Covid-19 and CVD: The heart in the time of crisis

special reports - 18 Sep 2020

The pandemic has been a time of great humility for health workers and tactics have had to be changed if they weren’t working

Special Reports

POPIA: it’s not as scary as you think

special reports - 16 Sep 2020

Companies that get proactive about compliance are creating huge strategic advantages for themselves — they are able to reduce operational costs

Special Reports

CUT declared as medium risk

special reports - 15 Sep 2020

‘Our major challenge at the university is the access to appropriate technology and internet connectivity for our students’

Special Reports

Headline Speakers announced for SingularityU SA Online Summit 2020

special reports - 12 Sep 2020

SingularityU announces multi-national line up with world-renowned speakers addressing ground-breaking topics to solve the global grand challenges

Special Reports

JSE lists two new global ETFs

special reports - 11 Sep 2020

'Impact investing has become increasingly topical and for us to provide investors with access to sustainable investment options is a key focus'