Inga Lokwe (Pretoria) | 2026 Merit Award Winner
Qula kwedini, 2025 Glass, metal, wood 96 cm x 31 cm x 86 cm Artist’s Statement My work brings together memory, material, and resistance, and is deeply connected to the landscapes and traditions of the Eastern Cape. Growing up there, I was shaped by the rhythms of rural life. I herded cattle, goats, and horses, […]
Sello Letswalo (Johannesburg)
We won’t move, 2026 Acrylic and oil on reclaimed metal sheet 77 cm x 99 cm Artist’s Statement This work was not made on a canvas. It was made on a wall. The corrugated steel sheet that carries this painting was pulled from the same environment it depicts — the township, where zinc and iron […]
Richyartworks Lekalakala (Polokwane)
Tribute to my late grandmother, 2026 Ballpoint pen, charcoal- and white pencil and gold spray 130 cm x 69 cm Artist’s Statement This artwork is a tribute to my grandmother, Mankhaša Raisibe Lekalakala, whose life was a testimony of faith. The hardships she faced was overcome through her Catholic faith that carried her through. The […]
Angie Lázaro (Johannesburg)
Naomi C, 2025 Polystyrene foam, fiberglass, automotive paint 123 cm x 104 cm x 72 cm Artist’s Statement POSE/SSED emerges from my experience working in the fashion and magazine industry, where I participated in constructing idealised representations of women. My practice examines the contradictions between the appearance of effortless beauty and the visual systems that […]
Annamarie Lategan (Cape Town)
Did you forget your Pills?, 2026 Oil on canvas with wood frame & sculptures 80,5 cm x 60,5 cm Artist’s Statement Did you forget your pills? asks the question: Are you coping with everything happening within your life? Taking the pill bug as its point of departure, the work draws on the creature’s instinct to […]
Tatenda Lloyd Kufeni (Cape Town) | Artwork 2
What we carry, 2026 Photography, Edition: 1 of 5 81 cm x 63,5 cm Artist’s Statement What we carry reflects on migration, survival, and the burdens that accompany the search for a better life. Inspired by my own experience as an immigrant, the work considers what it means to move through the world carrying both […]
Tatenda Lloyd Kufeni (Cape Town) | Artwork 1
An Education, 2026 Photography, Edition 1 of 5 80,5 cm x 63 cm Artist’s Statement An Education explores the expectations placed upon children and young adults to pursue success, achievement, and validation, often in service of others before themselves. Drawing from personal experience, the work reflects on the pressure to excel academically, to become a […]
Linde Kriel (Bloemfontein)
Selfbound, 2026 Paper string and handmade paper 3 Part: 18 cm x 17,5 cm x 21,5 cm, 14 cm x 17,5 cm x 22 cm, 7 cm x 16,5 cm x 22 cm Artist’s Statement Selfbound is an interactive sculptural artwork consisting of three stacks of handmade paper, each bound shut, totalling over 11,000 sheets. […]
Shui Hoppenstein (Johannesburg)
Feeling reserved, 2026 Linocut print on tablecloth and found furniture Installation: 100 cm x 90 cm x 215 cm Artist’s Statement Feeling reserved revisits the fragile nature of coming home after leaving my faith and feeling out of place in the community. A pew from Cyrildene Shul, the synagogue wherein I grew up, stands invitingly […]
Nkomene Hlongwane (Pretoria)
Ti Colour Blocko, 2025 Found plastic, wool and cotton thread 144 cm x 144 cm Artist’s Statement My practice is rooted in inherited knowledge passed down through generations in my family. We preserved our cultural identity and spiritual consciousness through the act of weaving and interlocking materials. For us, weaving is more than skill, it […]