Zeitz MOCAA announced the launch of Everything but the Exhibition on 17 September 2026. Developed from IMPRINT, its publishing-focused Atelier, the online publication examines the research, discussion and production that surround exhibitions. The museum describes a space for visual and sound experiments alongside critical conversation, treating publishing as a curatorial practice in its own right and bringing less visible institutional processes into public view.
Zeitz MOCAA announced free admission for Heritage Day on 24 September 2026, alongside activities connecting art, architecture and South African cultural heritage. The Cape Town museum’s programme included multilingual building tours, exhibition tours, creative workshops and live performances. Its education team presented the day as an invitation for new and returning audiences to explore the museum together. This is an account of the announced programme, now past.
Zeitz MOCAA announced a presentation by Nolan Oswald Dennis for FNB Art Joburg, scheduled for 3–6 September 2026. Revisiting the artist’s UNDERSTUDIES exhibition, the booth focused on collaborative works using soil and geological materials to explore relationships between land, knowledge and collective labour. The museum also announced the launch of ECLIPTICS, Dennis’s first monograph, alongside discussions extending the presentation beyond the fair.
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Elvira Dyangani Ose speaking at TEOR/ética in 2019. Photo: TEORETICA, CC BY 3.0.TEORETICA · CC BY 3.0
Zeitz MOCAA announced Elvira Dyangani Ose’s appointment as artistic director, effective 1 October 2026. The Cape Town museum said she would lead its curatorial direction as it approached its second decade, building on Koyo Kouoh’s legacy. The announcement highlighted her leadership at MACBA and The Showroom, her curatorial work at Tate, and her longstanding engagement with art from Africa and its diaspora.
Zeitz MOCAA announced Jessica Nowitzki’s appointment to its board of trustees in June 2026. The museum described the US-based collector and arts advocate as a longstanding supporter of African American and diaspora artists and a member of its Global Council. Her appointment adds to the governing body responsible for strategic and financial oversight as the Cape Town institution prepares for its tenth anniversary in 2027.
In May 2026, Zeitz MOCAA announced a season connecting artist-led publishing with African and diasporic moving-image practices. IMPRINT was planned as a residency for Cape Town publishing collectives, while Turning Towards the Sun would present six commissioned films developed through the African Film and Media Arts Collective. The announcement linked both projects to collective production, public engagement and experimentation across the continent and its diaspora.
Zeitz MOCAA announced that Lidija Khachatourian and Suzanne McFayden Smith had joined its Global Council, while founding member Michèle Sandoz became senior strategic advisor for global patronage. The museum described the council as a non-voting network whose members advocate internationally and support programmes financially. The appointments formed part of its preparations for its tenth anniversary in 2027 and efforts to strengthen long-term institutional support.
In its December 2024 announcement, Zeitz MOCAA named Otobong Nkanga as the recipient of its 2025 Honorary Award for Artistic Excellence. The museum highlighted her research-led work across textiles, sculpture, performance and other media, connecting bodies, land and resources. The announcement situates that recognition within the institution’s support for contemporary African and diasporic art; its gala fundraising invitations are now historical.
Zeitz MOCAA’s 2024 announcement introduced Simone Leigh, Stephanie Thomas, Jo-Ann Strauss and Emma Menell as new members of its Global Council. The museum described the group’s role in advocacy, fundraising and strengthening connections with African creative communities. The appointments offer a historical view of how the institution assembled artistic and philanthropic support for its exhibitions and education work, rather than a verified account of its current membership.
Zeitz MOCAA’s 2024 announcement of Rita Mawuena Benissan’s One Must Be Seated described an exhibition exploring Asante enstoolment through umbrellas, stools, textiles, sculpture, photography and film. Curated by Beata America, the presentation drew on archives and collaboration with Kumasi artisans. Its historical significance lies in connecting Ghanaian traditions of leadership with contemporary artistic practice while recognising the craftspeople who sustain those traditions.
Zeitz MOCAA’s September 2024 announcement described Silo Through the Century: Into the Contemporary as a movable exhibition about the building’s changing uses. Combining archival images, video and objects, it traced the grain silo from its 1924 industrial beginnings to its conversion into a contemporary-art museum. The project placed the institution’s architecture within Cape Town’s economic and cultural history, beyond the centenary celebration itself.
Zeitz MOCAA’s 2024 announcement presented UNDERSTUDIES as Nolan Oswald Dennis’s first major solo exhibition at a South African museum. Curated by Thato Mogotsi, it explored how diagrams, models and collaborative processes could question authority, landlessness and scientific representations of the world. The museum highlighted a soil-based work made with staff and a reconfigured Black Liberation Zodiac, connecting artistic experimentation with collective learning.
In its 2024 announcement of The Other Side of Now, Zeitz MOCAA described Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s films and sculptures as an exploration of histories linked by colonialism and war. Stories of Moroccan soldiers and Senegalese-Vietnamese families placed African experiences at the exhibition’s centre. Curated by Beata America, the presentation used memory, imagined dialogue and objects associated with conflict to consider displacement, intergenerational connection and healing.
Zeitz MOCAA’s July 2024 announcement introduced Berni Searle as the sixth resident in its Atelier programme. Under the title On Site, the Cape Town artist combined earlier work, moving images, sketches and objects with a working studio where new ideas could develop. The museum connected the residency to Searle’s sustained engagement with the city’s histories and to opportunities for visitors to encounter artistic processes directly.
Zeitz MOCAA announced its first children’s book series, The Stories that Ran Away, in July 2024. Written by Meridian Berndt and illustrated by Jax Lamb, Berndt, Jill Joubert and Mandy Wamono, the four books grew from the museum’s earlier child-centred exhibition. The museum described the project as a way to connect African creation stories, visual art and learning, extending its educational work beyond the galleries.
In May 2024, Zeitz MOCAA reported that its fellowship with the University of the Western Cape had welcomed Yasmina Ali Yahia, Angela Muritu, Edna Bettencourt, Kakule Chadrack and Abbey IT-A. The third cohort combined museum work with study toward an honours qualification. The announcement records a pan-African investment in curatorial practice, collections, education and heritage, with fellows contributing to the museum’s Atelier programme.
In April 2024, Zeitz MOCAA announced a new Selections from the Collection presentation in Cape Town. Drawing on contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora, the exhibition addresses migration, memory, visibility, desire and power through multiple media. Featured artists include Nandipha Mntambo, Zanele Muholi, Kudzanai Chiurai and Joël Andrianomearisoa. The museum’s announcement scheduled the display from 4 April 2024 until 4 April 2027.
In December 2023, Zeitz MOCAA announced Sala, a collection exhibition developed with its museum fellows and staff from across departments. Seventeen artists, including El Anatsui, Joël Andrianomearisoa, Thania Petersen and Zanele Muholi, provided different ways to consider what a museum holds and whom it serves. The announcement framed the title as an invitation to remain in conversation with the works, the institution and its audiences.
In November 2023, Zeitz MOCAA announced two exhibitions examining memory, identity and the possibilities of lens-based media. Seekers, Seers, Soothsayers brought together seven artists working with film, performance and installation to explore spirituality and inherited histories. Mame-Diarra Niang’s Self as a Forgotten Monument surveyed a decade of photographic and audiovisual work, including an immersive installation. Both were presented as part of the Cape Town museum’s programme.
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Ekow Eshun at Kunsthalle Krems in November 2022. His 2023 Gallery 1957 exhibition in Accra is not pictured.Bernhard Holub · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped
ART AFRICA announced Ekow Eshun’s group exhibition at Gallery 1957, exploring African and diasporic ideas of time through painting, collage and moving image. Informed by Sankofa and collective memory, the programme brought established and emerging artists together in an industrial exhibition space in Accra.
