In celebration of South Africa’s jazz heritage, the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO), in collaboration with the ZAR Jazz Orchestra led by celebrated South African trumpeter, conductor and SAMA Award-winner, Marcus Wyatt, will be presenting the Symphonic Jazz Concert. The concert takes place on Thursday 21
Nosiviwe Matikinca (22), a third year student from Gqeberha, has been announced as the winner of the 2023 Sasol New Signatures Art Competition. Matikinca walks away with a cash prize of R100 000 and an opportunity to have a solo exhibition at the Pretoria Art
Now in its 26th year, the annual Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) Awards are a testament to the power of forging connections between the seemingly disparate domains of business and the arts. For the first time since Covid-19, a live announcement of the 48
The winner of the 2022 Sasol New Signatures Art Competition, Mondli Mbhele, will hold his first solo exhibition, Ingoma Yothando, alongside the Sasol New Signatures 2023 exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum from 7 September to 29 October 2023. Hailing from Cato Manor, Durban, Mbhele’s
July in Johannesburg is still stubbornly committed to winter and so, weaning myself off the performance high that was the National Arts Festival in June, I spend most of the month seeking refuge in the city’s galleries, theatres, make-shift museums, and malls-turned-art-fairs. *** The city
Within the walls of the idyllic NWU Botanical Gardens Gallery at the North-West University’s Potchefstroom Campus rests an exhibition of works by Joe Turpin titled When the Dust Settles, an exploration of memories, loss and mourning. When the Dust Settles opens the door to, not
The research entity Visual Narratives and Creative Outputs (ViNCO) at North-West University (NWU) recently announced the opening of an exhibition titled Stairways and Ruins, hosted at the NWU Gallery in Potchefstroom. The exhibition comprises installations, paintings, and moving images by 23 established and emerging artists,
After a vigorous selection process, in which an esteemed selection committee cast their votes for the 12 ANNA Award 2023 finalists, the jury is out. Nada Baraka, an Egyptian artist based in Cairo, is the 2023 ANNA Award recipient. Baraka makes paintings that maintain an
2023 Cassirer Welz Award recipient, Bulumko Mbete, currently has a solo exhibition on at the Bag Factory Artists’ Studios titled I’ve known rivers. On Saturday, 5 August, the artist will host a walkabout from 12:00 to 13:00 at the studios in Newtown. In the past
The regional judging phase of the highly anticipated Sasol New Signatures Art Competition 2023 has concluded across South Africa. A total of 765 entries were submitted nationwide. Out of these submissions, 118 exceptional works have been selected to proceed to the final round of judging,
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) recently announced the opening of two new exhibitions titled Past Disquiet and Seismography of Struggle: Towards a Global History of Critical and Cultural Journals. Accompanying the opening is a symposium titled The Poetics and Politics of Archival Practice and a book
Networks of care will converge and entangle at the Origins Centre, Wits University, during Johannesburg-based artist Bev Butkow’s upcoming solo exhibition titled re-weaving m/other, which will run from 20 August until 30 September 2023. These networks of care raise questions around collective knowledge, co-existence, materiality,
ANNA and Latitudes, two female-centric South African brands, have come together once again to discover, recognise and nurture a new generation of women artists. In its second year, the ANNA Award has extended participation beyond South African borders to include entries from the broader African
In a bold affirmation to its on-going commitment to education, Strauss & Co recently announced the launch of a comprehensive new book and exhibition devoted to the sculptors Sydney Kumalo and Ezrom Legae. Published by Strauss & Co on a not-for-profit basis, The Sculptures of
The post-Festival blues are still with me. This year’s National Arts Festival was one for the books, and a gorgeous reminder of the enduring ability of the arts to tell stories, to heal, to highlight and hold. This was my 10th year covering the Festival.
Close to midnight on the last night of the 2023 National Arts Festival (NAF), the Festival and its partner, Standard Bank, held a ceremony to recognise the shows that stood out on the NAF’s Fringe programme this year. Winners in the Standard Bank Ovation Gold,
The MTN Foundation, Modern Art Projects South Africa (MAPSA) and the Ruach Elohim Church have once again come together to commemorate and congregate on 16 June in the rural town of Richmond, Northern Cape, in celebration of Youth Day. This year, the MTN Foundation and
Milisuthando is a debut feature length documentary film by Milisuthando Bongela. Taking the form of a personal essay, it’s an intimate story about family and ancestors, about “inside apartheid’s experiment” and negotiating the complex world of post-apartheid South Africa. Bongela, born in 1985, offers a
The Joburg Contemporary Art Foundation (JCAF) has announced its latest exhibition, Otherscapes. The exhibition, opening to the public on 28 June 2023, features the works of four contemporary South African artists: Siemon Allen, Wim Botha, Nicholas Hlobo and Sethembile Msezane. Otherscapes proposes surveying the scene
The Turbine Art Fair (TAF) is headed into its second decade, and is celebrating this milestone with a move to its new home. The art fair takes place at Hyde Park Corner this year from 27 to 30 July 2023. TAF has become known as
In many ways, the Fringe programme is the beating heart of the National Arts Festival (NAF). It’s where works are debuted, ideas are tested, reviews are garnered, and awards are won. It’s where some of South Africa’s best-known theatre-makers have started out, and where they
“It really is fine art,” enthuses the gentleman talking my friend and I through a series of artworks exhibited in Samsung Art Frame TVs. I’m not sure why he’s telling us this. We didn’t suggest that the digital portraits and landscapes squirming around in their
So, you’re making the trip down to Makhanda for the National Arts Festival. You’re ready to brave the cold, the potholes and the donkeys for the unique experience of stepping into a university theatre or an otherwise ordinary venue in an otherwise ordinary town, that’s
Patrick Rulore, winner of the prestigious Sasol New Signatures Art Competition in 2019, has shared the impact that the competition has had on his life and career. Since his victory, Rulore‘s career has experienced a significant boost, affirming his artistic journey and providing him with
With the 2023 National Arts Festival kicking off in less than a month, you should have already started browsing through the extensive offering of theatre, visual art, dance, jazz, performance art, live music and more. But if it’s all a bit overwhelming, allow the below
Gaps in leadership in the South African cultural and creative landscape have become apparent as the sector struggles to adapt and respond to these uncertain times. In 2022, a partnership between Business and Arts South Africa (BASA), Common Purpose SA and Manchester International Festival sought