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Stellenbosch Triennale 2025

19 February 2025

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30 April 2025

The Stellenbosch Triennale will be held in Stellenbosch from the 19th of February to the 30th of  April 2025. The theme for the next triennale is BA’ZINZILE: A REHEARSAL FOR BREATHING. 


UKU’ZINZA: an invocation from the Nguni people that speaks to being grounded, being calm.  Stillness is a mechanism for survival, a strategy for imagination, and an ability and persistence.  In a world losing its breath, where breathlessness pervades, we witness the tremors in our bodies and the depths we must dive to sustain life. This exhibition explores Breath and  Breathing through states of duress and ongoing extractions, using Rehearsal as a mode of  Improvised philosophies. 


Breath: Breathing is a fundamental act: taking air into the lungs and expelling it, exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide. Breath manifests in various forms: puff, pant, gasp, wheeze, blow,  sigh, impart, imbue, transfuse, murmur, whisper, utter. Breathing is about continuing, persisting, insisting, remaining, holding, being present, and having a place. How have our breath been disturbed, disrupted and dislocated? How have we sustained ourselves throughout these interruptions? 


Breathing through States of Duress: We breathe through the duress of histories of colonialism,  enslavement, apartheid, wars and ongoing genocides, wounded by its impacts and suffocating under its weight. Yet, we Insist, on finding ways to Improvise our breath, our Aliveness, and our existence. 


Respiration: Breathing in states of duress and harm, ukuphefumla ngenxeba – to breathe through the wound. How our lungs enact somatic breathing by tracing the vascular systems of survival, cultural recovery, hope, courage, and strength in the quest to stay in the rhythm of our breath and thus life. Ukuphefumla – to breathe, umphefumlo – the spirit, attends to a place of altered and interrupted destiny. The compositions of how to breathe in breathlessness are embodied in toyi-toyi, the southern African dance used in political protests or in voguing movements used in queer culture - the life that pulses in exaltation below our feet, opening a portal to Aliveness. This practice of breathing in situ, being in ritual with oneself, is a profound expression of insistence. 


Rehearsal: A rehearsal is a session of exercise, a drill, a dry run, or a practice in preparation for a ceremony. It involves repetition to align, figuring out interpretation, mapping pathways, and creating contingency plans. It is an attempt or experiment to reveal something about the world in the near future time. 


Improvisation, Jazz and the Black Tradition: Improvisation serves as a compass—composing,  arranging, and executing without preparation. It involves off-the-cuff creativity, imagination,  and skill mastery. It’s about creating rhythms and frequencies, composing notes from the haikus of our existence. Jazz, as a Black tradition of improvisation, is birthed from ancient traditions of wailing. This reappears through horn instruments that require a deep breath, mimicking the throat as a vocal cord. Jazz embodies the mode of rehearsal as improvised philosophies,  crafting compositions on how to breathe in breathlessness where even wailing is a form of breathing! 




Curatorial Statement

BA’ZINZILE: A Rehearsal for Breathing.

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Alexandre Kyungu Mwilambwe

Democratic Republic of Congo

B. 1992

ST2025 In the Current

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Aline Motta

Brazil

B. 1974

ST2025 In the Current

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Andile Dyalvane

South Africa

B. 1978

ST2025 From the Vault

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Astrid González

Colombia/ Chile

B. 1994

ST2025 On the Cusp

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Aziz Hazara

Afghanistan

B. 1992

ST2025 In the Current

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Campbell X

United Kingdom (Based)

ST2025 The Bioscope

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Gladys Kalichini

Zambia

B. 1989

ST2025 The Bioscope

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Helen Zeru

Ethiopia

B. 1988

ST2025 On the Cusp

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Kasangati Godelive Kabena

Democratic Republic of Congo

B. 1996

ST2025 On the Cusp

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Kemang Wa Lehulere

South Africa

B. 1984

ST2025 From the Vault

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Lebohang Kganye

South Africa

B. 1990

ST2025 In the Current

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Lungiswa Joe

South Africa

B. 1982

ST2025 From the Vault

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Manyaku Mashilo

South Africa

B. 1991

ST2025 On the Cusp

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Nandele Maguni

Mozambique

B. 1981

ST2025 On the Cusp

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Obarima Kofi Ofosu-Yeboah

Ghana

ST2025 The Bioscope

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Santiago Mostyn

Turtle Island

B. 1981

ST2025 The Bioscope

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Sara Chitambo-Hatira

South Africa, Zambia

ST2025 The Bioscope

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Simphiwe Buthelezi

South Africa

B. 1996

ST2025 On the Cusp

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Simphiwe Ndzube

South Africa

B. 1990

ST2025 In the Current

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Sisonke Papu

South Africa

B. 1992

ST2025 From the Vault

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Takunda Regis Billiat

Zimbabwe

B. 1990

ST2025 On the Cusp

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Thierry Oussou

Benin

B. 1988

ST2025 In the Current

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Torkwase Dyson

United States of America

B. 1973

ST2025 In the Current

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Tuli Mekondjo

Namibia

B. 1982

ST2025 On the Cusp

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Wayan Sumahardika

Indonesia

B. 1992

ST2025 The Bioscope

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William Miko

Zambia

B. 1961

ST2025 In the Current

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Yax Ixi'im Ek Balam

Various

ST2025 The Bioscope

ST2025 | BIOSCOPE / Film Festival
ST2025 | BIOSCOPE / Film Festival
ST2025 | IMIZWA / Embodied Interventions
ST2025 | IMIZWA / Embodied Interventions

Oude Libertas

ST2025 | ABALOZI / Sonic Mappings
ST2025 | ABALOZI / Sonic Mappings

Oude Libertas

Participating Artists

Exhibitions

Featured Artworks

Khanyisile Mbongwa

Khanyisile Mbongwa

ST2020 + ST2025
Chief Curator

Khanyisile Mbongwa is a Cape Town-based curatorial theorist and sociologist who engages with her curatorial practice as Curing & Care, using the creative to instigate spaces for emancipatory practices, joy, play and Black Aliveness. Mbongwa is the founding Curator of the Stellenbosch Triennale, her other recent projects include: Inaugral curator of the Hazendal Festival 2024 Bele nje, Abathulanga; curator of Liverpool Biennial 2023 'uMoya: The Sacred Return of Lost Things'; Curator of History’s Footnote: On Love & Freedom at Marres, House for Contemporary Culture in Maastricht, Netherlands 2021. Mbongwa is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Creative Arts, University of Cape Town and is a Blak C.O.R.E (Care of Radical Energy) Fellow at the University of Melbourne 2024-2025.

Dr Mike Tigere Mavura

Dr Mike Tigere Mavura

ST2020 + ST2025
Assistant Curator

Dr. Mike Mavura leads Pamurove Foundation, a land-based social practice in Domboshava, Zimbabwe, blending social sciences, indigenous knowledge, and popular culture to explore civics, spaces, and design. His work spans curatorial projects, ecological interventions, rural design, and university teaching. Mavura’s fellowships include Liverpool Biennial Curators’ Week (2023), TURN2 Residency at ZK/U Berlin (2021), and Lagos Biennale Residency (2019). He holds a PhD in Politics from Rhodes University and a certificate in Conservation Agriculture from the Foundations for Farming Institute. He serves on the Stellenbosch Outdoor Sculpture Trust and ZK/U Berlin’s Advisory Board.

Dr Paseka Blessing Chisale

Dr Paseka Blessing Chisale

ST2025
Curator of Learning

Dr. Paseka Blessing Chisale is a Stellenbosch University lecturer, artist, and research supervisor with over a decade of experience in creative arts education. His work is rooted in fostering creativity, critical thinking, and inclusivity in both teaching and research. Recent projects include the BAD ART exhibition at the 2024 SAERA conference and the Spaces and Place and Belonging initiative with his Creative Arts students. Chisale’s research explores creative arts teacher education, arts-based research, and self-study methodologies, emphasising innovative thinking and interdisciplinary approaches.

Frances Sakina Esterhuyse

Frances Sakina Esterhuyse

ST2025 Assistant Curator of Healing and learning

Frances Sakina Esterhuyse holds an Honours degree in Psychology and has just completed an Honours in Art Therapy. She is a qualified specialist wellness counsellor and has volunteered as a counsellor at Lifeline Western Cape for several years. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and speaks five languages. She also has a background in youth development and deeply believes in the healing power of art.

Curatorial Team

Featured Artworks

Featured Artworks

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Black People Don't Get Depressed

Sara Chitambo-Hatira

ST2025 The Bioscope

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(Untitled) 2025

Campbell X

ST2025 The Bioscope

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Wanditulusa

Gladys Kalichini

ST2025 The Bioscope

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Language Against Identity

Santiago Mostyn

ST2025 The Bioscope

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Amansa Tiafi (Public Toilet Africa)

Obarima Kofi Ofosu-Yeboah

ST2025 The Bioscope

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Jaguar Song

Yax Ixi'im Ek Balam

ST2025 The Bioscope

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Water is a time machine

Aline Motta

ST2025 Embodied Interventions

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Chumba

Kasangati Godelive Kabena

ST2025 On the Cusp

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Letters from the madhouse

Torkwase Dyson

ST2025 In the Current

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“Towards our ancestors who lean towards us, with bent spines, trying to tell us where we are from, where we are going.”

Manyaku Mashilo

ST2025 On the Cusp

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Echo Bow

Aziz Hazara

ST2025 In the Current

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Iphupho (A dream)

Simphiwe Ndzube

ST2025 In the Current

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The Thin Line Between Life and Breath

Nandele Maguni

ST2025 On the Cusp

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Institutionalisation of the informal

Helen Zeru

ST2025 On the Cusp

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Natural Daughter

Aline Motta

ST2025 In the Current

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Pumuzi ni kitumahi kwa mahisha ya kesho

Alexandre Kyungu Mwilambwe

ST2025 In the Current

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Flying Foot

William Miko

ST2025 In the Current

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"Politics of the Seed" & "Dream to be Back"

Thierry Oussou

ST2025 In the Current

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Drexciya & Hablar a plantas/Talk to plants

Astrid González

ST2025 On the Cusp

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A Burden Consumed in Sips

Lebohang Kganye

ST2025 In the Current

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Whisper of Mupangara

Takunda Regis Billiat

ST2025 On the Cusp

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Eshina Lyo Ku Topa Topa/Typewriter

Tuli Mekondjo

ST2025 On the Cusp

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To Read a book backwards

Simphiwe Buthelezi

ST2025 On the Cusp

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The Thin Line Between Life and Breath

Nandele Maguni

ST2025 Embodied Interventions

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Eshina Lyo Ku Topa Topa/Typewriter

Tuli Mekondjo

ST2025 Embodied Interventions

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The (Famous) Squatting Dance: Jung Jung - Te Jung

Wayan Sumahardika

ST2025 The Bioscope

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Ballad of envious sensations and colours

Kemang Wa Lehulere

ST2025 From the Vault

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Blue in green (after Miles Davis)

Kemang Wa Lehulere

ST2025 From the Vault

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Bush Telegram

Kemang Wa Lehulere

ST2025 From the Vault

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Cords for sunny days to come

Kemang Wa Lehulere

ST2025 From the Vault

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Dispersed and shivering, are the alphabets, who taste the frozen silence

Kemang Wa Lehulere

ST2025 From the Vault

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Idle eyes

Kemang Wa Lehulere

ST2025 From the Vault

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Liberating autumn from the burden of my existence

Kemang Wa Lehulere

ST2025 From the Vault

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My breathe, you take away

Kemang Wa Lehulere

ST2025 From the Vault

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Refraining the roots

Kemang Wa Lehulere

ST2025 From the Vault

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Who's vocabulary is this

Kemang Wa Lehulere

ST2025 From the Vault

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Isithebe

Andile Dyalvane

ST2025 From the Vault

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Umbhompolo

Andile Dyalvane

ST2025 From the Vault

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Isichopho

Andile Dyalvane

ST2025 From the Vault

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Mahamb’ehlala

Andile Dyalvane

ST2025 From the Vault

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Flame

Simphiwe Ndzube

ST2025 From the Vault

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Orator

Simphiwe Ndzube

ST2025 From the Vault

Gallery

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