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Timed to coincide with South Africa hosting the G20 Summit in Johannesburg (Nov 22 and Nov 23, 2025), this powerful exhibition centres around pieces born from censorship, exile, and raw defiance. Many were made by artists forced to work abroad and have only recently been repatriated. Dr Narissa Ramdhani, Director of the Ifa Lethu Foundation, says of the works: "These works remind us of the resilience of our artists, their determination to rise above adversity, and their refusal to be silenced."
The exhibition draws from two significant collections. The SABC Art Collection, one of South Africa's largest collections, has spent the democratic era actively redressing its apartheid exclusions by foregrounding black artists who were overlooked for decades. The Ifa Lethu Foundation Collection began with two Australian diplomats who defied apartheid law in the 1970s and 80s by acquiring work from repressed black South African artists and hosting exhibitions in their homes. They later donated everything back to South Africa, sparking a repatriation movement that has since returned over 550 works from 16 countries.
Still We Rise draws its title from Maya Angelou's iconic poem but shifts the focus from "I" to "we", celebrating the collective resistance that defined the liberation struggle. Expect work spanning 1948 to 1994, with a few post-apartheid pieces included for their unflinching look back at what was endured.
This is art that fought back when speaking out could cost you everything. And, at a time when authoritarianism is rising globally, these works remind us of the power that art holds and why it still matters.
Still We Rise opens on Thu, Oct 30, 2025 at Keyes Art Mile with a jazz-focused DJ set by Sam Nhlengethwa and James Sey. The exhibition runs until Sun, Nov 23, 2025.
