RESERVOIR was founded in 2021 by Heinrich Groenewald and Shona van der Merwe, as an independent partnership specializing in collaborative curation. In 2023, RESERVOIR opened a space for ambitious solo exhibitions by independent artists on Bree Street in Cape Town.

In 2025, RESERVOIR participated in the Investec Cape Town Art Fair (MAIN section). An artwork from their presentation, Thaba Nchu (2025) by Ben Stanwix and Xhanti Zwelendaba (collaborative practice), was awarded the Investec Emerging Artist Award. Also in 2025, RESERVOIR participated in ARCO Madrid (OPENING Section) with a solo presentation by Jeanne Gaigher, where the artist was the recipient of the Fundación Banco Sabadell Young Talent Award; and in SPARK Art Fair Vienna, Austria, where the RESERVOIR directors were invited as Honorary Board members to the fair.

In 2024, RESERVOIR participated in the Investec Cape Town Art Fair (MAIN section), as well as: SPARK Art Fair Vienna, Austria and Art Brussels (INVITED section) in Belgium. They participated in the 2nd edition of RMB Latitudes, where they were the recipients of the Lexus Best Stand Award for their curated group presentation.

RESERVOIR also participated in the 2023 editions of the Investec Cape Town Art Fair in Cape Town, South Africa, Miart in Milan, Italy (in partnership with Whatiftheworld), RMB Latitudes Art Fair and Art Joburg, both in Johannesburg, South Africa, as well as the 30th edition of Artissima in Turin, Italy (where their booth presentation was awarded the New Entries Fund).

In addition to their Bree Street project space, RESERVOIR regularly curates collaborative exhibitions. Selected exhibitions include Mother City (2024) and Disrupting the Dream: Surreal Narratives from the Norval Foundation Collection (2025), curated from the Norval Foundation Collection at the Mount Nelson, a Belmond Hotel in Cape Town, and Spaced Out at Hallen 5, an exhibition programme which took place at Wilhelm Hallen during Berlin Art Week in Germany, in collaboration with PSM, Berlin (2024). In October 2024, they opened Fallow Ground, a group exhibition of 22 Southern African artists at Spaced Out Foundation in the Uckermark, Germany.