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Mandy Johnston’s latest exhibition uses burning steel wool sculptures and ash paintings to explore ritual, transformation and the transitions that shape our lives

Mandy Johnston wants to burn things to bring back traditions

The Joburg-born artist’s latest exhibition uses burning steel wool sculptures and ash paintings to explore ritual, transformation and the transitions that shape our lives

South African rapper, producer and musical artist, Sam Turpin

Sam Turpin’s notes on grief

The legacy of photographer Gisèle Wulfsohn echoes through her son’s music as Sam Turpin confronts sorrow through art

Loving memory: Maria McCloy was someone who made
Johannesburg feel possible. Someone who gathered people across
class, art, music, fashion and politics and convinced them that
beauty, style and radical care belonged together.

Maria McCloy made Johannesburg feel possible

Friends, creatives and a city in mourning gathered to celebrate the woman who helped shape how Johannesburg saw itself after 1994.

Maria McCloy died of heart failure in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

Cultural pioneer Maria McCloy dies at 50

Maria McCloy helped define post-apartheid urban culture through fashion, media, music and an uncompromising commitment to South Africa’s creative spirit

Soul food: Out of necessity Gabi Motuba sings, she swings black life and her conduction is continuously marshalling an imminent feeling of self-sovereignty. Photo: Standard Bank

Gabi Motuba and the sound of sacred resistance

Gabi Motuba’s music stretches beyond jazz, transforming grief, memory and resistance into a spiritual sonic language rooted in black life and liberation

Improvising the image: The Centre for the Less Good Idea hosted the second iteration of their expansive experimentation with intention, deep listening and meaning-making: Sounding Pictures. Photos: Zivanai Matangi

Lost in Joburg, found in sound

Stripping films of their original scores, ‘Sounding Pictures’ invites musicians and audiences alike into a charged, unpredictable experiment in collective interpretation

Paid a pittance: The artist’s path is never linear, but it has over the years become increasingly unsustainable. Photo: Unsplash

The cost of creativity

South African artists keep dying poor while their work enriches others. The Copyright Amendment Bill could finally change that – if it ever becomes law

Crowning glory: This year’s Miss South Africa Qhawekazi Mazaleni. Photo: Indirect Media

Miss SA 2025 Qhawekazi Mazaleni on pageantry, purpose and possibility

She’s a researcher, speech therapist, author — and now Miss South Africa. But for Qhawekazi Mazaleni, it’s all part of one calling

In line: M&G Cartoonist Carlos Amato recently published his first book-length collection titled This is Wild. Photo: Supplied

Carlos Amato: Drawing the madness of our times

Political cartoonist Carlos Amato reflects on satire, sensitivity and why South Africa remains one of the last frontiers of free cartooning

Have a blast: A saxophonist performs at a previous edition of Heritage Day celebrations. Photo: Supplied

Diary: Heritage Day at Zeitz MOCAA, Friends of Feya Faku in Durban, Poetry at Market Theatre

Your essential dose of art and culture

In for a penny: South African musician and politician Papa Penny and Zuma, founder of uMkhonto weSizwe, at the party’s rally at Orlando Stadium in Soweto last weekend. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

DJ Mahoota: The rise of ‘Come Duze’ and the intersection of music and politics in South Africa

Artists’ alignment has evolved since 1994, reflecting changing dynamics in politics

Bathu unveils Ndofaya: A sneaker that celebrates the spirit of true resilience and authenticity

The iconic brand has joined forces with SA icon Mandla Spikiri Mofokeng, aka The King Don Father