Young artists show their talent
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The Young Artists' Project exhibition is back and will take place at the KZNSA Gallery in Glenwood, Durban from August 22 to September 21. The gallery has a longstanding reputation as a vital incubator for emerging artists in KZN.
Initiated in 2002, by then KZNSA curator Storm Janse van Rensburg, The Young Artists' Project 'came out of a desire to create some energy around young artists in the city'. The project was initiated as an annual project designed to stimulate a 'next generation' of artists, where invited young artists work closely with a curator to produce their first solo. The YAP was revived in 2020 with the financial support from Rand Mutual Assurance.
While Durban's art-loving public will have an opportunity to share in the work of this year's talented intake during the exhibition period, the project primarily provides a platform for the support of young artists in conceptualising and producing new work. It facilitates mentorship and knowledge exchange between established and emerging artists, encourages critical thinking, peer to peer feedback, and artistic risk-taking, and guides artists in preparing professional material.
The exhibition will officially open on Friday August 22 and the artists will host walkabouts on Saturday August 23 from 10am to noon, which are free, and open to the public. In addition, there will be opportunities for school and university groups to visit the gallery and meet with the featured artists.
This year's Young Artists' Project edition includes two young artists N'lamwai Luntha Chithambo and Zama Mwandla.
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N'lamwai Luntha Chithambo was born in Edinburgh and completed a Master of Fine Art degree, also at Rhodes University.
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N'lamwai Luntha Chithambo was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1997 to Malawian parents. In 2019, he completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Rhodes University with distinction and in 2023 he completed a Master of Fine Art degree, also at Rhodes University.
He has twice featured in the Thami Mnyele Fine Arts Awards Top 100 Exhibition (2019, 2022) as well as displayed his work at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda (2016, 2019, 2023). In2023, two of his paintings were selected for the Sasol New Signatures Finalist Exhibition at Pretoria Art Museum.
Chithambo has also shown work in group exhibitions hosted by BAGFactory Artist Studios (2023, 2024) and has featured in a group exhibition hosted by Origin Art Gallery (2024). He currently lives in Johannesburg
Zama Mwandla was born in Newcastle in 2000. Zama is a South African surrealist painter whose bold, narrative-driven oil paintings confront the psychological aftermath of rape and the complex journey toward healing. Drawing from her own traumatic experience as a rape survivor, Mwandla creates fantastical yet hauntingly visceral worlds where hybrid human-creatures symbolize mental breakdowns, sinful behaviour, and the fragile path to recovery.
Influenced by Baroque art, Japanese erotic art, and psychological anime, her vividly graphic works depict utopian dreamscapes that both soothe and disturb. These visual worlds offer solace to survivors while compelling viewers - particularly men - to confront the uncomfortable realities of sexual violence. Her characters, often female or ambiguous in form, embody different phases of trauma, healing, and the emotional futility of revenge. Themes of violence, memory, and redemption are central to her practice.
Mwandla earned a BAFA with Honours from the University of the Witwatersrand under the mentorship of Professor Sharlene Khan, receiving several academic awards for her work. She has exhibited in both local and international platforms, including the African Feminisms (Afems) exhibition (2019) and the 54th Art & Antique Fair in Salzburg, Austria (2023). Her paintings are held in prominent collections such as the Schuetz Art Museum (Austria) and the Amawal Collection (Spain). In addition to her studio practice, Mwandla collaborated with the AfrikaBurn Organisation in Cape Town, assisting in the development of their first visual art residency programme.
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