Join AVA Gallery on Thursday evening, 18 June, from 5 pm – 8 pm, as they celebrate the opening of four new exhibitions.
- Paivapo…(There once was…) A solo exhibition by Pyda Nyariri
- Where we were wo(r)nBy Alka Dass, thato makatu and Zenaéca Singh
- The Art of Existing by Careshia Esperanza & Kyle Jardine
- Kite Diagrams – solo exhibition by Jonah Sack
Paivapo…(There once was…) A solo exhibition by Pyda Nyariri
Paivapo is a Shona invocation that begins a journey with “There once was…” Serving as the threshold for this exhibition, it becomes a portal into a world where language is not merely a tool for communication, but a sentient migrating force embodied in the character known as Pidgin – both a phantom and a physical manifestation of hybrid languages.
In Nyariri’s upcoming exhibition, the gallery becomes an immersive landscape permeated by Pidgin’s Alphabet, a visual lexicon transcending traditional scripts. Paivapo… tells the story of how we speak when our mother tongues are taken, and how we dream in the languages we invent to survive.
Main Gallery until 30.07.26 [see photo above Pyda Nyariri, Ruvheneko (The brightness), 2026]
Where we were wo(r)n by Alka Dass, thato makatu and Zenaéca Singh
thato makatu, Untitled, 2026
Where we were wo(r)n explores memory, erosion, and inherited histories through found objects and craft processes. Playing on “worn” and “won” (past-tense verb for achieving victory), the exhibition echoes the quiet fatigue of lineage, where displacement, domestic labor, and generational endurance are held in the seams of cloth and kin.
Where we were wo(r)n becomes a soft elegy, a stitched reclamation of care, memory, and the ephemeral traces of belonging.
Front Gallery until 30.07.26
The Art of Existing by Careshia Esperanza & Kyle Jardine
Careshia Esperanza, Queen Bee, 2026 | : Kyle Jardine, The shape of us, 2026
The Art of Existing explores themes of identity, existence, and community through a deeply personal and vibrant visual language.
Through painting and mixed media, Jardine and Esperanza present a dynamic dialogue between the inner world and the external landscape. Through a vibrant celebration of colour, line and form, The Art of Existing pays homage to the power of community and the joy of belonging – inviting viewers to contemplate their own emotional dualities and the way we navigate both solitude and connection.
Long Gallery until 30.07.26.
Kite Diagrams – solo exhibition by Jonah Sack
Jonah Sack, Paper Kite 1-7, 2026
How are kites like diagrams? They are minimal elements held in tension, operating in blank space, tracking invisible forces. They are diagrams at play. Yet, the kites in Jonah Sack’s solo exhibition are too heavy to fly—they remain suspended, held precisely between floating and falling.
Complementing these pieces are material fragments—paper offcuts, floor rubbings, and scribbled geometric drawings—moments of thought becoming thing. Kite Diagrams explores the tension between the weight of materials and the ethereal nature of structure, mapping intangible forces in pigment, paper, plastic, and wood.
Mezzanine Gallery until 30.07.26
Four good reasons to visit the ASSOCIATION OF VISUAL ARTS (AVA) GALLERY!
WHAT: Four New Exhibitions
WHERE: ASSOCIATION OF VISUAL ARTS (AVA) GALLERY, 53 Church Street, Cape Town 8001
WHEN: OPENING Thursday evening, 18 June, from 5 pm – 8 pm | Closes 30 June 2026
INFO: T 021 424 7438 | E admin@ava.co.za | VISIT
ASSOCIATION of VISUAL ARTS GALLERY [13]
The WHAT, WHY & WHERE of the
arts scene in around Cape Town
see the 2026 art craft + museums map
and listen in to the
Arts Round Up Fridays @12:45
on Fine Music Radio FMR 101.3fm
The FMR App makes it even easier to tune into the Arts Round Up on Fridays! i-Phone HERE | Android HERE
Another reason Cape Town is placed 3rd in Time Out’s World’s Best Cities for Culture
