Date: Tuesday, 7 July 2026
Time: 18:00
Venue: Oliewenhuis Art Museum, 16 Harry Smith Street, Bloemfontein
The evening will celebrate the opening of the following exhibitions:
Be[long]
A solo exhibition by André Rose
Main Building, Oliewenhuis Art Museum
Walkabouts: 8 July 2026 at 11:00 & 11 July 2026 at 10:00
In Be[long], André Rose presents a photographic exhibition exploring place, belonging and longing. Drawing on locations from the past five years, he examines how memory, access, inclusion and exclusion shape relationships to space. Through everyday scenes and familiar objects, the work invites reflection on land, ownership, stewardship and the stories that shape belonging. Rose is a public health physician and lens-based artist using visual storytelling to engage with social issues intersecting with public health.
Witnesses
A solo exhibition by Franli Meintjes
Annex Gallery, Oliewenhuis Art Museum
Walkabout: 8 July 2026 at 12:00
In Witnesses, Franli Meintjes examines both physical and psychological vulnerability within the context of a magic realist landscape. This imagined realm, infused with storytelling and mythology, embodies the paradox of being both a sanctuary and a source of dread. Drawing on her personal experiences of the South African landscape, she explores the interconnectedness of memory, place, and architecture through a fibre-based installation. Alongside these works, she creates figurative and abstract textured pieces using punch needle, tufting, and knot techniques. In contrast to depictions of architectural decay, these hanging fibre structures evoke qualities of evolving organic life.
From the Depths Deeply Buried
A solo exhibition by Emma Willemse
Reservoir Gallery, Oliewenhuis Art Museum
Walkabout: 8 July 2026 at 13:00
In this solo exhibition Emma Willemse presents works that engage directly with the unique history of the Reservoir Gallery at Oliewenhuis Art Museum, an underground exhibition space once used for water storage. The exhibition will house Willemse’s acclaimed artist’s book installation, 101 Ways to Long for a Home, together with a number of large-scale suspended installations. The recurring motif of the boat, explored throughout these bodies of work, forms part of Willemse’s ongoing investigation into displacement, memory, identity and belonging. Emma Willemse is an artist and art educator based in Riebeek Kasteel in the Western Cape. Her work has been exhibited widely in South Africa and internationally, including Florence, Dakar, Paris and London.
The exhibitions will be opened together at
Oliewenhuis Art Museum, 16 Harry Smith Street, Bloemfontein.
This includes a performance intervention by Emma Willemse.
Refreshments will be served.
For more information, please contact Oliewenhuis Art Museum at 078 968 4300.
