March 2025
To Breathe and Pause: The Stellenbosch Triennale invites you to Rehearse for the Future
Stellenbosch, South Africa – The Stellenbosch Triennale, a pivotal event in the global art
calendar, will once again transform the historic town of Stellenbosch into a dynamic,
open-air gallery from 19 February to 30 April 2025. The brainchild of the Stellenbosch
Outdoor Sculpture Trust (SOST), a non profit organisation and supported by Outset
Contemporary Art Fund, the Triennale that is free to the public promises to be a profound
exploration of art, community and existence under the evocative theme by sociologist,
sangoma and Chief Curator Khanyisile Mbongwa titled, BA’ZINZILE: A Rehearsal for
Breathing.
The Stellenbosch Triennale debuted in 2020 with a bold vision: to elevate Stellenbosch, as a
premier destination for multidisciplinary art in Africa and to create a platform where public
art and creativity engage critically with society. The inaugural event set a high standard with
its array of provocative installations and performances that challenged visitors to rethink
their surroundings and themselves.
Building on this foundation, the 2025 edition seeks to push boundaries even further. As
Chief Curator Mbongwa explains, “For this Triennale I want us to enter into a rehearsal space
as a way of imagining how we can co-create in the real world, how exhibition making in itself
is a rehearsal space for the things we want to do. And as such, I have invited artists to make
their work on-site over a 10 day period that can be recycled or disintegrated back to land
after the Triennale so as to minimise my carbon footprint by not transporting artworks back
and forth. In this way, we get to enact a playfulness in the making and witnessing the work.”
This commitment to sustainability and process forms part of the curators practice of Care &
Cure. Mbongwa – a Stellenbosch university alumnus who works within public realm,
interventions and interdisciplinary practices – in this project heeded the call from her
ancestors to mediate on themes that explore spirit, breath and improvisation. “I am in the
labour of my purpose. My work is always expansive and a deep-time conversation with
amadlozi (ancestors), uNkulunkulu (God/Source), and Abahlali (the collective of beings); as I
move through and in the world, I’m invited into different geographical locations and called
into spiritual ancestral indigenous conversations,” explains Mbongwa.
A Tradition of Artistic Innovation
The inaugural Stellenbosch Triennale took place at the start of the COVID-19 global
pandemic, which cut the Triennale’s duration short and changed many lives. Project Director
and Trustee, Andi Norton, draws parallels to this year’s exhibition sub-theme of rehearsal.
“We had no idea that it would only be open for such a short time in 2020, we had worked
hard and sacrificed so much and to have it all be shut down so soon was devastating. It was
only after a year or two that we could start exploring doing another one.” Norton continues,
“Only now can we look back on it and see the incredible rehearsal space that it was for us.
Through the theme, the curator is giving us, the organisers and artists, permission to
experiment and play.”
The theme, BA’ZINZILE: A Rehearsal for Breathing, invites artists and audiences alike to
contemplate the act of breathing — both a fundamental physical process and a metaphor
for resilience and survival. “Breathing in states of duress, breathing through wounds,”
reflects Mbongwa in her curatorial statement, “we persist, we insist, we improvise our
existence in a world that often feels like it’s losing its breath.”
Informed by the Nguni concept of UKU’ZINZA — being grounded and calm — the theme
explores stillness as a mechanism for survival, a strategy for imagination, and an act of
aliveness. In a time when breathlessness is a global experience, the Triennale positions itself
as a space for reflection, recovery, and preparation for a different future.
A Dynamic and Interactive Experience
Unlike traditional art exhibitions, the Stellenbosch Triennale 2025 will be a living, breathing
entity, constantly evolving over its two-month duration. The intention is to invite our visitors
to enter a rehearsal space with us, where some works will exist in a space of improvisation,
some in the space of composition and intervention, others in exploration – in the ways we
negotiate our breath and ultimately our aliveness.
Assistant Curator Dr Mike Mavura adds, “We wanted the artists to think of breath in multiple
ways in relation to the human body and to start to think of breath in expanded ways; what
happens when you breathe deeply? What happens when you are short of breath? And then,
what happens when you can’t breathe?” This conceptual framework will be evident in the
diverse array of mediums on display, from visual art and sculpture to sound installations,
performance, and dance.
A Curated Selection of International Artists across Multiple Venues across Stellenbosch
The 2025 Stellenbosch Triennale will feature an impressive line-up of artists from the African
continent and beyond. Among the artists participating In The Current include: Alexandre
Kyungu Mwilambwe (Democratic Republic of Congo), Aline Motta (Brazil), Aziz Hazara
(Afghanistan), Lebohang Kganye (South Africa), Simphiwe Ndzube (South Africa),Torkwase
Dyson (USA), Thierry Oussou (Benin) and William Miko (Zambia).
“We will be showcasing a truly diverse range of practices,” notes Mavura, “from sound,
sculpture, and installations with plant life to paintings, photography, dance, and
performance. The aim is to activate all the senses, providing a holistic experience that
challenges and delights.”
The featured artists in On the Cusp include: Astrid González (Colombia-Chile),Helen Zeru
(Ethiopia), Kasangati Godelive Kabena (Democratic Republic of Congo), Manyaku Mashilo
(South Africa),Nandele Muguni (Mozambique),Simphiwe Buthelezi (South Africa),Takunda
Regis Billiat (Zimbabwe) and Tuli Mekodjo (Namibia).
A Rehearsal for a New World
The Stellenbosch Triennale will take place at the Oude Libertas precinct and across multiple
venues throughout the town, turning Stellenbosch into a curated public laboratory for
creative expressions and engagements. The collaboration with the Stellenbosch Outdoor
Sculpture Trust and other local institutions ensures a rich, textured experience that reflects
the unique cultural and natural landscape of the region, recognised for its vineyards and
academic excellence.
This year’s Triennale is more than an exhibition; it is a call to action, a rehearsal for breathing
anew in a world filled with challenges and possibilities. “Art becomes an infrastructure for
cure and care,” says Mbongwa, “posing the question: if death is the given condition, how do
we prepare to live?”
The Stellenbosch Triennale 2025 invites you to be part of this journey – to breathe, reflect,
imagine, play, and rehearse for the world we want to create.
The Stellenbosch Triennale takes place from 19 February – 30 April 2025 at Oude Libertas,
the Woodmill, Rupert Museum and Stellenbosch University Museum. Entry is free to the
public.
For more information:
Visit www.stellenboschtriennale.com
Follow Stellenbosch Triennale on X (Twitter) @stbtriennale, Instagram @stellenboschtriennale and Facebook @stellenboschtriennale.
Hashtag is #StellenboschTriennale #ST2025
