Zeitz MOCAA 2026 Gala: A three-day cultural journey ‘By the Footsteps of the Beloved’
Zeitz MOCAA has announced its 2026 Gala Collateral Programme - a three-day immersive cultural experience titled By the Footsteps of the Beloved.
Set against the luminous backdrop of Table Mountain and unfolding during Cape Town Art Week, the Gala is the premier highlight of a curated three-day programme running from Friday, 20 to Sunday, 22 February 2026.
Specially curated by art advisor Hamzeh Alfarahneh, the programme offers an immersive exploration of South Africa’s vibrant art ecosystem. It begins with the Zeitz MOCAA Gala on Friday, 20 February, and extends through to Sunday, 22 February.
Open exclusively to Gala guests on a first-come, first-served basis, the programme pioneers a new institutional model while expanding the cultural activity of the museum beyond a single evening.
The fundraising Gala brings together local and international artists, curators, patrons and cultural luminaries. Guests are invited to participate in a series of events and engagements designed to deepen their connection with the museum, the broader Cape Town art landscape and the relationships that sustain it.
An evening to remember
The programme connects artists, cultural practitioners, partner organisations and patrons through guided exhibition tours, studio visits, collector engagements and curated hospitality experiences across Cape Town and the Winelands.
Award-winning South African singer, songwriter and performer Zoë Modiga will take centre stage as the exclusive headline act at the Zeitz MOCAA Gala on Friday, 20 February 2026.
Modiga brings a genre-defying sound rooted in jazz, soul, African rhythms and experimental performance. Her recent accomplishments - including the release of her acclaimed third studio album Nomthandazo, recognition as a Spotify EQUAL Africa ambassador and her 2025 honour as the SA Style Awards’ “Most Stylish Performing Artist in Music” - underscore her artistic impact.
The evening will be hosted by Emmy Award–winning storyteller Thando Dlomo alongside a distinguished Gala Host Committee featuring Acha Leke, Vanessa September, Roger Ross Williams and Jo-Ann Strauss.
Honouring vision and legacy
The 2026 Gala carries profound significance as the museum’s first since the passing of Koyo Kouoh, Zeitz MOCAA’s visionary Executive Director and Chief Curator. The Honorary Awards, established under Kouoh’s leadership, stand as a living testament to her bold curatorial spirit and unwavering belief in art’s ability to connect and inspire broad communities.
Honorary Awards will be presented to Abdoulaye Konaté, with laudatory remarks offered by Fatima Bintou Rassoul SY; Dr Anita Blanchard and Martin Nesbitt, who will be lauded by Siddhartha Mitter; and Albie Sachs, who is set to receive a laudation by Gavin Jantjes.
By the Footsteps of the Beloved draws on an idiomatic expression from Arabic literary and devotional traditions, reflecting on continuity, custodianship and the collective labour of institution-building.
In Islamic and Sufi thought, “the Beloved” evokes reverence, guidance and devotion. Engaged here metaphorically, the framework recognises that a mantle has been passed - not as a call to imitation, but to becoming: forging paths forward, creating space for others, standing for what is right and sustaining a shared vision across generations.
Supporting the future of contemporary African and Diasporic art
The annual fundraising Gala plays a vital role in ensuring that Zeitz MOCAA remains a vibrant civic space where art empowers communities and amplifies African and diasporic voices on the global stage.
Proceeds from the event directly sustain the museum’s curatorial and education programmes, artist-focused research initiatives and innovative learning platforms that deepen access and promote engagement.
The 2026 Gala will also offer attendees the opportunity to donate to the Zeitz MOCAA Centre for Art Education’s MOCAA on the Move project - an art classroom on wheels designed to reach communities beyond the museum’s walls.
By attending or sponsoring the Gala, patrons actively advance Zeitz MOCAA’s mission to provide a dynamic, accessible and world-leading platform for contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora.
For more information or to make a reservation, contact Zeitz MOCAA Partnerships Manager and director of the annual fundraising Gala, Tiffany Andrews, at tiffany.andrews@zeitzmocaa.museum.