Bag Factory Artists Studio in Fordsburg, Johannesburg, celebrates diversity in its latest exhibition titled, Bag Factory: Reflections. 

The exhibition opens on Saturday and arts fanatics will feast on photography, video, painting, printmaking and mixed media works.

The new exhibition comes after It’s a Mixtape, an exhibition that ran from November 2022 until February.. 

The exhibition features fascinating artists whose art presents a breath of fresh air to the art industry.

Bag Factory: Reflections focuses on celebrating the work of dynamic visiting artists who have joined the Bag Factory family within the past five years.

According to Bag Factory Artists Studio, the exhibition recognises the artists’ perseverance, commitment to creating and experimentation.  

Mahube Diseko, who is also exhibiting and part of the curating team, says the title speaks to the idea of reflecting while simultaneously appreciating where the artists are currently and looking forward as a community.

Diseko, a multimedia artist who explores metamorphosis in her work, says the exhibition offers a unique opportunity to pause and meditate on this five-year mark in our 32-year history.  

“Even as these artists have made strides in their professional careers since being at Bag Factory, this return to the yellow roller doors fortifies that we are always with them on their journeys. We decided to organise a retrospective exhibition looking back to the past five years and the world has been through a lot with the Covid-19 outbreak.

“While working on the exhibition we had to look at artists who have been with Bag Factory as part of our awards programme – those who have worked with us to celebrate them. 

“When we were preparing for the exhibition, we did not want to focus on issues of theme, subjects and technique used. The plan was to exhibit the latest works of the artists which show where they are now compared to where they were before. The plan was to make the exhibition as diverse as possible because we knew they offer variety and have different stories to tell.” 

The exhibition features artists like Mpumelelo Buthelezi, Alka Dass, Kay-Leigh Fisher, Erla Haraldsdóttir, Ronél de Jager, Thonton Kabeya, Hemali Khoosal, Lebogang Mogul Mabusela, Bulumko Mbete, Brian Montshiwa, DuduBloom More, Boitmelo Motau, Nadia Myburgh, Richard ‘Specs’ Ndimande, Usen Obot, Levy Pooe, Joe Turpin and Helena Uambembe. 

It runs until June 23. 

bambalelep@sowetan.co.za