University of Johannesburg Art Gallery

27/07/2026

Watch Fire my Spirit take shape.

This time lapse captures the installation of Bev Butkow’s site responsive work in the Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre foyer. Suspended layers of painted fabric, ribbon, plastic and organza respond to air, light and movement, transforming the foyer from a transitional space into a place of encounter and reflection.

Developed through the UJ Arts & Culture Artist in Residence programme, the installation draws on the poetic, historical and collective resonances embedded within the space. Through weaving, knotting, binding and repair, Butkow explores how tension, fragility, repetition and care shape our bodily and spatial experiences.

Tomorrow, we unpack this creative process in greater depth. Join Bev Butkow, Lawrence Lemaoana and Dr Farieda Nazier, in conversation with moderator David Mann, as they explore materiality, collaboration, audience encounter and the relationship between visual art and space.

Date: Tuesday, 28 July 2026
Time: 17:30
Venue: Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre Foyer, UJ Arts Centre, Auckland Park

RSVP here: https://forms.office.com/r/DaGejBF625

Join us as the conversation around Fire my Spirit continues.

22/07/2026

The conversation around Bev Butkow’s Site specific installation Fire my Spirit continues

Join us for a panel discussion that brings together Lawrence Lemaoana, Dr Farieda Nazier and Bev Butkow, moderated by David Mann, as they reflect on site-responsive installation practice, materiality and what it means for art to inhabit and activate a space.

Date: Tuesday, 28 July 2026
Time: 17:30
Venue: Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre Foyer, UJ Arts Centre, Auckland Park

RSVP Here: https://forms.office.com/r/DaGejBF625

See you there!

29/06/2026

26/06/2026

UJ Art Gallery congratulates Simnikiwe Buhlungu, winner of the 2025/26 MTN x UJ New Contemporaries Artist Award.

Presented by UJ Art Gallery in partnership with the MTN SA Foundation, the MTN x UJ New Contemporaries Award continues to support critical, experimental and future-facing contemporary South African art practices.

Buhlungu’s work forms part of Holding sp(l)ace for the in__between, curated by Amogelang Maledu, currently presented at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda.

Working across sound, text, installation and publishing, Buhlungu’s research-led practice invites audiences to think deeply about how knowledge is produced, circulated, held and sensed.

UJ Art Gallery is proud to celebrate this important recognition and to acknowledge all four participating artists: Simnikiwe Buhlungu, Zara Julius, thato makatu and Unathi Mkonto.

Holding sp(l)ace for the in__between is on view at the Gallery in the Round and New Gallery, The Settlers Monument, Makhanda, until 5 July 2026.

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22/06/2026

Bev Butkow's Fire my Spirit opened in the foyer of the Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre!

Developed through UJ Arts & Culture's Artist in Residence programme, the installation suspends painted fabric, organza, ribbon and plastic through the foyer in layers that shift with light, air and movement.

The evening included a powerful poetic intervention by Quaz Roodt and opening remarks by David Mann - a fitting gathering for a work that draws from the poetic legacy of the theatre's namesake, Keorapetse William Kgositsile.

Fire my Spirit remains on view.

Come and experience it

19/06/2026

7 Days to the National Arts Festival!

Zara Julius is a Johannesburg-based transdisciplinary artist and researcher working across sound, installation, print, and social practice. Her work engages archival material to explore

Black cultural innovation, fugitivity, memory, and the politics of time through what she describes as ""rapture"" as a method.

Join us at the National Arts Festival this June — Holding sp(l)ace for the in__between opens 26 June at the Gallery in the Round & New Gallery, The Settlers Monument, Makhanda.

📅 26 June – 05 July 2026

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17/06/2026

9 days to the National Arts Festival!

We sat down with thato makatu - an artist in the 2025/26 MTN x UJ New Contemporaries Award Exhibition, Holding sp(l)ace for the in__between, heading to the National Arts Festival.

thato makatu is an artist whose practice explores domestic space, memory, and the social life of objects. Working through installation and material experimentation, they investigate how everyday environments and home-based objects carry, activate, and reshape personal and collective memory over time.

Join us at the National Arts Festival this June — Holding sp(l)ace for the in__between opens 26 June at the Gallery in the Round & New Gallery, The Settlers Monument, Makhanda.

📅 26 June – 05 July 2026

03/06/2026

We are pleased to share that the launch event for Fire my Spirit has now reached full capacity and RSVPs have officially closed.

Thank you for the overwhelming support.

We look forward to welcoming guests to an evening of engagement, conversation, and reflection around Bev Butkow’s site-responsive installation, Fire my Spirit.