SHE Returns to Cape Town for an Exhibition of Art and Fragrance

At 33BREE, nine artists explore the relationship between sight and scent through an exhibition pairing artworks with fine fragrance

Art and fragrance come together at 33BREE in Cape Town this October, as SHE Returns to Cape Town brings nine South African female artists together for an exhibition that invites visitors to experience creativity through more than one sense. Presented in collaboration with The Artists Gallery, the exhibition runs from 2 to 31 October 2026, pairing contemporary artworks with fragrances from international perfume houses in an exploration of the connections between visual expression, scent and emotion.

The exhibition revisits a project first conceived in Hamburg in 2022, when The Travelling Art Gallery invited the same nine artists to exhibit together in a 450-square-metre space. Four years later, The Artists Gallery, led by Managing Director Jaret Loggenberg, has brought the group together again, this time in Cape Town. The reunion offers an opportunity to encounter the artists’ latest works while celebrating the breadth of creative talent emerging from South Africa.

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The Colours Defining Contemporary African Art

A Dialogue Between Sight and Scent

A new collaboration with Prestige Cosmetics Group introduces an additional sensory dimension to the exhibition. Each artist is paired with a fragrance from an international brand, including Narciso Rodriguez, Elie Saab and Tommy Hilfiger. Visitors are encouraged to consider how a perfume’s character might correspond with an artwork’s colour, composition, form or atmosphere.

The pairing creates an alternative way of engaging with art. Fragrance can evoke memories, suggest a particular mood or prompt an emotional response, much like a painting or sculptural work. By placing these experiences alongside one another, SHE Returns to Cape Town invites visitors to explore their own interpretations of the relationship between what they see and what they smell.

For art lovers, the format also offers an opportunity to spend time with the work beyond a purely visual reading. Rather than prescribing a single interpretation, the exhibition encourages a personal response to the connections between artistic expression and fragrance.

“We are immensely proud to bring these nine remarkable women together and to celebrate the talent South African women have to offer,” says Jaret Loggenberg, Managing Director of The Artists Gallery and one of the nine participating artists.

“Our first collaboration with Prestige Cosmetics Group makes this reunion even more special, inviting visitors to experience the artworks through scent as well as sight.”

Nine Distinct Artistic Perspectives

The exhibition features work by Sarah Danes Jarrett, Cornè Theron, Sara Gaqa, Jaret Loggenberg, Jaime Danielle Smith, Androetta Bekker, Hermien van der Merwe, Claudia Gurwitz and Christa Myburgh. Each brings an individual artistic perspective, supported by an established exhibition history and work collected internationally.

Bringing these artists together creates a conversation between different approaches to making and experiencing art, while foregrounding the contribution of South African women to the contemporary art landscape. The fragrance pairings add another layer to this exchange, encouraging visitors to consider how sensory associations can shape their responses to an artwork.

Set within 33BREE, the exhibition provides an opportunity for both collectors and curious visitors to discover the participating artists in an accessible setting. Admission is free, making it an inviting addition to Cape Town’s cultural calendar this spring.

Running throughout October, SHE Returns to Cape Town is a celebration of women’s creative voices and an exploration of the unexpected ways art can engage the senses.

Exhibition details