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South African Art

latest news & developments

Athenkosi Kwinana

Athenkosi Kwinana creates art that asks people to look again. Her work challenges long-held assumptions about albinism, replacing stereotypes with stories of identity, resilience…

Interpretation: Instead of offering fixed meanings, Bronwyn Katz creates space for conversation between the artwork, the material and the person standing before it. Photo: Supplied

Bronwyn Katz digs beneath the surface to uncover stories held by the land

Bronwyn Katz, the 2026 Standard Bank Young Artist for Visual Arts, creates sculptures and installations that delve into ancestral memory, the history of Kimberley, and the quiet…

Zanele Muholi’s 20-year fight against forgetting

World-renowned visual activist Zanele Muholi's latest solo exhibition, 'Kanye Nawe', opens at Southern Guild Cape Town. The show spans two decades of their practice, including…

Why Muofhe Manavhela wants SA's art world to return to Venda

Artist Muofhe Manavhela is spearheading a movement to reverse the traditional flow of South African art, inviting artists, curators, and cultural enthusiasts to Venda. Her…

Mawande Ka Zenzile’s ‘Indlela Ibuzwa Kwabaphambili’ is an exhibition about listening

There is a Xhosa proverb that says indlela ibuzwa kwabaphambili — the way is asked from those who have gone before. It reminds us that progress is rarely achieved in isolation.…

For the next generation: Derived from the isiXhosa word for “seed”, iMbewu gathers together works produced between 2016 and 2026, alongside three new sculptures. Photos: Supplied

Mthatha-born artist’s exhibition opens in New York this Friday

Mthatha-born ceramic artist Zizipho Poswa is set to open her major survey exhibition, iMbewu (The Seed), at Southern Guild New York. The exhibition traces a decade of her…

Santu Mofokeng Stories: Concert/1988 ©Santu Mofokeng Foundation.

Santu Mofokeng and the dignity of everyday life

Santu Mofokeng's photographs invite viewers to slow down and recognise the humanity of people beyond their circumstances. His work, which challenged conventional struggle…

Mandy Johnston’s latest exhibition uses burning steel wool sculptures and ash paintings to explore ritual, transformation and the transitions that shape our lives

Mandy Johnston burns art to rekindle lost traditions

The Joburg-born artist’s latest exhibition uses burning steel wool sculptures and ash paintings to explore ritual, transformation and the transitions that shape our lives

Outdoor art: Mankebe Seakgoe’s When the Sky Opened Up and Swallowed us Whole (2023), charcoal on canvas.
Photos: Supplied

Outside the white cube, art learns to breathe again

A group exhibition in North West challenged institutional norms, inviting artists and audiences to rethink experimentation, community and artistic freedom

Migrating Homes — Gateways of Our Conventional World by Kibera Arts District. Photo: Anthea Pokroy

‘Atlas of Uncertainty’ reimagines the African city through art and flux

A sprawling exhibition at the Origins Centre challenges colonial narratives and reframes African cities as spaces of resilience, creativity and constant transformation

A chance gallery stop becomes an intimate encounter with Amogelang Maepa’s sensual, emotionally charged exploration of fleeting desire and lasting residue

A ‘One-Night Stand’ with Amogelang Maepa

A chance gallery stop becomes an intimate encounter with Amogelang Maepa’s sensual, emotionally charged exploration of fleeting desire and lasting residue

Facilitating dialogue: The Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg.

Six decades In, Goodman Gallery reflects on its role in art and society

Liza Essers reflects on Goodman Gallery’s legacy, its global ambitions and the challenges of sustaining a space for art, conversation and community

Pablo Picasso’s Buste Modern Style.

When art returns, who does it belong to?

As masterpieces by William Kentridge and Pablo Picasso return to Johannesburg, Homecoming becomes less about art on walls and more about who gets to claim it

A twilight visit to Spier Light Art unfolds into a layered reflection, as two voices capture the power, intimacy and meaning of contemporary South African art

Thando Mama steals the spotlight at Spier Light Art Festival

A twilight visit to Spier Light Art unfolds into a layered reflection, as two voices capture the power, intimacy and meaning of contemporary South African art

Left to right: Elizabeth Fick of Investec,Tristanne Farrell of Investec, Emma Van der merwe of Everard Read and Cumesh Moodliar of Investec next to Warren Maroon’s award-winning piece-Photo by Anton Scholtz

Warren Maroon named emerging artist of the year

Cape Town sculptor Warren Maroon wins the Investec Emerging Artist Award 2026 for ‘Rising Sun’ at the Cape Town Art Fair