Trajectories
Exhibition Opening:
Saturday, 30th August 2025, 10 am – 5 pm
Exhibition Walkabout & Talk:
Saturday, 20th September 2025, 11 am - 1 pm
Exhibition Closing:
Friday, 26th September 2025
ABOUT THE SHOW
A group exhibition celebrating 15 years of the Cassirer Welz Award, in partnership with Strauss & Co.
Bag Factory is proud to present Trajectories . For fifteen years, the Cassirer Welz Award funded by Strauss & Co, has been a beacon of support for young career artists, providing them with a transformative residency experiences at the Bag Factory Artists’ Studios.
Trajectories spotlights selected award alumni who have expanded their respective practices, thus celebrating their excellence and creative journeys. The exhibition traces thematic continuities, shifts in artistic voice, and the development of individual and collective visual narratives. The central themes of legacy, transformation and futurity examine how artists have engaged with issues of identity, history, social justice, and material experimentation over the years.
More than a retrospective, Trajectories explores the evolution of artistic practice through the lens of past awardees. The exhibition juxtaposes early works with recent creations, tracing thematic continuities, shifts in artistic voice, and the development of individual and collective visual narratives.
At the centre lie the focal themes of legacy, transformation and futurity examine how artists have engaged with issues of identity, history, social justice, and material experimentation over the years. As seen in the works of several of its recipient artists, whose socio - politically charged compositions critique power structures, or awardees who interrogate language, texture and memory, the exhibition will highlight the award's role in shaping socially engaged artistic voices.
WALKABOUT AND ARTIST TALK
After a successful and lively exhibition opening, Bag Factory will be hosting a walkabout and short talk with selected artists featured in the exhibition.
If you're interested in these topics and the unique perspectives of these award winners, join us!
Saturday, 20th September 2025
11 am - 1 pm
Featured Artist Speakers incl, DuduBloom More, Specs Ndimande, Levy Pooe, and Nompumelelo Ngoma
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Nompumelelo Tshabalala
2016 Winner
Nompumelelo Tshabalala b.1984 Soweto, Dlamini, began her studies in Fine Art at the South West Gauteng College in 2004/5. She holds a Professional Printmaking Certificate from Artist Proof Studio (2006-2008). During her third year at Artist Proof Studio she was awarded a bursary by Linda Givon, founder of Goodman Gallery, to further her studies at the University of Johannesburg, achieving a Diploma in 2011 and an Honours degree in Visual Art in 2012. She received a Cassirer Welz Award from the Bag Factory studios where she was awarded a residency which saw her achieve her first solo exhibition at Circa gallery in 2017. Her work forms part of a collection at The William Humphrey Museum and the Smithsonian Museum. Tshabalala served at Artist Proof Studio as an Art teacher in 2013- 2016. She currently teaches at the National School of the Arts, Johannesburg and works as an independent artist.
2017 Winner
Richard ‘Specs’ Ndimande is a fine artist. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1994. He studied at the University of Johannesburg where he obtained a Degree in Fine Arts in 2017. He works in sculpture, drawing, painting, photography and mixed media. His work is inspired by social ills committed in South Africa and across the world. He currently works and lives in Johannesburg.
2019 Winner
Duduzile (DuduBloom) More (b. 1990) is a visual artist from Soweto, Johannesburg, currently working from Artist Proof Studio completing her 4th year in Professional Practice. She has been participating in various art competitions and her work has been included in varios group exhibitions and art fairs including the FNB Joburg Art Fair. In 2018 she was selected as one of two Artist Proof Studio women artists to do an art residency in Italy through the Artist Proof Studio and the Italian Embassy. DuduBloom recently participated in the RMB Talent Unlocked Program and is currently participating in the one month Co-Create Residency, hosted by The Project Space.
2020 Winner
Levy Pooe (b. 1994) is a Johannesburg-based South African visual artist born during the country's democratic transition. He received the 2020 Cassirer Welz award in partnership with Strauss & Co Auctioneers, culminating in a solo exhibition at the Bag Factory Artist Studios.
Levy explores painting, drawing, collage, printmaking and murals to create large scale works on paper, canvas or site specific walls, depicting everyday urban experiences of South African daily life. Themes such as people engaged in contemplative activities, daily rituals and routines and how we are able to find genuine non-performative accounts of our experience. These works are a dance between figurative and abstract ways of representation where line and form are in a constant conversation. The artist's practice is an interrogation on the idea of art as a public social diary that questions the socio political, social interactions, history and the traces of that history that remain. He joined the global JP Morgan Chase Art Collection in 2023 and has recently completed a large-scale mural at the historic Bag Factory exterior walls titled “for Koloane” an ode to one of the founders; David Koloane.
ABOUT THE CASSIRER WELZ AWARD
Established in 2011 by Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer in honor of her husband Reinhold Cassirer’s passion for the arts, this award has become a distinguished recognition for emerging local artists. Following the death of Stephan Welz, the award was renamed to Cassirer Welz Award to honor both men’s contributions to the South African art scene.
Through its enduring partnership with Strauss Education, the Cassirer Welz Award has been instrumental in launching the careers of its recipients, helping them gain recognition in the South African art market. As the award celebrates over a decade of excellence, Bag Factory Artists’ Studios and Strauss Education continue their commitment to fostering emerging talent. Since its inception, the award's reach has expanded onto the continent. Since the early 2020s the call for entries included artists from several countries within the Triangle Network, such as Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe
In 2025, the project is funded by the Strauss & Co and the French Institute of South Africa
For more information on the programme and media-related enquiries, please contact:
Bag Factory Communications Department:
nqobile natasia (they/them):
Office: +27(0)11 834 9181
Email: communications@bagfactoryart.org.za
Insta: @bagfactoryart || FB: @bagfactoryartists