Whats on at Circa Gallery?
- Lucelle Pillay
- Jun 21
- 6 min read
I recently attended the current exhibition, When we Gather at Everard Reads' Circa gallery [1] on the Keyes Art Mile. This confluence of artistic expression is on show from 4 June to 3 July 2026 and marks the 35th anniversary of Bag Factory Artists' Studios [2]. Artist and writer Winifred Mueni (2026) states, " The Bag Factory Artists’ Studio builds a living archive of reconnecting artists who passed through the studio at different moments in its history and places them alongside those currently working within its studios. As a result, the exhibition reveals how ideas, relationships and methods continue to circulate long after artists move on." This group exhibition showcases selected alumni and current artists from three and a half decades of studio practices, awards and project programming.
Accompanied by avid art enthusiast, Cathy Sanan we were two of the many patrons who braved Joburg's cold snap to view Circa's visual offerings. We were warmly greeted by curator, Maria Fidel Regueros [3] who guided us through some of the works installed on the ground floor. While Cathy enjoyed the work of Sam Nhlengethwa [4], one of her favourite South African artists, I found the contributions of Usha Seejarim [5] and Blessing Ngobene [6] provocative. The atmosphere within the main second floor gallery became quite convivial as patrons gathered in groups to discuss their favourite pieces. Conversations were varied and vibrant as viewers from all walks of life engaged with meaning, colour and symbolism. In these instances art becomes the conduit for all our hopes and imaginations, the gallery space becomes the common ground for our stories and struggles.
The key objective of the exhibition, When we Gather, is a fundraising endeavour for Bag Factory Artist' Studios. According to Mueni (2026), "The Bag Factory itself has long operated as more than a studio complex. It has functioned as a site of encounter, where artists, curators and writers engage across generations and disciplines. That role remains central to its identity, especially as it enters its 35th year." The statement speaks to the value and legacy of creative practice Bag Factory has facilitated in the Johannesburg art ecosystem, allowing learning and collaboration to permeate through communities. Funding is essential for this entity to continue doing its important work for artists of all races. Bag Factory together with Circa serves as both a platform and a point of connection between artist and audience, one that deserves to be sustained.
The bigger picture of fundraising events within the arts and culture space reveals the worrying and growing budget cuts by government. Gayton McKenzie's [7] withdrawal of funding from major South African arts festivals, the arts sector continues to face significant instability and financial hardship. According to Brandon Nel, "These cuts have deepened existing challenges, threatening festivals and exhibitions that have long provided cultural platforms, employment opportunities, and economic support for thousands of people." The government have responded that this sector should become less dependent on public funding and seek corporate sponsorship, yet financially backs sporting initiatives with fervour (Nel 2026).
Shadrack Bokaba is in agreement with Nel's sentiment regarding Minister McKenzie's budget cuts that further eroded if not accelerated the crippling of the arts in South Africa. He mentioned that political actors should not solely decide on the allocation of funds, as this should be guided by artistic merit, industry knowledge and cultural policy expertise. South Africa’s cultural policy framework was once admired for its principled balance between state support and artistic freedom. Bokaba (2026) hearkens back to our new democracy when the cultural policy framework supported our artistic freedoms. He now states that the funding cuts "...imperil not only the integrity of our arts and heritage sectors, but also the constitutional freedoms that underpin them."
The struggle for the financial sustainability of the arts occurs in many countries, but its fragility in South Africa is most tragic. Our journeys to democratic freedom and peaceful multiculturalism have been particularly complex and treacherous. We need our stories told, we need to heal, we need spaces to contemplate our shared humanity in every shape and form. Exhibitions such as When We Gather fulfill this purpose, it brings our varied yet similar ethnographies together in a tapestry of interculturalism. We must guard the arts as our human right, our right to express ourselves, our right to show the global world who we are.
If you are in the Rosebank area please visit this exhibition, it shows the places we overlap rather than the spaces that divide us, and I promise you will find a piece that resonates with you.
Footnotes
[1] Everard Read is Africa’s oldest commercial art gallery. Established along a dusty street in the young mining town of Johannesburg, the gallery celebrated its centenary year in 2013. Since its inception, Everard Read has been associated with pre-eminent artists working in Southern Africa.
[2] The Bag Factory is one of South Africa's most important contemporary visual arts institutions and artist studio complexes. Founded in 1991 during the final years of apartheid, it was established to provide studio space, mentorship, and professional opportunities for artists, particularly Black artists who had limited access to resources and exhibition platforms at the time.
[3] Maria Fidel Regueros has served as the Director of the iconic Johannesburg visual arts institution since late 2022. Maria has an extensive background as an independent curator, lecturer, and project manager, focusing heavily on Global South and South African creative industries. Under her directorship, the institution remains a cornerstone of the South African arts community.
[4] Sam Nhlengiwe is a renowned creative collage artist and the co-founder the Bag Factory Artists’ Studio. Being born into a family of jazz lovers, Sam’s work was inspired by jazz and townships he grew up in. Nhlengethwa often explores the themes of memory, history and identity and how that speaks to the socio-political landscape within South Africa.
[5] Usha Seejarim is a conceptual artist whose practice interrogates the intersection of gender, labour and power through the transformation of everyday, domestic objects. By recontextualising materials such as irons, brooms, and wooden pegs, Seejarim’s sculpture and installations destabilise normative associations of women’s work, reframing acts of care and repetition as aesthetic and political gestures.
[6] Blessing Ngobeni is a South African visual artist who creates abstracted works with a range of found objects; magazine advertisements; newspaper articles; and paint on canvas. Motivated by social injustices experienced by the majority of people in post-Apartheid South Africa, Blessing Ngobeni’s large-scale mixed media paintings are fiercely critical of the country’s political elite and the abuse of power.
[7] Gayton McKenzie is the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture.
List of References
Bokaba, S. 2026. South Africa’s arts funding faces political erosion that threatens creative integrity. Daily Maverick. https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2026-06-04-south-africas-arts-funding-faces-political-erosion-that-threatens-creative-integrity/ (Accessed 21 June 2026)
Keyes Art Mile. 2026. Circa. https://keyesartmile.co.za/tenant/circa-gallery/ (Accessed 21 June 2026)
Mueni, W. 2026. Bag Factory Artists’ Studios Presents ‘When We Gather’, a Group Exhibition. Art Africa News. https://www.africaartnews.com/posts/bag-factory-artists-studio-when-we-gather-johannesburg (Accessed 21 June 2026)
Nel, B. 2026. Minister Gayton McKenzie’s funding cuts leave South Africa's arts festivals struggling for survival. IOL. https://iol.co.za/capeargus/news/2026-06-01-minister-gayton-mckenzies-funding-cuts-leave-south-africas-arts-festivals-struggling-for-survival/ (Accessed 21 June 2026)
Noval Foundation. 2026. Sam Nhlengethwa. https://www.norvalfoundation.org/artists/sam-nhlengethwa/ (Accessed 21 June 2026)
SAHO. 2019. The Bag Factory. https://sahistory.org.za/place/bag-factory?utm (Accessed 21 June 2026)
Usha Seejarim. Biography. https://www.ushaseejarim.com/about (Accessed 21 June 2026)
List of Images
Cover Image. When we Gather @ Circa (2026). (Image courtesy of Everard Read) (Graphic courtesy of Bag Factory) (Composite image: Lucelle Pillay)
Figure 1. Official Poster: contributing artists (2026) (Courtesy of Bag Factory Studios)
Figure 2. Gallery entrance (2026). Photo: Lucelle Pillay
Figure 3. Lucelle Pillay. Cathy Sanan & patrons viewing artwork in Main Gallery (2026). Photo: Lucelle Pillay
Figure 4. Lucelle viewing artwork (2026). Photo: Cathy Sanan
Figure 5. Panorama of artworks on display (2026). Photo: Lucelle Pillay
Figure 6. Panoramic view from entrance of main gallery (2026). Photo: Lucelle Pillay
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