UPCOMING OPEN CALLS / EVENTS / EXHIBITIONS
CONTRA FAIR
SATURDAY, 25 MAY & SUNDAY, 26 MAY 2024
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The event takes place over 2 days. Each day is different. Look below to see what venues are on what days.
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Each day has a different ticket. For more information on tickets, check out this page.
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When buying a ticket, select the venues you wish to visit.
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You can start at any of the venues. There is no right or wrong order.
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A hop-on-hop-off shuttle bus will come every 20 minutes OR you can use an e-hailing service to move directly to your next chosen venue.
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Kids under 18 are free, but no unaccompanied minors will be allowed into venues or shuttles.
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There will be additional paid-for activities that you would need to book separately if you want to attend. In some of the venues, these tickets cannot be bought on the day.
CURRENT EVENTS
Exhibition
iVum Vum by Lebogang Mabusela
Bag Factory Artists’ Studios is pleased to present iVum Vum, a solo exhibition by Lebogang ‘Mogul’ Mabusela, also known as Monotypebabe. The exhibition, consisting of monotype prints, and drawings, unravels South Africa’s history with automotive culture.
Mabusela continues this inquisition into masculinity in new works featured in iVum Vum, which unpack the relationship between, specifically, men and their cars. The show’s title alludes to a song by Kwaito star Brown Dash of the same name. The song tells of Brown Dash courting a woman by offering to take her to the movies in his car. Mabusela’s new series expounds upon this by showing how such personification of the object as a woman, in turn, bolsters a culture in which women are objectified. Her spotlighting of the peacock green 1992 BMW E30 325is, popularly known as the “Gusheshe” asks viewers to interrogate the rift between popular culture and personal responsibility.
Click here for more information on the exhibition.
BAG FACTORY LIVING ARCHIVE PROJECT
Bag Factory Artists‘ Studios has a pioneering 32 year history of providing a supportive infrastructure for artists. By combining art making with cultural debate and exhibitions, we create a fertile international environment for experimentation, innovation, and cultural dialogue between creatives in South Africa and the rest of the world.
The Bag Factory Archive Project, in collaboration with Preempt Group, aims to preserve a rich history of past and present artists, including our co-founder Dr David Koloane, Sam Nhlengethwa, Kagiso Patrick Mautloa, Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi, Bongi Dhlomo-Mautloa, as well as Penny Siopis, Tracey Rose, Kendell Geers, Gabi Ngcobo, Lady Skollie, Blessing Ngobeni, and Bronwyn Katz.
As the Bag Factory enters an important period of transition, it is more important than ever to conserve the historic records as a living archive, allowing art historians and researchers to access them for future generations.
The project lists, catalogues and preserves conserve the Bag Factory’s historic records as a living archive, allowing art historians and researchers to access them for future generations.
The project is supported by the National Heritage Council and National Arts Council, Republic of South Africa.
For more information read here
PAST EXHIBITIONS
ARCHIVE PROJECT
Motlatsi
Nonceba Dwanya
Curated by Amina Malatji
20 Jan - 16 Feb 2024, Women's Jail, Constitution Hill
Motlatsi, is an exhibition which explores images of the artist's mother through portraiture, by revisiting various moments in her mother’s youth - her becoming - which was at times a non typical performance of womanhood and her relationship with the feminine.
Nyakallo Maleke Exhibition: 'Making Sense Of the Same Story'
December 2023 - 09 February 2024, Bag Factory Artists' Studios
We are delighted to present the debut exhibition by Nyakallo Maleke, entitled: Making sense of the same story and Curated by Boitumelo Makousu.
This exhibition invites the viewer to delve into the layered spheres that are connected to intuition, mapping, improvisation, translation and serendipity. It encourages us to embrace the unpredictability and uncertainty of the creative process, the moments of discovery that emerge through spontaneity and chance
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To: Identities
Tshepo Phokojoe
Curated by Kamogelo Walaza
20 Jan - 16 Feb 2024, Women's Jail, Constitution Hill
To: IDENTITIES serves as a reflective journey, navigating the diverse landscapes of self-discovery, societal perceptions, and the ever-evolving nature of who we are. From traditional canvases to mixed-media installations, the artworks act as mirrors: reflecting the rich tapestry of human experiences; and drawing attention to the interplay of race, gender, culture, and personal history within the never-ending game of identity formation.
In Phokojoe’s work, the coarse textured hessian fabric serves as canvas, echoing the raw and unfiltered aspects of individual stories. Each thread, each knot speaks to the complexities inherent in forming identities around gendered labour practices such as textile work. Phokojoe ingeniously transforms hessian cloth and found mannequin hands from medium to metaphor, to unravel the intricate layers of personal and collective identities.
Of Place and the Uncertain
Smiso Cele
Curated by Motheo Mamabolo
The City of Gold is an amalgaation of all types of intangibles, perhaps most evident is a looming anxiety. We never shake off the feeling of not knowing what the next day will bring. The uncertainty births a constant productivity - to create what will come next. Seldom are we told to take five. Look around. What do you see?
Instead, we are constantly colliding with answers to questions we have never understood. We soldier on.
Of Place and the Uncertain explores the idea of Unknowing as mother and as a connecting force.
