The 2026 Standard Bank Young Artist Awards winners represent the best of South Africa’s creative generation across art, music, dance and theatre.
WORDS Neyani Mphephu PHOTOS Supplied
It is incredible to witness the growth of South African art and talent across different art forms, with artists expressing themselves in unique ways to reach one common goal. Each winner of the 2026 Standard Bank Young Artist Awards pushes the boundaries of their discipline, exploring themes including love, girlhood, African ontologies and transformative performance on a world stage.
The winners will showcase their fascinating bodies of work at the National Arts Festival, to be held in Makhanda from 25 June to 5 July 2026.
“It’s such an important part of the Festival each year, to host the Standard Bank Young Artist cohort’s new work. The 2026 cohort reflects a mix of fresh language and positioning alongside historical grounding; the energy is high and confident. We’re looking forward to innovation, influence and remembering,” notes Artistic Director Rucera Seethal.
The 2026 Standard Bank Young Artist Awards winners include:
Jason Jacobs – Theatre
Presents Kraal
Jason performed Kraal in both a traditional theatre and a sacred matjieshut – a two-part decolonial curation that powerfully unravels inherited trauma and the shadow of the colonial dop system. Originally from the landscapes of Namaqualand, he combines heritage and contemporary storytelling through film and theatre. He will also showcase his screenplay Variations on a Theme alongside his co-writer and co-director Devon Delmoar – a story about an elderly goatherd caught in a reparations scam: a portrait of waiting, endurance and loss as repetition serves as revelation.
Lee-Che Janecke – Dance
Presents MAJAIVAN: A Movement Story of the Life of Lee-Che Janecke
Known globally as Litchi HOV, Lee-Che Janecke is the choreographer, creative director and cultural innovator behind some popular contemporary African dances. MAJAIVAN: A Movement Story of the Life of Lee-Che Janecke is his most personal offering yet: an emotional autobiography told entirely through movement. Lee-Che was the creative architect of Tyla’s Grammy Award-winning Water, which became a global dance awakening. Also noteworthy is his 2025 MTV VMA-nominated work, Push 2 Start, for Best Choreographer.
Gabi Motuba – Jazz
Presents The Sounds of a Black Girl
Gabi Motuba moves through jazz like a philosopher through language – with precision, curiosity and deep conviction. The Sounds of a Black Girl brings a new ensemble to the stage for a performance rooted in improvisation, spiritual jazz and neo-soul, building on the experimental foundations of The Sabbath. A vocalist and composer of rare emotional range, Gabi is redefining what South African jazz can hold.
Manana – Music
Presents Pulchritudinous: The Beauty of the Journey
SAMA-winning Manana arrives at the Festival with his most ambitious live offering to date. Pulchritudinous: The Beauty of the Journey spans his entire artistic arc – from debut EP In the Beginning Was the End to 2025’s OBHM: Full Stop – performed with a full band and horn section. With collaborations stretching from Burna Boy and Usher to Tyla, Cynthia Erivo and Sauti Sol, Manana will perform new arrangements, rare renditions and unreleased material in a once-in-a-lifetime showcase.
Bronwyn Katz – Visual Art
Presents Ta a-b kobab ada kāxu-da, ti khoe-du’e!
Bronwyn Katz’s exhibition Ta a-b kobab ada kāxu-da, ti khoe-du’e! is a quiet act of linguistic retrieval, translating the body’s own cartographies into metal scaffolds, horns and cavities alive with healing herbs, beeswax and conductive wire. Born in Kimberley and based in Cape Town, Katz is a founding member of iQhiya, the celebrated 11-woman collective that has shown at Documenta 14 in Kassel and Athens. Her practice is an evolving system of notation: an effort to speak the phonetics of a language not yet fully remembered.
The National Arts Festival runs from 25 June to 5 July 2026. Visit nationalartsfestival.co.za to view the curated programme, which includes showcases by all the 2026 Standard Bank Young Artist Awards winners.
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