Athi-Patra Ruga is a South African artist whose practice is transdisciplinary and transgressive in its nature and intention. His production encompasses performance, video, tapestry, painting and sculpture. His earlier work engaged with what the post-1994 moment in South Africa meant for his generation: a moment of hope, vibrancy, and fraught with unforeseen complexities and inherited trauma. As such, his practice is entangled in paradox and productive tensions, engaging with the notions of trans - transformation, transience, transgression, as a means of radical self- exploration. His work is characterized by a practice of world-making and self-invention within a fictional framework that he has created entitled Azania, a utopian realm for the critique of post-apartheid nationalism and the foregrounding of queer, femme and black experiences.
Our conversation was poised between the memory of an historical moment in the Cape Town art scene that we shared in 2012 and reflections of the current Cape Town art scene following the 2026 Investec Cape Town art fair. Athi generously discussed what he sees as his current role in the arts ecosystem, now working from his home in Hogsback in the Eastern Cape.
ArtThrob is South Africa’s leading independent online contemporary art magazine, founded in 1997 by Sue Williamson to provide critical coverage, reviews, and interviews. It acts as a vital, non-profit, Creative Commons-licensed platform focusing on national and international South African art
Stephen Cohen is a visual and performance artist born in Johannesburg. His art spans public interventions and gallery and theatre performances, often exploring themes of identity, marginalisation, and societal norms.
Jay Pather is a Professor at University of Cape Town, directing the Institute for Creative Arts. He is a performance theorist, choreographer and curator. He curates the Infecting the City Festival; the ICA Live Art Festival and the Afrovibes Festival (The Netherlands).
WHATIFTHEWORLD Gallery was founded in 2008 in Cape Town, WHATIFTHEWORLD is acontemporary art gallery focusing on artists from Africa and the diaspora. It showcases multi-disciplinary, group and solo projects that engage with socio-political themes. Athi-Patra Ruga is represented by WHATIFTHEWORLD Gallery.
Ilulwane is a 2011–2012 multi-disciplinary performance art piece by Athi-Patra Ruga. It is a haunting, site-specific synchronized swimming performance that explores themes of queer identity, cultural tradition, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It was staged in public swimming baths, including Performa 11 in New York and the Long Street Baths in Cape Town.
The Bodyland Residency in Hogsback is a 14-day high-octane, Eastern Cape-based artistic incubator established in 2020 by Victory of the Word (VOW) under the mentorship of artist Athi-Patra Ruga. It provides emerging artists in visual art, film, fashion, and performance with a space for creative exploration, mentoring, and engagement with land and heritage in the Tyhume Valley.
Gabriella Goliath is a Ph.D candidate at the Institute for Creative Arts at the University of Cape Town, where her research continues to explore ethical strategies for addressing violence and absence in contemporary art. Her artwork proposed for the South African Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, Elegy, was canceled by South Africa's culture minister over references to Gaza, sparking backlash and a failed legal challenge.
The Zeitz MOCAA Gala is a premier annual fundraising event held in Cape Town, South Africa, celebrating contemporary African art, culture, and philanthropy. It gathers global art patrons, collectors, and artists for a glamorous night of entertainment and dining to support the museum's curatorial and educational programs.
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