Hemali Khoosal – Young Womxn Studio Bursary

5 OCT 2020 - 30 SEP 2021

The Bag Factory is delighted to announce that Cheriese Dilrajh and Hemali Khoosal have been selected as joint recipients of the annual Young Womxn Studio Bursary, funded by Bag Factory alumni artist Sam Nhlengethwa. They will share a fully funded studio bursary at the Bag Factory for twelve months from October 2020 to September 2021.

The response to the call for applications for this year’s Young Womxn Studio Bursary was overwhelming, demonstrating a high level of talented emerging womxn artists in South Africa. Taking into consideration the challenges of the current global economic climate and the strength of the applications received, we decided to maximise the benefit of this bursary by offering it to two promising emerging womxn artists. We are thrilled that Cheriese and Hemali were open to this proposal and they are both excited at the prospect of working together in a creative environment that promotes exchange and experimentation. 

The Bag Factory recognises the huge disruption to the lives and livelihoods of artists this year as a result of the Coronavirus, so we have decided to help support even more artists during this exceptionally difficult time. Another notable artist who impressed us with her perseverance and dedication to her artistic practice is Lebogang Mogul Mabusela, who has been selected as a runner-up and will receive a three-month studio bursary running from October to December 2020.

Hemali Khoosal is a multidisciplinary artist, socially engaged maker and researcher. She tends to work collaboratively, with much of her work based on conversations and interactions with people. Khoosal graduated cum laude from Wits School of Art and was runner-up for the Wits Young Artist Award (2019). She was also a recipient of the International Spoleto Award (2019), a nominee for the Video Art Awards in Italy (2019), and the winner of the Emerging Artist’s Portraiture Development Programme (2018). Her work has most recently appeared in screenings and exhibitions in Johannesburg, Grahamstown and Cape Town (South Africa); Huye (Rwanda); Bergamo and Rome (Italy); as well as Strasbourg (France). Additionally, she has work forming part of public and private collections, including: the Centro Luigi di Sarro, Rome, Italy; the Jack Ginsberg Collection, Johannesburg, South Africa; and Keleketla! Library, Johannesburg, South Africa.