Shortlisted artists vie for R40,000 prize and solo exhibition.

Cape Town based gallery StateoftheART is pleased to announce the ten artists shortlisted for the 2021 StateoftheART Gallery Award.

A panel of five judges oversaw the shortlist selection process and will continue to participate for the final determination round. The finalists were chosen from more than 600 submissions from across South Africa, with the judges scoring the artists on the creativity, originality and technical skill of their entries to this year's Award theme ‘On The Brink, Visualising Climate Change’.

“I would like to thank the jury panel of Strijdom van der Merwe, Ashraf Jamal, Nadja Daehnke and Lucinda Jolly for their dedication to this thoughtful process, and to all of the artists for their participation this year. We look forward to announcing the winner at the opening ceremony of the Finalists Exhibition in October” says Jennifer Reynolds, owner of StateoftheART.

Climate crisis is the defining issue of our lifetimes and has recently come to the fore with the release of the UN's latest IPCC Assessment report earlier this month, which The Daily Maverick describe as a "code red for humanity". 

“Art can convey in a different way than science the threat that climate change poses to our planet. The world’s best scientists have tried to wake-up politicians to the climate crisis, now we’re counting on artists to help.” – Bill McKibben, Founder of 350.org

The work of the shortlisted artists will go on show in a special exhibition at StateoftheART’s Cape Town gallery from 16 - 30 October 2021, and the winner announced at the Award Ceremony on 16 October 2021. The winner will receive a R40 000 cash prize and a solo exhibition with the gallery in 2022.

Shortlisted artists:

• Dominic De Villiers
• Given Muronga
• Janet Ormond
• Kristen McClarty
• Liesl Roos
• Mfundo Sizwe Ziphozonke Mngomezulu
• Rozelle Greyling
• Sylvester Mqeku
• Theophelus Rikhotso
• Tumelo Mphela

For further details on the Award, to be invited to Award Ceremony or to arrange a viewing, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Notes to the editors:

The members of the StateoftheART Gallery Award 2021 jury are Strijdom van der Merwe, Ashraf Jamal, Nadja Daehnke, Jennifer Reynolds and Lucinda Jolly.

About the Award: StateoftheART launched the inaugural StateoftheART Gallery Award in February 2018, to unearth undiscovered talent by artists from across South Africa and provide a platform for artists to gain industry recognition and boost their career. The 2019 Award winner Balekane Legoabe held her acclaimed debut solo exhibition ‘What It Feels Like To Be In Water’ in May last year.

About StateoftheART: Established in 2010, StateoftheART is an independent gallery specialising in affordable contemporary art by early and mid career South African artists. The gallery offers an online ‘click-to-buy' service for collectors unable to visit in person.

For further media information/interview opportunities please contact: Andrea Stallbom : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

STATEOFTHEART GALLERY AWARD 2019 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

Cape Town based gallery StateoftheART is pleased to announce the 10 artists shortlisted for the second edition of the StateoftheART Gallery Award

After careful consideration of several hundred entries by artists from across South Africa, the judges have shortlisted 10 artists working in a number of mediums including painting, photography, digital art and printmaking. The work of the shortlisted artists will go on show in a special exhibition at StateoftheART’s Cape Town gallery from 27 August to 14 September 2019, and the winner announced at the Award Ceremony on 05 September 2019. The winner will be awarded a R20 000 cash prize and a solo exhibition with the gallery in 2020.

For further details on the Award, to be invited to Award Ceremony or to arrange a viewing, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Shortlisted artists:
Nonkululeko Sibande; Simon Venter; Laurette de Jager; Balekane Legoabe; Natasha Brown; Minenkulu Ngoyi; Larissa Mwanyama; Christelle Viviers; Damian Osborne; Monique Day-Wilde.

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Notes to the editors:
The members of the StateoftheART Gallery Award 2019 jury are Mirjam Asmal, director of the AVA; Chris Denovan, visual artist; Carol Hodes, curator and collector; Jennifer Reynolds, founder of StateoftheART. 

About the Award
StateoftheART launched the inaugural StateoftheART Gallery Award in February 2018, to unearth undiscovered talent by artists from across South Africa and provide a platform for artists to gain industry recognition and boost their career. The 2018 Award winner Jo Roets held her acclaimed  debut solo exhibition ‘Mʌn.tɹə Mãe’ in May this year. 

About StateoftheART
Established in 2010, StateoftheART is a boutique gallery specialising in affordable contemporary art by early and mid career South African artists. The gallery offers an online ‘click-to-buy' service for collectors unable to visit in person. 

For further media information/interview opportunities please contact: Jennifer Reynolds or Andrea Stallbom

Cape Town: StateoftheART is delighted to present a national open call for artists to apply to the 2nd edition of the StateoftheART Gallery Award, a visual arts prize aimed at uncovering emerging South African talent. Entry is open to all artists who are permanently resident in South Africa, aged 18 years and older, and who have not held a solo exhibition with a commercial gallery. The winner of the 2019 StateoftheART Gallery Award  will receive a R20 000 cash prize and a solo exhibition with StateoftheART.  Finalists will participate in a group exhibition at the Cape Town gallery in September this year. 

Entries open online on 01 April 2019, and close at midday on 30 June 2019. The award winner will be announced at the opening ceremony of the Finalists Group Exhibition in September 2019. The Award jury comprises of experts from different spheres of the art world: collector, academic, artist, and gallerist. The jury’s role is to help recognize artists who stand out above the rest, who demonstrate significant potential, interesting ideas, and skillful execution.

“The participation of a knowledgeable jury is of great importance to us in helping to develop the stature and scale of the Award and ensuring we identify and reward the most exciting talent,” says Jennifer Reynolds, owner of StateoftheART.

About the Award

The StateoftheART Gallery Award aims to unearth and promote artists who have yet to establish a profile on the contemporary South African art scene. It provides an opportunity for artists to exhibit their work in a prestigious and highly visible space in the heart of Cape Town, to gain exposure and raise their profile. The Award is open to artists working in one or more of the following media: drawing, printing, painting, photography, digital art and sculpture. There is no participation fee and artists are required to submit three cohesive artworks to the 2019 Award theme 'Cultivating Culture'.

Entry is online only.

For more information and competition rules visit www.stateoftheart-gallery.com/award or contact Andrea Stallbom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For regular updates on the Award follow StateoftheART Gallery’s social media, including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter accounts.

About StateoftheART Gallery

StateoftheART is an innovative boutique-style gallery and e-commerce platform representing selected emerging and mid-career visual artists from across South Africa. Established in 2010 and a pioneer in the online art market, StateoftheART offers a carefully curated collection of affordable contemporary art directly to buyers through their 'click-to-buy' service for collectors unable to visit the Cape Town gallery in person.

The gallery hosts an exciting program of exhibitions by up-and-coming local artists. For more information on gallery events visit www.stateoftheart-gallery.com/art-exhibitions.

Important Dates

For artists wishing to enter the competition, the entry deadline is 30 June 2019. Finalists will be announced on the gallery website in August 2019, and the finalists’ exhibition will take place during September 2019. The 2018 winner Jo Roets’ solo exhibition Mʌn.tɹə Mãe (Mantra Mother) will open at StateoftheART Gallery in Cape Town on the 2nd of May 2019.

For Media enquiries please contact: Jennifer Reynolds (gallery owner) on 072 470 9272 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

StateoftheART is proud to announce Zaan Claassens' upcoming solo exhibition WALKING ON WATER which opens on Thursday, May 5th in conjunction with the First Thursdays Cape Town event.

In WALKING ON WATER, the artist uses the medium of oil paint to examine water surfaces, reflected light, and the ephemeral nature of her subject matter. Her beautifully crafted bronze sculptures add their magic.

“Most mornings, wind and swell permitting, I paddle my surfski in the Atlantic Ocean. Here I observe the interplay between light and water, water and sky. It is mesmerizing. It is brilliantly beautiful. The ebb and flow of  water provides me with a continuously changing picture. I find oil paint and the fluidity of linseed oil the perfect medium with which to capture my subject. I make use of reflection to abstract or distort reality. It is through the water that recognizable objects become transmuted. There is a transformation that occurs and new objects and shapes appear. Something is born in the water, something greater than the sum of its parts. It is my intention to create beautifully crafted and highly detailed art works. The quality I aspire to create is not only one of technical excellence, but also one of emotional elevation. I hope that those who view my work and choose to live with it will experience upliftment.” - Zaan Claassens

The art of Zaan Claassens is a celebration of life. In this exhibition, the artist's primary focus is on water: what happens on its surface, how it varies, how light plays on it, how its moods change.

Venue: StateoftheART, 61 Shortmarket Street, Cape TownDate: 05 May 2016 till 21 May 2016Contact: Jennifer on 0724709272 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The exhibition will run concurrently online at www.stateoftheart-gallery.com for those unable to attend.

About Zaan Claassens
Artist and sculptor Zaan Claassens was born in South Africa in 1970. As a child she moved from Pietermaritzburg to Pretoria to Rustenburg to Jeffries Bay to Stellenbosch to Harare, finally settling in Cape Town. She spent her last year of school in Oxford, Ohio as an exchange student and then returned to Stellenbosch, where she completed a BA Degree in Graphic Design. For the next decade she lived in Northern Alberta, followed by a couple of years thawing out on the Island of Saipan. Zaan currently divides her time between South Africa and Canada. In South Africa she reside next to the Atlantic Ocean in a suburb nestled between the Twelve Apostles, Table Mountain, Lion’s Head and the Ocean. It is truly one of the most beautiful places on the planet. In Canada I live right next to the Thames River that meanders through London, Ontario and into Lake St. Clair. 

About StateoftheART
StateoftheART is South Africa's first bricks-and-clicks gallery where you will discover an exclusive selection of carefully curated art by top emerging artists from around South Africa. Our virtual platform is complemented by the brick-and-mortar StateoftheART gallery in Cape Town; an intimate space in which we regularly host exhibitions and where art lovers can enjoy a dynamic selection of contemporary art for sale by our represented artists.