WORDS Mary Corrigall PHOTOS Michael Hall (Everard Read), Domenic Singh-Gorin (Ecletica Contemporary), Raynier Matthee (Oscar Henning)

Consuming art at art fairs or via social media has become a high-speed activity. The Heat Winter Arts Festival is encouraging visitors to zone in deeply on a few select works of art, with a ‘slow looking’ campaign framing its visual arts programme this year. Of course, as this festival — now in its third year — takes place from 6 to 15 August across over 15 venues in Cape Town’s city centre, there is a lot of art to take in. However, as it lasts over nine days, there is enough time for people to linger, revisit and savour art.

Guided walkabouts through each location, led by curators Nkgopoleng Moloi and Voni Baloyi, will offer participants the opportunity for thoughtful observation and in-depth discussions with selected artists.

Heat Winter Arts Festival was established in 2024 in an effort to stimulate art viewing, buying and cultural activities during a time of year typically thought of as ‘dead’ time in Cape Town. As an arts commentator and critic, I consider the quality of our programming a top priority. The theatre, music, digital art, dance, stand-up comedy, performance art and opera are all of a high standard, each curated by a specialist in those art forms.

Unlike most arts festivals in South Africa, our visual arts programme is the core part of our annual event and is united by a central theme titled Ctrl + Z, referring to a common drive to undo harm, restore an equilibrium or rewrite the past. The participating galleries are Aspire Auction House in collaboration with David Krut Projects, AVA Gallery, Christopher Moller Gallery, Eclectica Contemporary, Everard Read / CIRCA Galleries, House Union Block / Spier Arts Trust, Nel Gallery, SMAC Gallery, WORLDART, Untitled Art, Berman Contemporary All Women Art Gallery, 33Bree, Strauss & Co, Peffers Fine Art, THK Gallery, Thomarts Gallery, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa and Iziko South African National Gallery and Iziko Old Town House.

Spending more time with fewer works but delving more deeply into them aligns with the fact that many of the works and artists participating in the festival are weighing in on everyday materials – reconsidering things in plain sight. Artists are turning to soil, plastic, rust, coffee sacks, steel, wood, and found matter to ask what objects help us recall, what surfaces reveal, and what might be reimagined when we spend more time looking.

A focus on materials is most notable in the much-anticipated preview of the second edition of Matereality at the Iziko South African National Gallery, curated by Andrea Lewis. The exhibition brings together contemporary artists from across the African continent, including Bella Knemeyer, Inga Somdyala, Warren Maroon, Sepideh Mehraban, Kamyar Bineshtarigh, Bonolo Kavula, Lungisa Gqunta, Chris Soal, Unathi Mkhonto, Kimathi Mafafo, Dada Khanyisa, Elias Sime and Abdoulaye Konate. These artists’ practices foreground the expressive and conceptual possibilities of materials, from soil, cloth, wood, and metal to found objects and industrial substances. As its title suggests, Matereality explores how materials shape reality, carrying memory, identity, land, belonging, and cultural knowledge.

At the newly opened Berman Contemporary All Women Art Gallery, Thirza Schaap’s Plastic Ocean transforms discarded plastic collected from shorelines into seductive sculptural compositions. At first, the works may appear like elegant compositions or abstract arrangements of colour; on closer inspection, they reveal the residue of everyday consumption and ecological neglect. In the context of HEAT’s Ctrl + Z theme, the work asks whether we can “undo” environmental damage.

This conversation is extended at Thomarts Gallery, where Nkosinathi Thomas Ngulube’s Bags of Stories sees reused coffee bags and coffee extracts used as vessels for memory. These are not neutral materials. Coffee carries histories of trade, labour, colonial routes, and contemporary consumption, while the bags themselves suggest storage, movement, use, and reuse.

At Escape Gallery, artist Oscar Henning steers residue in another direction. His wall works, made with rust deposits on plaster, appear at first like drawings but are in fact the result of metal, moisture, and time leaving their trace. It is a quietly powerful response to Ctrl + Z: a reminder that nature, time can overwrite human interventions.

Materiality becomes a conversation between textile art and sculpture at Peffers Fine Art, with Tshepo Phokojoe in dialogue with Edoardo Villa’s steel sculptures. This unexpected pairing of works “seeks to renew attention to inherited forms – structural, historical, psychological – and to make those forms newly visible through the proximity of contrasting material languages.”

At Eclectica Contemporary, Lars Fischedick’s sculptural hanging works made from wood bring a more tactile, physical register to the programme. His practice engages matter directly, pushing materials towards tension, erosion, and disruption. Fischedick’s works share a superficial relationship with the extraordinary paintings by Ayobola Kekere-Ekun at the AVA Gallery, in that they present highly textured surfaces, although she employs fabric and acrylic to arrive at quasi-sculptural works. She positions the medium as both “collaborator and witness.”

These exhibitions remind us that materials for art are never just materials. They carry texture, labour, memory, place, and atmosphere. They change the way a room feels. They ask us to look again at what we discard, what we live with, what we collect, and what we choose to preserve.

Heat Winter Arts Festival takes place from August 6 to 15 in Cape Town. | heatfestival.org

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Umu Ora believe that how a space feels is inseparable from how we feel within it. Scent moves quietly between body and room, settling onto skin, lingering softly in the air and becoming part of the atmosphere and memory of a place.

Every product begins with ingredients sourced with intention, working with farmers, co-operatives and family-run producers across Africa who share the brand’s commitment to quality, sustainability and respect for the land.

The Umu Ora Edit brings that philosophy to life through four daily rituals: Hand Wash, Body Balm, Home Mist and Ritual Oil. Together, they create a sensory thread through the everyday – connecting wellness with the spaces we inhabit.

At the heart of the collection is Bergamot & Lavender. Bright bergamot carries the freshness of newly cut citrus peel, softened by Cape grown lavender and neroli, while a touch of patchouli adds warmth and depth. Fresh yet grounded, it is designed to lift the mood while leaving both body and space feeling calm, centred and beautifully held.

Wash your hands and allow the scent to remain softly on the skin. Work the Ritual Oil into pulse points and carry it with you throughout the day. Mist a room and transform its atmosphere in an instant. The Unscented Body Balm nourishes deeply without interrupting the scent story, or can be blended with a few drops of Ritual Oil for a richer, more enveloping experience.

Together, these rituals shape the feeling of a moment – on the skin, in the home and in the memories we carry with us. | umuora.com

The prize

The Umu Ora Edit gift box includes:

• Bergamot & Lavender Hand Wash 200ml
• Unscented Body Balm 200ml
• Bergamot & Lavender Home Mist 100ml
• Bergamot & Lavender Ritual Oil 30ml

How to enter

Simple – head to this post on Instagram, follow @umuora and @visi_mag, and tell us how you create calm in your everyday spaces in the comments. One entry is permitted per person.

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WORDS Martin Jacobs PHOTOS Alex Lesage and Thom Fougere

Rising from the water as rugged stone formations crowned with windswept pines, Thirty Thousand Islands is the world’s largest freshwater archipelago. The islets, stretching along the eastern edge of Georgian Bay – part of Canada’s Great Lakes – are only accessible by canoe and kayak, rowing boat, motorboat and yacht. They spark childhood imaginings of adventure, the sort conjured by Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five or Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom. While many are so small they host only migrating birds, others cradle summer homes that soak up seclusion and serenity. On Pine Island, one such home stands quietly among bottle-green foliage – a cottage intended to weather with grace while celebrating the great outdoors, and that reimagines our innate connection to nature through contemporary design.

Montreal-based architect Adam Robinson of Bureau Tempo and multidisciplinary designer Thom Fougere, founder of his eponymous studio, spent almost four years bringing their vision to life. The two first met many years earlier, at design school. “Our collaboration worked because it was more open than prescriptive,” says Adam. “The fluid nature of the brief allowed us to respond intuitively and give ideas time to mature. Often, a conversation or sketch would unlock a new direction, reinforcing the value of giving a project room to breathe and trusting the process.”

Their canvas was the footprint of a former derelict home, their process intentionally open-ended, and their brief an evolving conversation. Client time confirmed that all were intent on crafting a home that paid homage to the elements by emphasising material honesty, tactility and texture.

This dialogue with the land began, quite literally, barefoot. “When visiting the site early on with our client, we spent time walking alongside the mottled, stone-covered beach,” says Thom. “Translating that tactile experience into the interior in unexpected ways became a guiding goal. It often came down to finding the minimum touch with the maximum impact to achieve this.”

The Y-shaped design honours Pine Island’s topography. The home’s sleeping quarters are housed in two wings, two bedrooms in one, the primary suite in the other. These wings are uppermost on the slope, maximising privacy; they connect to the house via an elevated glass walkway that steps down to a compact, oak-lined entrance hall.

“The journey to the cottage serves up an abundance of stimuli, so the entrance was conceived as a moment of calm – a reprieve for the senses – before gradually reintroducing familiar tones and textures as the space opens and reconnects you to the landscape,” says Adam. As you step into the heart of the home, light pours in through oversized apertures, including a light well. The kitchen, dining and sunken living spaces (the latter with a double-sided fireplace that warms a porch) are interconnected, cascading down the slope.

“We spent time early on discussing the idea of patina and the beauty of materials that show signs of life and wear,” says Adam. “That dialogue built trust and allowed us to propose material selections and approaches designed to age gracefully over time.”

The cottage’s many tactile surfaces speak to this philosophy. Rough-to-the-touch local fieldstone, reminiscent of rugged picnic tables, forms a monolithic kitchen island. Burnished concrete floors in the living area fall almost level with outdoor stone formations that abut windows. Wood imbues the home with warmth, like walnut and white oak for kitchen cabinetry, and Douglas fir – which will patinate and mark with use – for the dining table. Eramosa, a Canadian stone with a marble-like appearance, was flamed for bathroom floors, its weathered feel suggestive of the island’s stone underfoot. In the primary suite, cupboard doors were replaced with hand-loomed rugs, suspended from forged iron frames that sway with use and provide acoustic dampening.

The creatives paid equal attention to other sensory and mood-enhancing details. “Lighting was often at the heart of our decision-making process,” explains Adam. “We did not want to disturb the serenity of the darkness on the island, and how finishes would feel when very dimly lit was paramount in selecting materials.”

To this end, walls and ceilings were finished in plaster, its hue tinted by shifts in exterior conditions. Diff use light, like that from an Akari pendant above the dining table and lantern-like lamps throughout the home, adds warmth to rooms. Task lighting was sourced from brands such as Artemide and Flos, and bespoke cast-iron sconces repeat the blacksmith-forged tactility of wrought-iron handrails.

The home’s many bespoke finishes and furnishings nod to a collaborative personalisation of the living experience. An integrated sofa, steps and storage, for example, will acquire character with use. Commissioned tables, cabinets, benches and rugs, all in hues hand-picked from the island, speak to a contemporary aesthetic with a rustic backstory. Much like the past, with time this cottage too will become weathered and worn and lived in, its patina as rugged as that of the windswept pines. bureautempo.ca | thomfougere.com

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COMPILED BY Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Vinay Panjwani, Hiroyuki Oki, Fernando Guerra, Trieu Chien, Samuel Hartnett, Hufton + Crow Photography, PHX INDIA, Dook (Kalahari Dunes), Elsa Young (Klaff Family Sports Centre), FLINK Studios (Mombo & Bisate), Carlo Antonelli (Ivory Coast Embassy), Elsa Young (The Gianni Ravazzotti Biodiversity Centre), Gordon Jubber (Volley Roper) RENDERS SAOTA

The World Architecture Festival (WAF) has revealed its full 2026 shortlist of over 416 projects up for awards in the Completed Buildings, Interiors, Future Projects and Landscape categories.

This year’s top 10 shortlisted countries include the USA, China, India, UK and Australia. The finalists range from major global architecture firms – including Foster + Partners, Snøhetta, Herzog & de Meuron, Coldefy, Grimshaw, Sanjay Puri Architects, Perkins&Will and Woods Bagot – to work from an exciting new generation of emerging studios.

10 Outstanding International Projects

Below, in no particular order, are 10 outstanding international projects up for awards this year:

The Folia by ET Architects | WAF Completed Buildings: Mixed Use

Located in Anji County, Zhejiang Province, at the confluence of Huxi Stream and Lingfeng Lake, The Folia sits within the ‘Two Mountains’ Future Science and Technology City. With a gross floor area of 157,000 square metres, this super-tall mixed-use complex brings together a hotel, offices, retail and apartments in a single landmark development.

Prestige University by Sanjay Puri Architects | WAF Completed Buildings: Higher Education and Research

Set within a 32-acre university campus, this five-level building houses the main administration offices, auditorium, seminar halls, library and cafeteria. Its terraces step up diagonally from the northern end and are fully accessible to students and faculty – effectively transforming the building into an open-air auditorium set within a landscaped environment.

Lotus Clubhouse by MIA Design Studio | WAF Landscape

In tropical cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, openness, shade, vegetation, airflow and water are not aesthetic luxuries but essential infrastructure for human comfort. Conceived as a living organism rather than an isolated architectural object, the Lotus Clubhouse breathes in harmony with its terrain, preserving ecological continuity and biodiversity within a new urban development. Architecture dissolves into landscape, allowing nature to remain the project’s primary spatial identity.

Copper Villa by Jacobsen Studio | WAF Completed Buildings: House and Villa (Urban)

Situated on Jumeirah Bay Island in the Arabian Gulf, Copper Villa occupies a privileged position between the intensity of Dubai and the quieter atmosphere of a seaside retreat. Defined by materiality and spatial clarity over historicist language, the project reinterprets principles drawn from Brazilian residential architecture – openness, continuity and the tactile presence of materials – in dialogue with local traditions of shade, enclosure and filtered light.

Saha Casa Boutique Hotel by Ho Khue Architects | WAF Completed Buildings: Hotel and Leisure

Set in Da Nang’s tourist district – an area dominated by bland concrete and glass – the Saha Casa Boutique Hotel offers a considered alternative to its surroundings. Designed to shelter guests from the city’s noise and activity, the project creates a calm, restorative environment that optimises functional density without compromising on tranquillity or lasting architectural significance.

Terra House by Atelier Design N Domain LLP | WAF Completed Buildings: House and Villa – (Rural/Coastal)

Rooted in the landscape of Mallapuram, Terra House takes its cue from the horizon – where earth and sky exist in constant dialogue. Wind, light and monsoon air move freely through the structure, which listens to rather than imposes upon its setting. Spaces flow into one another through courts, thresholds and bridges, allowing joy, solitude and openness to coexist.

Techo International Airport by Foster + Partners | WAF Completed Buildings: Transport

Located 20 kilometres south of Phnom Penh’s city centre, Techo International Airport offers a new vision for Cambodia’s capital. The design draws on one of the world’s oldest civilisations, responding to vernacular forms and tropical climate, while a broader masterplan envisages a new airport city centred on a state-of-the-art terminal that sets new benchmarks for passenger experience and sustainability.

Zayed National Museum by Foster + Partners | WAF Completed Buildings: Culture

Located at the heart of the Saadiyat Cultural District in Abu Dhabi, the Zayed National Museum traces the history of the UAE from its earliest human settlements to the civilisations that shaped its culture and identity. Rooted in the values of the nation’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the building’s form draws on the challenge of sustaining life in a desert environment while honouring the UAE’s rich cultural traditions.

Two Sheds by RTA Studio | WAF Completed Buildings: House and Villa – (Rural/Coastal)

Situated just below the crest of a hill with commanding views of the Remarkables, Kingston and Coronet Peak, this rural home draws on the vernacular sheep-shed architecture of the region. The programme is divided between two sheds – one housing the living spaces and primary bedroom, the other containing guest bedrooms, a family living area and garaging – with entry positioned between the two.

New Government Quarter by Nordic Office of Architecture with Haptic Architects | WAF Completed Buildings: Civic and community

The New Government Quarter consolidates ministries, public institutions and everyday city life within an open yet secure civic landscape, giving physical form to the ambition of ‘more democracy, more openness, more humanity’. Five new buildings and two sensitively restored structures are arranged as a ring around a sequence of interconnected public spaces, stitching the quarter back into Oslo’s historic centre and transforming what was once a barrier-laden area into a walkable, human-scaled campus.

South African Firms on the 2026 Shortlist

Nine projects by South African practices have been shortlisted this year:

Klaff Family Sports Centre by Hubo Studio

Location: South Africa

Category: WAF Completed Buildings: Sport

The Klaff Family Sports Centre at King David Linksfield reimagines the school sports facility as a complete educational complex: a place where performance, recovery, analysis, belonging and joy are designed as one continuous experience. The project’s power lies in its kindness. School sport can be intimidating, exclusionary and overly performance-driven. Here, the architecture deliberately softens that culture without diluting ambition. Colour, acoustics, material warmth and spatial openness are used to create an environment where students of all abilities feel invited to participate. | hubostudio.com

Kalahari Dunes Private Game Reserve by ARRCC

Location: South Africa

Category: WAF Completed Buildings: Hotel and Leisure & WAF Interiors: Hotel

Conceptually, this primal and raw building starts with a simple rectangle. The main lodge incision creates the focal point for the entrance and overall connecting space. This also creates a separation between the private owner’s wing and the public accommodation to the north and west. The Main Lodge’s public functions sit over four bedrooms and support functions. Guest villas, grouped in three pairs of cottages, are arranged along the sand dune ‘chain’.

The interiors are defined by a restrained material and colour palette that draws directly from the Kalahari. Rust and honeyed tones reference the desert sands, complemented by copper, brass and weathering steels that deepen over time. Materials are selected as much for performance as for expression, with surfaces allowed to retain a degree of grit and patina rather than being overly refined or polished. | arrcc.com

The Sanctuary at Wilderness Mombo by Black Sable Designs and Artichoke Interior Design

Location: Botswana 

Category: WAF Completed Buildings: Hotel and Leisure

Situated in a remote location in the Okavango Delta – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – with seasonal flooding, submerged access routes and bridges, sits Mombo’s spa – conceptualised as The Sanctuary. Employing local skills and labour, and responding to the strict laws governing construction in this extremely sensitive location, the buildings were unable to incorporate any form of permanent construction, such as concrete. Instead, the buildings use temporary construction methods, such as ground screws and roped timber foundations, so that they can be fully removed and the site restored if required.

The building is conceptualised as a series of deliberate thresholds that slowly prepare you for your spa treatment. From the outside, a dry, grassy and hot natural environment leads to a protected oasis and through to a central sanctuary. This sanctuary is low, slatted and surrounded by a series of intricate, organic, curved walls with water features at floor level and muted, dappled skylights overhead. blacksable.co.za | artichokeinteriordesign.com

The Sanctuary at Wilderness Bisate by Black Sable Designs and Artichoke Interior Design

Location: Rwanda 

Category: WAF Completed Buildings: Hotel and Leisure

In the remote forests of Eastern Rwanda sits Wilderness Bisate Sanctuary, a place where guests can relax and connect with themselves and others between the arduous treks to see the endangered mountain gorillas.

By utilising various types and lengths of thresholds between spaces, the preceding and succeeding spaces are given a place to exist independently, allowing guests the time to transition between them. The thresholds also serve as a counterpoint, being in direct opposition to what comes before and after, deeply emphasising each space. blacksable.co.za | artichokeinteriordesign.com

9Miles Learning Centre by SAOTA

Location: South Africa

Category: WAF Future Project: Education

9Miles Learning Centre is conceived as a permanent community infrastructure for Strandfontein, a marginalised coastal settlement on Cape Town’s Cape Flats. Designed pro bono for 9Miles, an organisation committed to improving its crime- and drug-scourged community, the project establishes a safe, robust and resilient environment for youth development. It brings together education, mentorship and community engagement within a single architectural intervention, set against a context shaped by environmental fragility and historic exclusion.

A sheltered roof garden introduces a proactive space that enables hands-on learning while responding to wind exposure through built form. At ground level, an amphitheatre extends the building into the public realm, supporting events, dialogue and collective use. The space incorporates an illustration by Russell Abrahams, known as Yay Abe, a local multidisciplinary artist whose work captures the character of the community. | saota.com

Yardcom Office by SAOTA

Location: South Africa

Category: WAF Future Project: Office

The project transcends traditional preservation by treating heritage as an active urban gene. Rather than a superficial makeover, the design uncovers the building’s historical stratification, allowing construction traces from different eras to coexist in a continuous, multi-layered dialogue.

A biophilic design approach maximises natural light, integrates natural elements and fosters a healthier and more connected spatial experience. Although the light well is relatively compact, it effectively enhances daylight penetration and contributes to a more comfortable, healthier and more supportive working environment throughout the office. | saota.com

Ivory Coast Embassy by GLH & Associates Architects 

Location: South Africa

Category: WAF Completed Buildings: Civic and community  

Set among Pretoria’s mature jacaranda trees, the Embassy of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire is a contemporary diplomatic landmark that expresses unity, identity and openness, rooted in West African cultural traditions. Its elliptical spiral form – a ribbon-like volume suggesting upward movement and continuity – lends the building a distinct civic and ceremonial presence. The fully glazed facade is wrapped in a sun-shading screen of laser-cut stainless steel panels, their diagonal bands and diamond-shaped openings inspired by traditional Ivorian fabrics and basketry, and carefully calibrated to solar orientation for generous daylight, long views and energy efficiency. | glh.co.za

The Gianni Ravazzotti Biodiversity Centre by Office 24-7 Architecture

Location: South Africa

Category: WAF Interiors: Temporary/Meanwhile Uses  

Designed as an immersive journey through the region’s rich ecology, the Centre offers hands-on educational environments that promote active learning and foster a deeper connection between people, communities, and the natural world.

The exhibition features five themed spaces and nineteen subthemes, engaging learners from Grade 4 and aligning with South Africa’s Natural Sciences, Life Sciences, and Geography curriculum. Through tactile, multisensory exhibits and the integration of local vernacular, the Centre prioritizes inclusive participation and accessibility for both rural and private school groups.

Innovative design elements – including a life-size termite mound crafted from over 1,600 CNC-cut plywood components – highlight a unique approach that limits digital technology in favour of analogue activities, creating a vibrant, sensory learning experience.

Sustainability is at the heart of the Centre, with exhibition structures made from responsibly sourced birch and pine, minimizing environmental impact and supporting long-term resilience. | office24-7.co.za

Volley Roper by TANN Architecture

Location: South Africa

Category: WAF Completed Buildings: Housing 

The Volley Roper student housing project creates a new aesthetic language to one of the main academic arteries in Pretoria – Volley Roper is home 155 students – framing the Brooklyn suburb in Pretoria en-route to the University of Pretoria main campus. The main waved facade interprets the spatial and material character of Brooklyn’s modernist architectural heritage within a contemporary student living scheme.

In the suburb, the 1960’s residential work of deceased architect John Claassens helped shape a distinctly local modernism – One of his houses flank Volley Roper to the south on the same site and the Claassens House was refurbished as social and study spaces to the student housing – a house which informed the nature of the new building’s facade.

The dynamic breeze-block screen wraps the building, giving it a distinct identity and creating a layered architectural expression responsive to light, privacy, and climate, with the main facade being west facing. Rooted in community, the Volley Roper building fosters a thriving student living environment that encourages connection, interaction, and a strong sense of belonging. | tannarchitecture.com

World Architecture Festival and Inside World Festival of Interiors will take place at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on 18 – 20 November 2026. | worldarchitecturefestival.com

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WORDS Sean O’Toole PHOTOS Courtesy of the THK Gallery, Goodman Gallery and Everard Read, Supplied PORTRAITS Rebecca Boulet, Courtesy of Goodman Gallery, Supplied

New talent is the lifeblood of the art scene. It’s why canny dealers and curators haunt graduate exhibitions, feigning indifference, scanning degree shows for next year’s big name. Instagram has become an auxiliary viewing room, with many high-profile collectors now scrolling as avidly as they once strode through art school corridors.

For those who prefer to saunter rather than swipe for talent, the art fair circuit offers its own barometer of what’s next. In South Africa’s comparatively new market, youth carries particular currency. The Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Art Joburg and Latitudes Art Fair each foreground emerging artists through dedicated prizes: respectively, the Investec Emerging Artist Award, the FNB Art Prize, and the ANNA Award for women artists. Recent winners have skewed Millennial.

For artists, the period between their late 20s and early 40s is a time of ambition and attrition. Four of the five artists profiled here are old enough to have outlasted early doubt, but young enough to remain institutionally nimble. They’re all “ones to watch”.

Tshepiso Moropa

When she finished high school, Joburg-based collage artist Tshepiso Moropa had to park her dreams. Following her parents’ advice, she studied psychology and linguistics at Wits. The training lingers in her work, which is attentive to language, memory and identity. Her handcraft ed photo collages, presented in her debut at the 2026 Cape Town Art Fair, draw on Tswana folk tales shared with her by her aunt. “The subject matter oft en includes self-portraits or archived images of African women that I’ve sourced from library resources or research sites on the internet,” Tshepiso explains. “The archive serves as a site for both excavation and recreation.”

She treats found photographs as living documents. “I use archived images as proxies for memory, especially concerning cultural heritage and the present time.”

Figures are cut, layered and re-staged against stark white backgrounds, as if suspended between eras. The effect is neither nostalgic nor didactic. “My collages celebrate blackness, and pride in our heritage and culture. The focus is on finding a sense of belonging within ourselves, rather than seeking it from others.” @tshepisomoropaa

Guy Simpson

In the three years since his debut solo at THK Gallery, painter and sculptor Guy Simpson has moved briskly through South Africa’s blue-chip ecosystem, also showing at Everard Read and Goodman Gallery. Yet it was his 2024 exhibition “Over the Garden Wall” at Breakroom Projects – a Woodstock space created by artist Igshaan Adams – that was decisive. Installed alongside a freestanding motorised gate and a pair of shoes caught mid-stride, Guy showed irregularly shaped, layered abstractions. The paintings, some of which read like peeled sections of scuffed walls, announced his interest in pushing beyond the literal.

His earliest works were precise drawings of interiors. This domestic theme informed paintings of his childhood home in the Joburg suburb of Sydenham – a pitched-roof bungalow he moved into at age six and left at 19, to study at the Cape Town Creative Academy. His work concentrated on its unremarkable fixtures: plug points, parquet floors, alarm sensors, brass numbers.

His Goodman Gallery exhibition, “Was Here”, presented a mix of descriptive and irregular abstractions, the latter now framed. “I was struggling to sell the larger canvas works,” he says. “Stretching and framing them helped me do a lot more with the medium; I now have a rigid structure to layer more materials.” Framing may have closed some doors – but it opened others. @guysimpson_

Kamva Matuis

Shortcuts to becoming an artist are rare, though luck can sometimes accelerate the process. Joburg-based painter Kamva Matuis, the only Gen Z artist here, is enjoying such a moment. Trained at Wits, last year he presented a solo exhibition at Lemkus Gallery, an important early-career space run by Michaelis graduate Jared Leite. Among the work, an upward-looking view of two Fallists preparing to cover the statue of Cecil John Rhodes lingered, partly because of its unusual vantage point but also for its restrained palette. Kamva, who was born in Burgersdorp in the Eastern Cape, described the painting as a form of exorcism.

The momentum has continued. In January, he participated in Everard Read’s Cubicle Series, showing earlier paintings triggered by his first visit to Cape Town. A month later he appeared with two galleries at the Cape Town Art Fair: Lemkus presented a jolting composition of a stitched-up cadaver with a half-eaten apple balanced on its torso, while tastemaker Blank Projects showed portraits of Winnie Mandela and Nina Simone – both role models for the artist.

Kamva is an assured figurative painter with a marked feeling for brown – a notoriously difficult colour. But while good painters are plentiful, interesting ones are rare. And he is interesting. @matuiskamva

Amy Rusch

“My work is fed by my experiences in sailing and archaeology,” says Cape Town-born textile artist Amy Rusch. Equally comfortable crewing a boat on the Atlantic and tracing rock engravings in the Northern Cape, Amy produces works that are an elegant metabolism of her experiences.

Water is integral to understanding her practice. In recent years, she’s shown large hanging textile pieces made of nylon spinnaker sail, either as collages or free-form installations. She’s best known for her work using salvaged plastic bags, many found on shorelines. “Plastic is the material of our time,” she says.

In her hands, the plastic buckles under accumulated stitching. Tension is palpable. The outcome may be abstract, but her works feel animated, offering an “archaeological sense” of now. Cut, flattened and tensioned into submission, they become the ground for machine stitching. Thread, often inherited from female relatives, functions as both a drawing tool and quiet biographical trace.

Her compositions range from tight, almost cartographic colour fields to spare contour studies referencing a sailboat crossing of the South Atlantic. Time spent on archaeological sites with her father also registers in her layered, topographical works. She was awarded the Materiality Prize at the 2026 Cape Town Art Fair. @amy.rusch

Warren Maroon

“I started making art late due to, well, things,” says Warren Maroon, winner of the Emerging Artist Award at the 2026 Cape Town Art Fair. In 2020, while working as a gallery assistant, he presented his debut, “Living in a Box”. The exhibition featured commonplace objects such as bricks, hammers and burglar bars; one work comprised a hammer wrapped in a pink cloth, like a mourning shroud. His sculptures reflected his – and many other young men’s – lived experience of the Cape Flats.

Warren’s muscular practice caught the eye of Everard Read, who invited him to show in its Cubicle Series. His 2023 solo at the gallery, “Well, there goes that dream”, included a freestanding installation composed of dowel sticks and gavels.

Inspired by Italy’s post-war Arte Povera movement, Warren’s materialist practice is propositional. It wants you to consider the potential of ordinary things. His latest solo at Everard Read builds on his long-standing interest in hammers, using a new medium: paper. “The exhibition is about a hammer and a nail, and the power relationship between the two,” he says. “One can’t survive without the other. I usually use multiple found objects to tell a story, but it can become too abstract, so I decided to be more precise with how I imbue meaning in objects.” @warrenmaroon

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PHOTOS Supplied

Tapping directly into the office design trends defining 2026, Belgotex’s new Terranova range introduces a touch of nature underfoot through texture, colour and materiality.

Conceived as a deliberate antidote to the clinical and corporate, the modular range speaks to a growing demand for tactile surfaces, nature-inspired tones and sustainable materials in office environments – creating zoned, layered and expressive interiors.

With its multi-high-low loop construction and tricolour SDN (Solution Dyed Nylon) yarn system, Terranova echoes the layered complexity of soil and embedded rock, resulting in a textured surface with depth and variation.

The palette consists of 25 nature-inspired colourways drawn from naturally occurring mineral pigments, offering a spectrum of earthy tones – from warm reds and ochres to muted greens and soft neutrals – that reflect the diversity and richness of the continent’s terrain.

Thanks to Terranova’s modular nature, its colourways work together to creatively delineate different zones within an office space:

• Willow Brook and Lake Blue, laid in a checkerboard pattern, create a high-impact, nature-forward first impression, making this pairing perfect for reception and arrival zones.
• The grounding hues of Goldstone and Stone Creek reference the warm mineral tones of sun-baked earth, making them a natural choice for collaborative zones and lounge areas.
• Lichen Mist and Blue Lustre, used as individual colourways, bring a calm, meditative quality to spaces designed for deep concentration.
• Together, Dusk Birch and Aged Bark create a sophisticated, quietly luxurious palette ideal for boardrooms and executive spaces.

With green building certification, reduced environmental footprint and circular design principles now central to how leading developers and interior designers specify products, the sustainably-minded tufted tile range is built to perform in the most demanding commercial environments. | belgotex.co.za

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Cape Town’s city centre is entering a new era, as the city’s most discerning residents seek convenience, comfort and architectural presence within a connected urban setting. At the heart of that shift sits Bree Street, and at 142 Bree Street, The Madison arrives as a new sculptural landmark by Tricolt Group.

Sculpted Into the Skyline

Rising 23 storeys above one of Cape Town’s most culturally alive precincts, The Madison is a confident addition to the skyline, framed by uninterrupted views stretching from Table Mountain to Table Bay.

Its form is sculptural yet restrained, defined by flowing lines and a facade that responds to light, movement and perspective. Every detail has been selected with intention, creating a timeless design that doesn’t shout but speaks with precision.

The Madison comprises 391 residences designed for a lifestyle shaped by balance, clarity and understated sophistication. Floor-to-ceiling glazing dissolves the boundary between interior and city, drawing natural light and sweeping views into every home.

A Residence for Every Rhythm

Executive Suites – Priced from R2 650 000 | USD $182 000 | €158 000
Ideal for secure, lock-up-and-go city living with seamless access to premium amenities. Designed for efficiency without compromise.

Executive One-Bed Apartments – Priced from R3 150 000 | USD $191 000 | €168 000
Perfect for professionals seeking privacy, generous proportions and elevated everyday comfort in the heart of the city.

One-Bed Apartments – Priced from R3 550 000 | USD $212 000 | €183 000
Well-balanced layouts designed for singles or couples who value flexibility, convenience and uninterrupted city views.

Two-Bed Apartments – Priced from R6 815 000 | USD $406 000 | €352 000
Thoughtfully crafted for couples or small families, offering space, flow and long-term liveability in a connected urban setting. 

Penthouse Collection – Priced from R12 440 000 | USD $753 000 | €652 000
Live above the city in a limited selection of penthouse residences that crown The Madison and offer an elevated expression of urban luxury.

The Beat of Bree Street

A welcome addition to the precinct, The Madison is shaped by a carefully curated collection of lifestyle amenities that mirror the vibrancy of Bree Street.

Known for its restaurants, galleries, hotels and café culture, Bree Street is where Cape Town comes alive – its creative energy and pedestrian-friendly rhythm turning everyday city living into something closer to ritual. As the recognised epicentre of First Thursdays and Open Streets, it is a precinct that continues to draw both residents and visitors with an effortless pull.

Exceptional Amenities and Services

• Concierge and reception services
• Sixth-floor podium clubhouse with swimming pool
• Landscaped outdoor leisure areas
• Cape Town’s first Gold’s Gym
• Sauna and steam rooms
• Flexible co-working spaces
• Retail, café, bar and hospitality offerings
• Secure parking and controlled access
• 24-hour CCTV and security control room

Positioned for Long-Term Value

For investors, The Madison presents a compelling case. Driven by strong tourism, soaring short-term rental demand and ongoing urban revitalisation, Bree Street continues to outperform as a consistently in-demand urban location.

The Madison offers early buyers the chance to secure an investment in one of Cape Town’s most tightly held and high-performing precincts, where capital growth is estimated at 10 per cent per annum. Registered buyers receive a R100 000 early investor benefit. The purchase price is VAT-inclusive and free of transfer duty.

For buyers interested in short-term rental returns, The Madison offers professional rental management, creating a seamless, hassle-free ownership experience from guest bookings to day-to-day operations.

The online sales launch takes place on 29 July 2026, with a R100 000 discount available to those who reserve on the day. Visit themadison.co.za to register and find out more.

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WORDS Steve Smith PHOTOS Supplied

The 7th of April 2024 was a dark day in the storied history of one of South Africa’s heritage wine estates as a fire ravaged its historic Manor House and Jonkershuis buildings. Established in 1682 and recognised as the first registered company in the Cape Winelands, Blaauwklippen has played a formative role in the country’s viticultural, commercial and hospitality history. On 1 February this year, its boutique hotel officially re-opened, marking both a return and a renewal.

Guided by heritage architects and specialist craftsmen, the restoration balanced historical integrity with modern comfort. Original materials – including centuries-old bricks and fragments of Delft porcelain uncovered during the rebuild – were carefully conserved, and reintroduced where possible.

The restoration also incorporates contemporary interior design elements that honour the original architecture while offering the best in modern luxury, and Cape Town-based designer Francois du Plessis was given the task – and the weighty responsibility – of marrying the two. We spoke to him about his approach to this important piece of South African history.

How do you tackle a project such as this one?

“My guiding principle was to create interiors that feel as though they’ve evolved naturally over generations – as if the same family had lived here for centuries, adding layers, stories and objects over time. The spaces look simultaneously to the past and the present, allowing history and modern comfort to coexist.”

How would you describe the aesthetic you created?

“The Manor House and Jonkershuis were imagined as the homes of a well- travelled family. This informed the selection of furniture, objects and materials – pieces that feel collected rather than curated, sourced from across regions and eras. Obeche furniture, eclectic antiques and globally inspired elements were layered together to suggest journeys taken and stories gathered from around the world.

“Wherever possible, original furniture and salvaged pieces from the farm were reused, not overly restored, and allowed to retain their patina and imperfections. These details preserve the soul of the building and honour its legacy, ensuring that the fire did not erase its past, but rather became part of its story.

What drove your choice of materials?

“It was driven by both heritage requirements and sensory experience. We used Breathecoat SA – a specialist matte, breathable paint that had been recommended by heritage consultants and that was suitable for historic wall structures. The colour palette is soft and grounded, with warm earth tones that create calm, depth and continuity while aligning with the farm’s updated brand CI and Pantone guidelines. This ensures a consistent visual thread across the entire estate.

“Texture and tactility were essential in creating warmth. I’m passionate about layering contrasting materials, and here we combined linens, silks, velvets and leather to add richness and softness to the interiors. Given the hospitality context, all fabrics were selected for durability, meeting high rub-test requirements, with practical slip covers incorporated where appropriate.”

You’ve said this was a personal and creative milestone. How so?

“This project was deeply personal for me. The aesthetic aligns closely with how I live and design, and working within such a rich heritage context – particularly one marked by loss and recovery – was both challenging and profoundly rewarding. The result is a series of interiors that feel elegant yet unpretentious – historic yet alive.” fdpinteriors.co.za | newmarkhotels.com

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WORDS Annette Klinger PRODUCTION & PHOTOS Paris Brummer

To paraphrase from Stewart Brand’s seminal How Buildings Learn, the architectural ideal of permanence is diametrically opposed to the reality of change. Architecture is perpetually at the whim of forces that can be as mundane as residents wanting to knock out a couple of walls, or as profound as the passage of time.

It’s this pragmatic view that has seen next-generation architects like Carl Jacobsz of C76 Architecture embrace a more ephemeral approach to structural design, framing impermanence as a feature, not a bug. “Nature is adaptive and flexible, and it informs my search for an architectural language that’s relevant in today’s changing times,” he says while discussing one of his latest projects – a prefabricated cabin that, should its owners wish, could be disassembled, loaded onto a two-axle truck, and rebuilt on another site.

Not that the owners would want to move. Situated 200 metres from the ocean on a farm near Cape St Francis in the Eastern Cape, the steel cabin is designed to make the owners feel enveloped by their rural surroundings. It’s a place where Ankole cows saunter past, scorpions and snakes go about their business, and fishing boats haul out chokka in the distance. “A main focus of this cabin was to provide a basic shelter where you can enjoy nature,” Carl says. “The architectural aesthetic wasn’t the primary concern; the focus was on experiences, like lying in your bed and looking at the expanse of the ocean while listening to birds chirping.”

The cabin’s design merges Carl’s love for reusable materials and adaptable modular structures with the remoteness of the site, which didn’t have the infrastructure to transport lorry-loads of building materials. “We designed it almost as a kit of parts: the components were made by architectural steel manufacturers Estee Automation in Joburg and transported to the site, where Zenios Construction assembled it,” he says.

From an ecological standpoint, the cabin’s modular design also meant lower impact on-site during construction, needing 80-90% less water than a building of equal size would require if it used concrete and bricks. “This is a water-scarce area, therefore a dry construction approach was more considerate,” says Carl. “The only part of the build that needed water was the substructure.”

The minimalist form of the cabin is a function of its design. “The shape is a consequence of what we wanted to achieve,” explains Carl. “We wanted it to be as simple as possible, because the more complicated it gets, the more expensive and diffi cult it becomes to assemble. When you design something that’s flexible and movable, every joint needs to be considered, down to the bolts and holes.”

With a footprint of 70m2 – 20m2 of which is the patio – liveability was another driver of design. “Many of which is the patio – liveability was another driver of design. “Many of us have stayed in those wedding venue cabins where you feel as though you’re dying from heat exhaustion, so in this cabin we emphasised comfort: it has high volumes with high, openable windows to let hot air escape; the walls are over-insulated and covered with aluminium slats that add an extra layer of shading; and all the windows and doors slide open, and are positioned to maximise cross-ventilation.”

Inside, a moody palette of charcoal joinery, polished concrete fl ooring and black steel, off set by light timber ceilings and accents, encourages cocooning. The layout is spartan, with an open-plan kitchen and lounge extending onto an ocean-front patio; there’s also a small bathroom, storage facilities, and a loft bedroom with its own balcony.

More of a couple’s retreat than a permanent residence, the cabin’s windows and doors have sliding hinged screens that double as security shutters, enabling the entire structure to close up like an abstract sculpture until the next visit. “It’s a certain type of person that likes this kind of place,” says Carl. “It forces its residents to touch it and interact with it, to open hatches and slide screens. It’s a bit like rotating the sails of a yacht to catch the wind. You have to use your hands to experience the cabin’s full potential.” | c76.co.za

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INTERVIEW BY Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Supplied

For Ruaan Dreyer and Marco Moors, the duo behind Moors Ceramics, location is indeed everything. Set among the flowers of the Lowensvlei Flower Farm, their ceramics studio is known for its small-batch, handcrafted pieces inspired by the shapes and seasonal colours of their surroundings. We spoke to the pair about life on a flower farm and how it has informed their approach to ceramics.

How did Moors Ceramics come to be – what led you to establish a ceramics studio on a flower farm in the Swartland?

“Moors Ceramics really began long before we ever owned a flower farm.

“I’ve always loved ceramics and handmade objects. Before moving to the Swartland, I owned a gift shop in Bloemfontein, so I spent years surrounded by beautiful homeware, decor and ceramics. I’ve always been drawn to pieces that feel like they have a story rather than simply serving a purpose.

“The name Moors Ceramics comes from my surname, which makes the studio incredibly personal. It’s not just a business; it’s something that carries my own identity.

“Four years ago, Ruaan and I took a leap of faith and bought Lowensvlei Flower Farm. It was a complete lifestyle change. Ruaan came from a corporate property background and naturally brought structure, planning and operational thinking to the farm, while I brought the creative side. Somehow those two worlds just clicked.

“Living on a flower farm has a way of slowing you down and making you appreciate the beauty in everyday things. Flowers, seasons, soil, colour and craftsmanship all became part of our daily lives, and starting Moors Ceramics felt like the most natural next step. It never felt like a separate business – it simply grew alongside the farm.”

Organic form, repetition and texture are central to your practice. How much of the landscape finds its way into the pieces?

“Probably far more than we realise.

“When you spend every day on a working flower farm, you begin to notice patterns everywhere. Long rows of flowers, trays of seedlings, fields planted in perfect repetition, and the way the landscape changes with the seasons all quietly influence the way you think about design.

“Our wall domes are a good example of that. Individually, they’re simple, but when they’re installed together, they create rhythm and movement, much like walking through rows of flowers stretching across the farm.

“The Swartland itself also leaves its mark on everything we make. It’s not a loud landscape; it’s subtle. The dry earth, soft neutral tones, changing skies and beautiful natural light all inspire the colours and finishes we work with.

“One of the things we love most about ceramics is that, just like farming, you can never control everything. You prepare as carefully as you can, but once the kiln is fired, the glaze develops its own personality. That unpredictability reminds us a lot of growing flowers. Nature always has the final say.”

The sculptural domes are quite striking. Can you tell us more about this collection and its making process?

“The domes actually started with a very simple question: how could we create something that brings warmth, texture and colour to a wall without overwhelming a space?

“We wanted something sculptural, but also timeless. Each dome is cast, finished and glazed by hand, so although they share the same form, no two are ever identical. The kiln gives every piece its own character. Sometimes the glaze develops incredible depth, sometimes it breaks softly over the curves, and sometimes it surprises us completely. Those little differences are exactly what we love.

“The collection has grown to include three sizes that can be displayed individually or combined into larger installations. We especially enjoy mixing them with our ceramic swallows, because together they create a feeling of movement across a wall. The domes bring calmness and balance, while the birds introduce a sense of life and playfulness.

“For us, it’s less about decorating a wall and more about creating something that feels collected over time rather than bought.”

How do you position Moors Ceramics within the broader South African design landscape, and how important is the sense of place to the identity of the studio?

“We’re incredibly proud to make everything here on our flower farm in the Swartland.

“There’s something special about creating pieces in the same place where we’re growing flowers every day. The farm isn’t just where the studio happens to be – it’s part of its identity.

“We’re not chasing perfect uniformity or mass production. We actually embrace the little differences that happen when something is made by hand. Slight variations in glaze, texture or colour are what make each piece unique.

“I think our different backgrounds also shape the business in an important way. I naturally lean towards creativity, while Ruaan brings structure, planning and a practical way of thinking. That balance has become the foundation of both the farm and Moors Ceramics.

“South African design has such a strong appreciation for authenticity and local craftsmanship, and we’re honoured to be part of that conversation. We want to create beautiful objects that people can live with for years, while knowing exactly where they came from and who made them.”

What does a typical day at Lowensvlei look like, and how do the rhythms of the farm influence the pace and direction of Moors Ceramics?

“No two days are ever the same, and that’s probably what we enjoy most.

“The mornings usually begin in the flower fields or tunnels. There are flowers to harvest, crops to check, staff to coordinate and orders to get out the door. Farming has its own rhythm, and it doesn’t wait for anyone.

“Somewhere between all of that, the ceramics studio comes to life. Some days we’re pouring moulds, trimming pieces or glazing new collections. Other days we’re unloading a kiln with the excitement – and sometimes the nervousness – of seeing what happened overnight.

“The biggest lesson we’ve learnt from both farming and ceramics is patience. Flowers bloom when they’re ready, and clay dries when it’s ready. Neither can be rushed without compromising the end result.

“Looking back, it’s difficult to separate Moors Ceramics from Lowensvlei because they’ve grown together. The farm gives us constant inspiration, keeps us grounded, and reminds us every day that the most rewarding things are often the ones that take the longest to create.” moors.co.za | @m_o_o_r_s

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