Young Womxn Studio Bursary Award
Supporting WOMXN in the arts
The Bag Factory is proud to host the annual Bag Factory Young Woman Studio Bursary, generously supported since 2019 by our alumni and renowned South African artist Sam Nhlengethwa.
Now in its 5th year, through an Open Call, the bursary offers an emerging/early career woman/womxn artists - under the age of 35, based in South Africa - with a studio for a period of 12 months within our premises. Applicants who have previously benefited from one of the Bag Factory’s awards or studio bursary programmes are not eligible.
The studios and its community strive for an open, non-hierarchical creative environment that promotes exchange and experimentation. The residency provides the recipients with the opportunity to work alongside talented artists and to meet, work, and grow within South Africa’s economic capital.
2024/2025 Bursary Recipients
Ndaya Ilunga (b. 1995, Johannesburg) is of Congolese parents, Ndaya Ilunga’s artistic journey began within the dynamic creative environment of her mother’s studio at the Bag Factory. Ilunga pursued her passion for art through formal studies, earning a Fine Arts degree from the University of Johannesburg. In her third year, she was awarded the prestigious German Archdiocese Exposure Trip to Stuttgart, an experience that deepened her appreciation for the intricate details of Surrealist and Renaissance artworks.
Her artistic practice serves as both a creative expression and a means of exploring her displaced refugee heritage. This introspective journey led her to the Ampersand Fellowship in Manhattan, where she began blending Surrealism with Afrofuturism, shaping a distinctive visual language.
A pivotal internship at Goodman Gallery further enriched her understanding of the human experience, inspiring her to explore themes of collective consciousness, blackness, and the human condition. In her work, Ilunga crafts visually compelling narratives, often transforming humanoid figures into alternative realities. She has exhibited at The UJ Gallery, The Viewing Room, and Art and About. In 2024, she participated in the RMB Talent Unlocked Programme at the Bag Factory and was a top-eight finalist for the Nando’s Vusa Award at Contra Open Studios.
Currently based in Johannesburg, Ilunga defines herself as an Afrofuturist Surrealist, continuously pushing the boundaries of identity, existence, and artistic expression.
Visual Artist, Jacub Nazeerah (1993.) born in the heart of Johannesburg spent her early life in a predominantly Muslim community, wherein the pursuit of art was inaccessible and discouraged. Jacub. N, began oil painting from the tender age of fourteen and graduated with a Visual Art Honours degree from the University of Johannesburg in 2016.
Jacub. N, won a merit award from Thami Mnyele and was a finalist in Sasol New Signatures competition. She has featured in the Emerging Painters show at Turbine Art Fair and was selected top 100 artists to exhibit at the ‘Other Art Fair, Australia.
Her artworks are featured on Saatchi Art and she has also exhibited at Pretoria Art Museum along with a few group shows in galleries in and around Gauteng, such as Art it is, UJ Gallery, Art Lovers to name a few with and an upcoming group exhibition in August and the RMB Think Precinct.
Nazeerah is an independent artist, a mother of two girls and runs her studio from Auckland Park, Johannesburg. Nazeerah has just recently graduated from International Sculpture-Painting school and is currently engaged in a four-month residency at the Bag Factory with RMB Talent Unlocked.
