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BLVCK BLOCK

BLVCK BLOCK is a counter-space preoccupied with the black underground which carries complex narratives unavailable within the dominant context.

It seeks to counter the white cube and open up the art economy for those who would otherwise be left out.

01/08/2025

We’re proud to welcome Mahube Diseko as a 2025 BLVCK BLOCK resident.

Diseko’s multidisciplinary practice began in photography and video, with early works exploring identity concerning race, gender, and sexuality within broader societal contexts. Diseko gravitates toward non-traditional methods, constantly seeking alternative ways of making.

Her practice has recently expanded into textile and text-based sculpture. Diseko creates sculptural pieces using underwear as a canvas and material, embedding intimate, text-based reflections that harden into form. These works negotiate the space between delicacy and structure, drawing strength from vulnerability.

Rooted in confessional art and feminine aesthetics, the work draws on lived experience to reflect on love, loss, grief, memory, and the body. Through a combination of language and form, Diseko opens up space for both personal and collective reflection.

We look forward to supporting this journey and witnessing the evolution of a powerful and deeply thoughtful practice.

30/07/2025

We’re proud to welcome Tatenda Magaisa as a 2025 BLVCK BLOCK resident.

Johannesburg-based artist, writer, researcher, and cultural producer, Magaisa works across various mediums. Her practice draws from horror, fantasy, and sci-fi genres to explore the presence of Black women in popular culture, the burden of surplus labour, and cultural dominance.

Rooted in speculative world-building and grounded by a sketchbook practice, her work often begins with text and image, expanding into meditative paintings where reality and fantasy blur. She finds resolution in a restrained colour palette, with reds and pinks currently dominating to shift the atmosphere and push the work beyond reality.

We’re excited to witness her growth and the new directions in her work during her time with us.

28/07/2025

We’re pleased to welcome Hugo Kabeya to the 2025 BLVCK BLOCK residency.

Originally from the DRC, Hugo’s journey into art began through a need to process and heal. What started as therapy has grown into a deeply personal and expressive practice that explores memory, identity, and the resilience shaped by migration.

Hugo creates intimate yet expansive work, rooted in lived experience, and reaching towards collective reflection and connection.

His voice and vision are a welcome addition to BLVCK BLOCK. We’re proud to support his journey and excited for all this residency will nurture.

25/07/2025

We’re truly so grateful and honestly still a little in awe. The response to our open call was beyond anything we anticipated.

The depth, range, and thoughtfulness of each submission left a lasting impression on us. We’re inspired by the strength of practice, the generosity of spirit, and the clarity of vision across the continent. Thank you to every artist who took the time to apply. You reminded us why a Pan-African creative future is not just possible; it’s already unfolding.
The map shows the continent with pinned locations where most of the applications came from; to give some context to the incredible spread of submissions we received.

With love and deep respect,
BLVCK BLOCK.

03/06/2025

What Remains Blooms is a celebration of creative endurance — a tribute to young Black contemporary artists in Johannesburg who continue to rise, create, and bloom in the face of life’s many shifts and seasons.

This gathering honours the strength that remains after uncertainty, the beauty that persists through discomfort, and the fire that fuels Black artistic expression. The works on show reflect personal transitions, quiet resilience, and the pursuit of joy.

Exhibition Opening details:
Date: 7 June 2025
Time: 13:00
Venue: BLVCK BLOCK Marketplace, Victoria Yards

Join us in our farewell showing at our Victoria Yards space to witness a moment of growth, memory, and the unshakable spirit of young artists who dare to keep blooming.

16/05/2025

BLVCK BLOCK is pleased to host Canvas Capital for the official launch of their Art Collection Stokvel.

Canvas Capital is interested in how collective art investments can make art collection more accessible for people across income levels. The platform places people in financial and cultural community with others who share similar affordability and curiosity for art. The platform is for collectors, by collectors.

To learn more about Canvas Capital, visit:

Join the circle where art meets community!

Event details:
Date: 01 June 2025, First Sunday
Time: 11’am – 1’pm
Venue: BLVCK BLOCK, Victoria Yards

To receive your onboarding package ahead of the event, please RSVP with the link on our bio.

We will keep a seat open for you!

17/04/2025

The BLVCK BLOCK residency applications are now open!
Calling all Johannesburg-based artists looking to expand their skills and collaborate with fellow creatives.

CLOSING DATE: 17 MAY 2025

To apply:
Complete the form - link in the bio.
Please have your CV, Portfolio and artist statement ready.

6 or 12-month residency including:
* Studio space
* Art supplies
* A monthly stipend

Check out our website to learn more about us!
Link in bio

If you have any questions contact us at: [email protected]

11/04/2025

Visit “Echoes of Home” exhibiting at Artivist, 7 Reserve Street, Braamfontein to explore the curator, Sam Ngcobo’s vision of home. The exhibition will be open to the public until the 28th of April 2025.

01/04/2025

Visit “Echoes of Home” exhibiting at Artivist, 7 Reserve Street, Braamfontein to explore Mbali’s Nqobile Mdikane’s vision of home.

22/03/2025

Visit the opening of “Echoes Of Home” taking place on the 28th of March at Artivist at 7 Reserve Street, Braamfontein to explore Themba Mwanza’s vision of home.

11/03/2025

Visit the opening of “Echoes Of Home” taking place on the 28th of March at Artivist at 7 Reserve Street, Braamfontein to explore Masindi Mbolekwa’s vision of home.

07/03/2025

“Echoes of Home” is about the lingering presence of home—both as a place and a feeling. Each artist reflects on what home means to them: some are reclaiming it, others are escaping it, and some are creating new versions for themselves. Some are trying to escape it, others are reclaiming it, and some are creating new versions.
Home is more than geography—it is ancestry, identity, belonging, and memory. Through their work, these artists reveal how home can be lost, reimagined, and carried within us.

Exhibition Opening details:
Date: 28 March 2025
Time: 18:00
Venue: ARTIVIST, 7 Reserve Str. Braamfontein

This exhibition is a reminder that art allows us to rebuild, to make a home of our own, even in the unfamiliar.

Address

11 Kotze Street, Braamfontein
Johannesburg
2001

Website

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