The BMW Art Generation Vol. III Returns to NIROX Sculpture Park on August 30, 2025.

Midrand. On August 30, 2025, The BMW Art Generation Vol. III returns to NIROX Sculpture Park with a bold and immersive program focused on celebration, dialogue, and the poetics of possibility. Presented by FNB Art Joburg in partnership with BMW Group South Africa, this third edition deepens its commitment to critical thought and cultural engagement.

This year’s theme, “A Tropology Between Image and Imagination,” explores the narrative power of creative practice. Artists and cultural thinkers come together to investigate how symbolism, gesture, and form serve as tools to reclaim histories and shape speculative futures. Through this lens, the festival underscores imagination as methodology, illuminating African presence in all its complexity and nuance.

Talks Programme

A curated talks programme anchors the day’s intellectual offering:

• Talk I | Image and Imagination
  This panel features acclaimed artists such as Zanele Muholi, examining how image-making becomes a means of resistance, self-authorship, and future-building. The conversation unpacks the frameworks through which artists interpret identity, presence, and cultural mythologies.
• Talk II | Existing, Performance & Being
  Featuring luminaries like Nicholas Hlobo, this conversation responds to Koyo Kouoh’s call for loving and emancipatory depictions of Black experiences. Artists reflect on how performance and representation intersect with history, grief, and joy.

These talks serve as key moments for reflection, offering audiences deeper insight into the artistic processes and lived experiences that shape contemporary art on the continent and beyond.

Music Performances

In addition to the talks and exhibitions, headline musical performances by Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse and Msaki will bring rhythm and resonance to NIROX Sculpture Park. Their performances weave together heritage and contemporary sound, amplifying the festival’s celebration of African imagination and creativity.

Garden Affirmations

Audiences can also join Muneyi’s Garden Affirmations, an intimate reflective session in the park that blends music, poetry, and affirming dialogue within the natural surrounds of NIROX. This addition offers a grounding moment of connection and mindfulness during the day’s programme.

Community Workshop

The BMW Centre for Art Education will also host a workshop for the Kromdraai community, led by Liesl Hartman, Head of Education at Zeitz MOCAA. This initiative encourages hands-on creativity and fosters intergenerational exchange through artmaking.

Legacy & Vision

At its core, The BMW Art Generation is about legacy-building. Since 2020, BMW and FNB Art Joburg have cultivated a new wave of art patrons through the BMW Young Collectors Co., a community committed to collecting African art and investing in local cultural ecosystems.

Taz Ramphisa, General Manager: Customer and Brand for BMW Group South Africa, notes, “BMW is committed to creativity and innovation within the art world. Art Generation reflects our ongoing support for platforms that shape discourse, nurture talent, and enrich communities.”

Mandla Sibeko, Managing Director of FNB Art Joburg, adds, “Art is a language of meaning, memory, and transformation. Through Art Generation, we honour those who stretch the limits of imagination and visual storytelling.”

The event promises a day of deep engagement with art, imagination, and dialogue, continuing to shape the future of artistic expression on African soil.

Event and Ticket Info

Date: August 30, 2025

Venue: NIROX Sculpture Park

Tickets: R500 (includes access to talks, exhibitions, and all programming)

Book here: https://tickets.tixsa.co.za/event/bmw-art-generation       

Media inquiries: zaza@artjoburg.com

ENDS