As the sun set on 30 April, the Stellenbosch Triennale 2025 quietly concluded its run, leaving behind an indelible impression on all who walked its halls. Free and open to the public, this year’s edition - curated by Khanyisile Mbongwa in collaboration with Dr Mike Mavura - wove together memory, resistance and radical imagination under the evocative theme: BA’ZINZILE: A Rehearsal for Breathing.
Across three major exhibitions - From the Vault, In the Current, and On the Cusp - the Triennale transformed Stellenbosch into a living, breathing reflection on identity, history and the creative act itself.
At the Rupert Museum and Stellenbosch University Museum, From the Vault unearthed neglected archives and reimagined them through the hands of artists like Kemang wa Lehulere and Lungiswa Joe. Clay, film, and performance were used not as static artifacts, but as living vessels of knowledge and cultural memory.
Meanwhile, In the Current opened a portal to the now - featuring urgent, deeply resonant works from artists across continents. Torkwase Dyson (USA), Lebohang Kganye (SA), and Aline Motta (Brazil) brought visual languages that spoke of displacement, survival, and spiritual geography. Together, their works offered a moving transatlantic conversation grounded in black geographies and endurance.
On the Cusp, hosted at the atmospheric Oude Libertas, gave space to emerging African and diasporic voices unafraid to question and provoke. Artists such as Manyaku Mashilo, Takunda Regis Billiat, and Helen Zeru created site-responsive works during their time in Stellenbosch, allowing the environment itself to shape the art on display. It was raw, immediate, and daring - offering visitors a glimpse into what’s next for contemporary African art.
The 2025 Triennale didn’t just exhibit art - it invited viewers to breathe with it, to reflect on shared pasts and possible futures. It asked how we create in the face of history, and how we imagine while enduring. For many, it became more than a cultural event—it became a communal act of remembering and envisioning.
As the final visitors stepped out into the Stellenbosch autumn air, there was a palpable sense of gratitude - and urgency. The Triennale may have closed, but the questions it raised continue to echo, inviting all of us to keep breathing, imagining, and creating.
