Bag Factory | Trajectories: Celebrating 15 Years of Cassirer Welz Award

A group exhibition of artworks by Cassirer Welz Award alumni

Trajectories is a group exhibition presented by Bag Factory Artists’ Studios in celebration of the 15-year milestone of the Cassirer Welz Award. Bringing together selected award alumni, the exhibition highlights artists whose practices have developed significantly since their residencies, offering an insightful reflection on the award’s ongoing impact and its role in shaping contemporary South African art. Showcasing artists who have expanded their practices, participated in international exhibitions, and contributed meaningfully to critical art discourse, Trajectories honours both the legacy of the award and the creative paths forged by its recipients.

The exhibition traces key developments in each artist’s visual language, highlighting thematic continuities, shifts in artistic voice, and the evolution of personal and collective narratives. Although diverse in medium and approach, the works featured in Trajectories connect through overarching themes of legacy, transformation, and futurity. These themes reveal how former Cassirer Welz Award recipients have engaged with complex ideas around identity, memory, history, and social justice, often pushing against dominant narratives through bold experimentation and critical reflection.

Artists in the exhibition address a wide range of social and political concerns, confronting issues such as inequality, displacement, power structures, and collective memory. Their socio-politically charged compositions, performances, installations, and material explorations demonstrate the depth of inquiry present across the alumni network. Other artists investigate language, texture, and material processes to uncover intimate expressions of personal experience and broader cultural histories. Whether through painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, or conceptual practice, each artist offers a unique lens on contemporary life while contributing to the collective voice that the award has nurtured over the years.

For fifteen years, the Cassirer Welz Award has provided a transformative residency at Bag Factory Artists’ Studios, supporting emerging artists with essential resources, mentorship, and professional development. Created in honour of Reinhold Cassirer and Stephan Welz, the award has become a significant platform for early-career artists in South Africa, many of whom have gone on to gain national and international recognition. This milestone is both a celebration of the award’s legacy and an opportunity to reflect on its substantial contribution to the local arts ecosystem.

Building on the momentum of the award’s 10-year retrospective, Trajectories expands the conversation by featuring alumni who have continued to evolve, innovate, and influence contemporary visual culture. The exhibition foregrounds present-day practices while acknowledging the award’s foundational role in enabling artistic growth. Through this curated selection, Bag Factory reaffirms its commitment to cultivating artists and advancing critically engaged, socially relevant artmaking in South Africa and the broader African contemporary art landscape.

Trajectories is made possible in 2025 with the generous support of Strauss & Co and the French Institute of South Africa. Ultimately, the exhibition celebrates fifteen years of artistic excellence, showcasing works that speak to the past, present, and future of the Cassirer Welz Award and the remarkable community of artists shaped by it.

The show runs from 31 August – 26 September 2025.