Bag Factory is pleased to present
When We Gather
…the ordinary becomes extraordinary
This fundraising group exhibition features selected alumni & current artists from three and a half decades of studio practices, awards and project programming. These walls have held them all now, they gather.
Our list of featured artists comprise of some of this country’s most prominent names alongside exciting emerging voices.
This show continues on our year’s celebrations marking 35 years of creating space for and providing opportunities to artists, curators and writers at every stage of their careers.
Bag Factory marks 35 years of making space for artists with a landmark fundraising group exhibition — bringing together selected alumni & current artists from three and a half decades of studio life, community, and creativity.
The exhibition is an act of honouring! Honouring what has been made here, what has been exchanged here, and what continues to reverberate within the structure itself.
The full artist reveal is coming . . .
Exhibition Opening: Thursday, 4th June 2026. 5pm
Exhibition Venue: CIRCA on Jellicoe, Rosebank
(Everard Read Complex)
Exhibition Dates: 4 June – 3 July 2026
More programming to be shared. Stay updated.
This project is made possible with the support of the Artists, their representatives and Mark Read
Maungo: Bag Factory Marks 35 Years
Bag Factory is pleased to present Maungo, a group show featuring ten current Bag Factory studio artists and resident lithographic studio, LL Editions, running from 26 February – 10 April 2026. This show launches celebrations to mark 35 years of creating space for and providing development opportunities for artists, curators and writers at every stage of their career in the culturally significant hubs of Fordsburg and Newtown.
“As the Director of this known and beloved institution – and dare I say on behalf of the team I am supported by -it is a great honor and privilege to be part of celebrating Bag Factory’s 35 year milestone. Marking over 3 decades of resilience, Bag Factory through its community, activities, and endeavours to this day continues to manifest the spirit of contemporaneity, experimentation, cross pollination, subversion and collaboration. Bag Factory remains buoyant with energy, unapologetic for its positionality and steeped in the ethos and fervour of our elders!” – Maria Fidel Regueros (2026)
Maungo means the fruits of harvest in Setswana. It is in this spirit of cultivation that we remember the Bag Factory legacy from its roots in the Triangle Network and Thupelo Workshops in the 1980s through its founding by South African artist Dr David Koloane, British philanthropist Robert Loder, and South African arts administrator Sandra Burnett in 1991 onwards to the cohort of artists working in the studios today.
Exhibition Opening: Thursday, 26th February 2026.
6 pm – 8 pm
Exhibition Venue: Bag Factory Artists’ Studios
10 Mahlathini Street, Newtown
Exhibition Dates: 26 February – 29 May 2026 (Extended)
More programming to be shared. Stay updated.
The Y/U project is made possible with the support of the National Arts Council
YOUNG/UNFRAMED 2026
Our Artist-Curator pairs have been in studio fervently studying, trialing and fleshing out their practices with the goal of marking their entry into the South African art scape with an unforgettable exhibition. Come see what they find on their individual journeys.
Exhibition Openings: Thursday, 16th June 2026.
6 pm – 8 pm
Exhibition Venue: King Kong
6 Verwey Street, Troyeville
Exhibition Dates: 18 June – 9 July 2026 (Extended)
More programming to be shared. Stay updated.
The Y/U project is made possible with the support of the National Arts Council
WHAT’S IN THEIR BAG.
We asked our artists if we can give you a peek into their carrying cases, into their toolboxes.
‘What’s In Their Bag.’ is an interview series running on our YouTube Channel that gives you an insight into your favourite Bag Factory artists’ thinkings, experiences and prospects.
In Episode One, printmaker and founder of LL Edditions invited us in to his printing studio. Find out what it takes to become a pioneer from Joe L Leshoka.
Stay tuned for updates on our latest releases by following our social media, signing up for our newsletter or keeping up with our website.
PAST EXHIBITIONS
15th Year of the Cassirer Welz Award
Bag Factory is pleased to present Ngiyiboneleni? a solo exhibition by Smiso Cele following his completion of the Cassirer Welz Award 2025 residency. This exhibition is a continuation of an ongoing project, Ebhuqwini (2024). Where he refers to the intimacy of a bedroom he shared with his siblings as a way of building intimacy and acquainting himself with places he finds himself in (Johannesburg).
Exhibition Opening: Thursday, 13th November 2025, 6 pm – 8 pm
Exhibition Walkabout and Reading: Saturday, 22nd November 2025
Exhibition Closing: Friday, 31 January 2026
This project is made possible by Strauss & Co, and supported by the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS)
VISIT BAG FACTORY
Are you a funder, collector, art collective, or organisation curious to peak behind our curtain? Let's help you out with that!
Fill in the form below for a visit with our artists, and engage with them on their practice.
See you soon!
ONGOING
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
