CURRENT OPPORTUNITY:
YOUNG WOMXN STUDIO BURSARY OPEN CALL
Bag Factory Artists’ Studios is delighted to announce that applications are now open for the 6th edition of the 2024/2025 Young Womxn Studio Bursary which was established in 2019. This studio bursary has been generously supported by renowned South African artist and Bag Factory founding member, Sam Nhlengethwa since its inception.
The prestigious bursary is open to emerging and early-career womxn artists who are based in South Africa and working in contemporary visual art. Applicants must be under the age of 35 and have not previously benefited from any of the Bag Factory’s awards or studio bursaries.
This open call closes on Sunday, 13 October 2023 at 23h59
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS:
Bag Factory is pleased to present Rabbit hole runs deep, a solo exhibition by Tawanda Takura, comprising mixed-media, found object sculpture and painting. In his first solo presentation in South Africa, this year’s Cassirer Welz Award winner, explores the complex co-existence of dualities like freedom and dependence; novelty and recurrence; destiny and accountability; disillusionment and hope; the self and the collective; censorship and expression; memory and healing.
Central to Takura’s work is a critique on social hierarchy: he laments the unkept promise of freedom post-independence, which has instead given way to corruption and stagnation. Rabbit hole runs deep reveals the artist’s disenchanted thought spiral about the realities of contemporary Zimbabwe, reflecting on the ways in which socio-political dynamics continue to exert a profound influence on personal and collective identities, rendering both true liberty and full agency elusive.
This exhibition runs til 8 November 2024.
As a culmination of the 2024 RMB Talent Unlocked programme, this amazing group show is currently up at Art & About Gallery at the RMB campus.
RMB Talent Unlocked offers industry-specific training and one-on-one creative mentorship support, aimed at advancing artistic careers. In conjunction with Bag Factory Artists’ Studios, Artist Proof Studio and Umhlabathi Collective the artists benefited from access to a studio space and ongoing support throughout the duration of the program.
This exhibition will run until 15 November 2024.
Go see this amazing exhibition display new talent in the city!
CURRENT RESIDENCIES
2024 IASPIS PROGRAMME RESIDENT
A warm welcome to Maja Bakken!
The IASPIS artist residency programme is presented in partnership with Bag Factory Artists’ Studios in Johannesburg and International Artists Studio Program (IASPIS), in Stockholm.
Our organization’s visiting artists programme gives artists the opportunity to meet and connect with South African artists, promoting cultural and creative exchange and to strengthen intercontinental networks in the Visual Arts.
ARCHIVE PROJECT
BAG FACTORY LIVING ARCHIVE PROJECT
Bag Factory Artists‘ Studios has a pioneering 33 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
