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Stellenbosch Triennale Stellenbosch Outdoor Sculpture Trust: Presenting art from Africa for the world in Stellenbosch

Presenting the finest Contemporary Art from Africa and its Diaspora to the World in Stellenbosch.

ST28 RESEARCH NOTES / 03 — HOMO FABERThe final stop on Founding Trustee Andi Norton’s Venice research visit took her bey...
02/10/2026

ST28 RESEARCH NOTES / 03 — HOMO FABER

The final stop on Founding Trustee Andi Norton’s Venice research visit took her beyond the Biennale to Homo Faber, an international celebration of contemporary craftsmanship at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini.

This year’s edition, An Island of Light, brought together hundreds of artisans and handcrafted objects from around the world through a series of immersive installations exploring the relationship between light, materials and the human hand.

Moving through the exhibition, objects became part of larger environments shaped by light, reflection, architecture and movement. Rather than competing with the work, the exhibition design encouraged visitors to look more closely at the materials, processes and skill behind each piece.

For Andi, Homo Faber offered a different perspective on material, making and experience — and how thoughtful exhibition-making can create moments of spectacle while keeping the work itself at the centre of the encounter.

From the Giardini and Arsenale to Homo Faber, three very different exhibition environments and plenty of observations to bring home as the road to continues.

Read the full Venice research notes here → stellenboschtriennale.com/post/research-notes-from-venice

ST28 RESEARCH NOTES / 02 — VENICE BIENNNALE ARSENALEContinuing Founding Trustee Andi Norton’s research visit to Venice i...
01/10/2026

ST28 RESEARCH NOTES / 02 — VENICE BIENNNALE ARSENALE

Continuing Founding Trustee Andi Norton’s research visit to Venice in preparation for Stellenbosch Triennale 2028, the next stop was the Venice Biennale Arsenale.

Once the production centre of the Venetian Republic’s naval industry, the Arsenale’s vast industrial spaces now form one of the principal exhibition sites of the La Biennale di Venezia.

The Venice Biennale, Giardini-Arsenale’s long brick walls, exposed structures and immense volumes create an environment where the space is never simply a backdrop. Moving through it raised questions about how large-scale exhibitions guide visitors, how artworks respond to their surroundings and how the character of an existing site can become part of the curatorial experience.

Among the works Andi encountered was an installation by Kenyan artist Kaloki Nyamai — a meaningful connection to Stellenbosch, as Nyamai participated in the Curators’ Exhibition of the inaugural Stellenbosch Triennale in 2020.

Here, the research shifted towards space, scale and exhibition-making — and the relationship between an artwork and the architecture that surrounds it. From the scale of the exhibition spaces to the way artworks interact with their surroundings, the Arsenale offered another perspective on how place can shape the experience of art.

Read the full Venice research notes here → stellenboschtriennale.com/post/research-notes-from-venice

ST28 RESEARCH NOTES / 01 — VENICE BIENNALE GIARDINIIn preparation for Stellenbosch Triennale 2028, Founding Trustee Andi...
30/09/2026

ST28 RESEARCH NOTES / 01 — VENICE BIENNALE GIARDINI

In preparation for Stellenbosch Triennale 2028, Founding Trustee Andi Norton travelled to Venice on a research visit — looking at how major international exhibitions approach curation, place, representation and the experience of art.

First stop: the Giardini.

The historic heart of the La Biennale di Venezia since its founding in 1895, the Giardini is home to the Central Pavilion and nearly 30 permanent national pavilions. Built across different periods and architectural styles, the pavilions form something of an anthology of 20th-century architecture — bringing art, architecture and national identity together in one extraordinary setting.

This year’s Biennale, In Minor Keys, was curated by the late Koyo Kouoh. For Andi, one of the most significant observations was the strong local presence:
“It was inspiring to see so many South African artists selected by the chief curator to interpret her powerful message in the Central Pavilion.”

Beyond the individual works, the Giardini prompted bigger questions about context, representation and place — and how the setting in which we encounter art becomes part of the experience itself.

Just some of the thinking being brought home as the research towards continues.

Read the full Venice research notes here → stellenboschtriennale.com/post/research-notes-from-venice

THREE EXHIBITIONS, ONE VISION 🎨The Stellenbosch Triennale returns from 19 February to 30 April 2025 with three exhibitio...
16/09/2026

THREE EXHIBITIONS, ONE VISION 🎨

The Stellenbosch Triennale returns from 19 February to 30 April 2025 with three exhibitions that embody the rich interplay of past, present and future in global art 🌏🖼

From the Vault, In the Current and On the Cusp — under the curatorship of Khanyisile Mbongwa, Chief Curator of the Stellenbosch Triennale, with Assistant Curator Dr Mike Mavura — encourage audiences to engage in interrogating space, time and history ✨

READ MORE HERE: https://shorturl.at/r9dfI

16/09/2026

PART 1: Look up. Look closer. Dream a little bigger.

Since 2012, Stellenbosch Outdoor Sculpture Trust has been bringing public art into the streets of Stellenbosch; no ticket, no gallery door, no formal invitation required.

With Dreamscapes: Form and space through curious eyes, we’re inviting you to experience the town the way a child might: with wonder, questions, imagination, and the capacity to believe that a giant ladder might just reach heaven.

In Part 1 of our Dreamscapes video series, we begin the route with ‘Staircase to Heaven’ by Strijdom van der merwe, ‘The trees spoke to me softly of their desire to walk’ by Jess Bothma, and a closer look at how public art asks us to notice what we might usually walk past.

Because that is what public art does so beautifully. It interrupts the everyday. It meets us in shared spaces. It belongs not only to the street or the town, but to everyone who stops to look.

Watch Part 1 of our 4-part series, then follow along as we explore the Dreamscapes route through Stellenbosch.

📍 Dreamscapes runs until 30 January 2027
🌍 Learn more at sost.co.za/exhibition/dreamscapes
🔗 View the Digital Exhibition Guide: sost.co.za/dreamscapes-exhibition-guide

In partnership with Visit Stellenbosch and proud patron Private Clients by Old Mutual Wealth.

16/09/2026

PART 2: Follow the unexpected. Find the wonder. Let the town surprise you.

With Dreamscapes: Form and space through curious eyes, Stellenbosch becomes more than a place you move through. It becomes a place that asks you to pause, look again, and let your imagination do some of the walking.

In Part 2 of our Dreamscapes video series, we continue the route with Silicon Swarm Series by Francois Knoetze, Beginner’s Mind by Josefine Winding, Starling by Ralph Borland, Building Block by Stellenbosch Outdoor Sculpture Trust, Falsework by Kyle Morland, and Rain Taster by Frank van Reenen

From insect-like machines and abstract forms to giant building blocks, structures that play with perception, curious birds and a figure tasting the sky, these works remind us that public art does not always give us one clear answer. Sometimes, it gives us a question. A feeling. A moment of surprise on an ordinary street.

Because Dreamscapes is not only about seeing sculptures. It is about seeing Stellenbosch differently. Through scale, material, play, humour, imagination and the kind of curiosity we often forget to carry with us.

Watch Part 2 of our 4-part series, then follow along as we continue exploring the Dreamscapes route through Stellenbosch.

📍 Dreamscapes runs until 30 January 2027
🌍 Learn more at sost.co.za/exhibition/dreamscapes
🔗 View the Digital Exhibition Guide: sost.co.za/dreamscapes-exhibition-guide

In partnership with Visit Stellenbosch and proud patron Private Clients by Old Mutual Wealth.

16/09/2026

PART 3: Wings, wheels, and art made for the everyday.

With Dreamscapes: Form and space through curious eyes, public art becomes something you don’t only look at from a distance. It becomes something you can question, walk around, laugh with, wonder about, and sometimes even use.

In Part 3 of our Dreamscapes video series, we continue the route with a winged fire horse in the middle of town by Jess Bothma, a life-size wire car made by Philipstown Draadkar Grand prix and Town Festival in the Karoo, and a closer look at the artworks that turn something as ordinary as a bike stand into something imaginative.

This is where Dreamscapes reminds us that art does not only belong to galleries, specialists or “serious” spaces. It can be made by young hands. It can be shaped from wire. It can stand on a street corner. It can hold your bicycle. It can make you stop and think: wait, is this art, play, design, craft, or all of it at once?

Watch Part 1-3 of our 4-part series, then follow along as we continue exploring the Dreamscapes route through Stellenbosch.

Dreamscapes runs until 30 January 2027. LINK IN BIO to learn more.
In partnership with Visit Stellenbosch and proud patron Private Clients by Old Mutual Wealth.

Want to feel younger? Start with art 🎨We usually think of healthy ageing in terms of exercise and nutrition. But new res...
16/09/2026

Want to feel younger? Start with art 🎨

We usually think of healthy ageing in terms of exercise and nutrition. But new research suggests that regularly engaging with art may also play a role.

In a study of more than 3,500 adults, researchers at University College London found that people who regularly experienced or created art showed 4% slower biological ageing – roughly the equivalent of being one year younger biologically. Even more remarkably, the benefits were comparable to those associated with regular physical activity.

You don't have to be an artist to experience the effects. Visiting a public art exhibition, exploring a sculpture trail, or simply taking the time to engage with creativity may help reduce stress, spark curiosity, and support overall well-being.

When you experience a SOST exhibition, every artwork invites you to slow down, look more closely, and reconnect with the world around you. So head out to Stellenbosch for a stroll - it might just be one of the healthiest walks you take this week.

🔗 Visit sost.co.za for more information on our exhibitions.

16/09/2026

The streets of Stellenbosch are not quite what they seem 👀

You know these streets. You’ve walked them, driven past them, waited at the corner. But have you been paying attention?

When sculpture steps out of the gallery and into the streets of Stellenbosch, the everyday becomes unexpected. A familiar corner becomes a place of discovery. An ordinary space becomes an artwork’s canvas. And suddenly, you’re not just walking through Stellenbosch – you’re seeing it differently.

That’s the magic of Dreamscapes: art doesn’t simply occupy a space. It changes the way you experience it. Slow down. Look again. Follow your curiosity. You may never see these familiar streets quite the same way.

📍 Dreamscapes runs until January 2027
🌍 Learn more at sost.co.za/exhibition/dreamscapes
🔗 View the Digital Exhibition Guide: sost.co.za/dreamscapes-exhibition-guide
In partnership with Visit Stellenbosch and proud patron Private Clients by Old Mutual Wealth.

New Installation: GIANT GRASS by Ralph Borland 2020 | Galvanized & powder-coated steel | Corner Blom Road & Mill StreetT...
16/09/2026

New Installation: GIANT GRASS by Ralph Borland
2020 | Galvanized & powder-coated steel | Corner Blom Road & Mill Street

The Giant Grass sculpture celebrates the persistence of nature in the city, monumentalizing the tiny grasses that grow through cracks in pavements or urban environments. The work represents tenacity and fruitfulness, and flourishing on little. The Giant Grass draws playful attention to small natural elements in urban spaces that are oftentimes overlooked, as well as reflecting on the resourcefulness and tenacity of people who inhabit urban spaces as they go about their daily lives. The sculpture has been installed where a mighty Oak tree used to be. The artwork doubles as a bench, so although the tree no longer exists, there is still a space for rest and imagination where it used to be.

Learn more → sost.co.za/artwork/giant-grass

Dreamscapes - Form and space through curious eyes curated by Dr Mike Mavura | 26 February 2026 – January 2027

Presented by the Stellenbosch Outdoor Sculpture Trust, Visit Stellenbosch, and proud patron, Private Clients by Old Mutual.

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