The 2019 edition pays homage to the spirit of spaces, projects, platforms, and patrons that play a vital role in supporting artists and curators who would otherwise have no access to the art world or opportunities to critically reflect on their practices and changes within the larger cultural landscape.

The event will also honour South African photojournalist, Shiraaz Mohamed, who was kidnapped in Syria and kept in jail against his will since January 2017. October marks 1 000 days since Mohamed has been held under captivity. Mohamed is one of South Africa’s most respected photojournalists, community media practitioners and Market Photo Workshop alumnus.

At the peak of her fame in the early 1800s, Saartjie Baartman became a reference point for abolishionists, fashion designers, and political satirists alike. Her remains were dissected and put on display at the French National Museum for 150 years, and in 2002, Saartjie Baartman was finally returned to the land of her birth, the Gamtoos River Valley in the Eastern Cape.

Objects of Desire, Addendum exists as a postscript to Mokgosi’s acclaimed, long-standing visual essay, Democratic Intuition, of which Comrades, exhibited at Stevenson, Cape Town, in 2016, was the second of eight chapters. Comprising painting and sculpture, Democratic Intuition questioned how one can approach the conceptual promises of democracy in relation to the daily lived experiences of the subjects that occupy southern Africa.

Multi award-winning musician Samthing Soweto has become the first local artist to have simultaneous #1 releases on both the Apple Music Singles and Album Charts in South Africa with a Pre-Add release. His latest single Akulaleki (featuring Shasha, DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small) is currently topping the singles chart with his forthcoming album topping the Album chart.