The emerging artists celebrated by Absa L'Atelier Art in Johannesburg
Artists turned doors into artworks at Nine Yards, Parktown North, ahead of the Absa L’Atelier Art and Lifestyle Fair on 10 October 2026
JOHANNESBURG: Artists, alumni and ambassadors of Absa L’Atelier Art gathered at Nine Yards in Parktown North, Johannesburg, on Saturday 12 September 2026 for the Forty Doors Absa L’Atelier Art Legacy event, marking the competition’s 40th year. Invited artists worked on site, creating pieces on doors in a direct nod to the anniversary theme, “40 years of opening doors for African artists”.
Founded in 1986 as the Volkskas Bank Atelier Competition, Absa L’Atelier Art is run in partnership with the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA). It is now open to emerging visual artists in 12 African countries and offers winners mentorship, masterclasses, international residencies and solo exhibitions.
The doors will travel to Rosebank Mall, Menlyn Shopping Centre and Mall of Africa before the Absa L’Atelier Art and Lifestyle Fair on Saturday 10 October 2026 at Waterfall City Park, Mall of Africa, in Midrand. The completed works will be revealed there, and this year’s competition winners announced.
Tufting as fine art
Sheriffah Arewa, one of the emerging artists selected for the event, brought tufting to the doors. The technique uses a handheld gun to loop yarn through cloth, producing a textured, rug-like surface.
“I was chosen as one of the emerging artists,” Arewa said. “My design is based on the Nigerian cloth called Adire. I’m half Nigerian, so that’s my ode to my heritage.”
Like Adire, the work is divided into panels, each carrying its own symbols and patterns. One panel honours the artist’s Dominican heritage, drawing on Dominica’s reputation as the nature island of the Caribbean. Another is based on a traditional Korean knot, a tribute to the country where Arewa learned to tuft. “Korea opened the door for me,” the artist said. The remaining panels are in Arewa’s own signature style.
With a background in computer science and politics, Arewa is drawn to the precision of the medium. “With tufting, it’s about the technique of how you even hold the gun. So I like that logical sense of tufting.”
In South Africa, the artist noted, tufting is still mostly associated with company logo rugs and floor carpets. “I really wanted to start the revolution of seeing tufting as an art form.” Being selected for the Forty Doors event, Arewa said, “was a big affirmation that yes, this can be seen as an art and that I should carry on, on my path.” The artist also runs a tufting studio that teaches the craft to the public.
Painting the crowd
Cape Town-based painter Anele Pama, originally from the Eastern Cape, entered Absa L’Atelier for the first time this year. “Then I got a call and they said that I didn’t win,” Pama said. “After that, they told me that they have another opportunity for me to showcase my work, because they really connected with my story, the way I paint.”
Pama has drawn since childhood. “I can’t say that there’s a pain or there’s something that drove me to paint. It’s just something that I engage with, ever since I was young.”
Pama’s work uses muted palettes and deep shadows to explore community: how people move from one space to another and how they connect. “I like compositions that are crowded, because you can sense the movement, you can sense the connection with the painting.”
Pama deliberately leaves parts of each work undefined. “I leave some of the things in my paintings unexplained so that the viewer can have their own projection. I let the viewer also be an artist in my paintings. As long as the mood is represented the way I want, then a painting for me is finished.”
A year of exhibitions
The anniversary programme has included solo exhibitions by recent winners:
- Lusanda Ndita, 2024 Gerard Sekoto Award winner, opened Indlela ibomvu in June with Gallery MOMO, the French Institute of South Africa and the Embassy of France.
- Kutlwano Monyai, a 2024 Ambassador, followed with Dakalo – The Ultimate Gift at Gallery MOMO from 18 July.
- Dr Ayobola “Zak” Kekere-Ekun, a 2021 Ambassador, presented Terrains of Memory at the AVA Gallery in Cape Town.
The programme continues in West Africa with solo shows by two more 2024 Ambassadors: Moses Oyeleye at the Alliance Française in Lagos (September) and Ezra Appiah at The Mix Design Hub in Accra (November). Masterclasses on the business of art run alongside the exhibitions.
“Absa L’Atelier Art’s aim is to continue putting African art on the global map by transforming emerging artists into professional earning artists,” said Dr Paul Bayliss, Senior Specialist, Art and Museum Curator at Absa Group.
Absa L’Atelier Art and Lifestyle Fair
Singer-songwriter Msaki will headline the fair at Waterfall City Park, Mall of Africa, on Saturday 10 October. She is joined by the three-time Grammy Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir and R&B artist Elaine, who will close the show. Msaki’s link to the visual arts runs deep: she has studied fine art, graphic design, film photography and curatorial practice.
The music runs alongside an exhibition of work by the competition’s 12 finalists, four of whom will be named winners on the day. Three will become Absa L’Atelier Ambassadors. Each will receive masterclasses, four months of mentorship, a two-month residency in South Africa in 2027 and up to R100 000 towards a solo exhibition within two years. The fourth will receive the Gerard Sekoto Award: a three-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris in 2027, followed by a solo exhibition in Johannesburg in 2028.
Visitors can also expect fashion showcases, wine tasting, food stalls and a supervised creative area for children aged 12 and under. Gates open at 10:00, with music from 11:30 to 17:00. Tickets cost R350 through Howler, and children 12 and under enter free with a paying adult. The fair is cashless.
