Culture · 28 Nov 2025
Artworks from the Ifa Lethu Foundation and SABC: Still We Rise
The Ifa Lethu Foundation of South Africa is proud to spearhead another landmark event in the country. This October, it will partner with the SABC as they come together to present Artworks from the Ifa Lethu Foundation and SABC in Still We Rise, a landmark exhibition of artworks made during South Africa’s Apartheid years.
This partnership, through the exhibition theme, bridges the G20’s global significance with South Africa’s unique cultural voice. Open at the Atrium, Keyes Art Mile from 30 October, the exhibition will run until 23 November 2025, perfectly coinciding with the G20 Summit – the first to be hosted on African soil.
Exhibition Theme and Significance
Rooted in memory, resistance, and resilience, Still We Rise showcases artworks created between 1948 and 1994, with a few works from the post-Apartheid period included for their piercing retrospective gaze. Together, these works highlight the courage and creativity of artists who persevered despite censorship, oppression, and the violent realities of Apartheid. Many of the works on show were created in exile and later repatriated, making their return to South Africa a poignant reminder of cultural survival against the odds.
‘This is a story of South Africa told through the eyes of artists who were silenced at home but found recognition abroad.’
~ Dr Narissa Ramdhani, Director of the Ifa Lethu Foundation.
The exhibition’s title plays on Maya Angelou’s 1978 poem Still I Rise – a manifesto of defiance and dignity that resonates deeply within the South African context.
In this rephrasing, the emphasis on ‘we’ recognises the collective spirit of resistance, solidarity, and shared survival that underpinned the struggle for liberation. As Johannesburg hosts the G20 Summit this year, Still We Rise takes on an added resonance. The international spotlight is fixed on South Africa, and this exhibition is both a commemoration of the past and a call to ethical leadership in the present.
The launch event on 30 October coincides with the W20 ministerial meeting, bringing women leaders from across the globe to Johannesburg.
The Ifa Lethu Foundation Collection
Founded in 2005 through a partnership between the Australian Government and South Africa’s Ministry of Arts and Culture, the Ifa Lethu Foundation is today the most prominent heritage repatriation organisation in the country.
Its roots stretch back to two Australian diplomats, Diane Johnstone and the late Bruce Haigh, who in the 1970s and 80s acquired artworks from Black South African artists working under repression, opening their homes for exhibitions in defiance of Apartheid law.
Years later, Johnstone and Haigh donated their collections back to South Africa, forming the nucleus of what is now the Ifa Lethu Heritage Collection. To date, more than 550 works from 16 countries have been returned, encompassing paintings, drawings, sculptures, carvings, and prints.
Over the past two decades, Ifa Lethu has extended its mission beyond repatriation to cultural entrepreneurship, human rights education, and youth empowerment. Consequently, more than 2,400 young South Africans have been trained in creative business, resulting in over 800 small enterprises established in rural and township communities. The Foundation begins its 20th anniversary celebrations this year, with programmes running through 2026.
The SABC Art Collection
The SABC Art Collection is one of South Africa’s most significant public art holdings. While its early acquisitions largely reflected Apartheid-era exclusions, the post-1994 strategy has deliberately redressed these imbalances, foregrounding Black artists whose contributions were overlooked for decades.
As custodian of this collection, the SABC affirms the role of art as a register of social life – embracing contradiction, emotion, and representation across race, gender, history, and medium.
The SABC Art Collection is an ongoing, always unfinished project that reflects not only South Africa’s cultural diversity and social realities, but also provides a space for the display of the emergent creativity and individuality of South Africa’s artists – both established and rising.
‘A lineage of feeling, thinking, making and resisting unfolds here, from the artists’ hearts to ours. Through their work, we know that the struggle continues. May we continue to rise against genocides, against discrimination, injustice, and poverty – may we continue to struggle against it all. May we never forget. May our eyes live to see, and may art continue to impart love and empathy to all our hearts.’
~ Koulla Xinisteris, SABC Art Collection Curator.
A Timely Reminder at a Pivotal Moment
In a global context of growing authoritarianism, systemic inequality, environmental devastation, and renewed militarisation, Still We Rise is a powerful reminder of art’s capacity to connect people, inspire courage, and stir our conscience.
‘News cycles often highlight South Africa’s challenges. Yet this powerful exhibition offers a defiantly different story, moving beyond the headlines to showcase the profound resilience, vibrant creativity and unbreakable spirit of our nation overcoming adversity.’
~ Dr Narissa Ramdhani, Director of the Ifa Lethu Foundation.
These works are testaments to survival, showing how, even in the harshest times, art affirms the fullness of life.
If this exhibition has stirred your interest in South Africa’s profound cultural history and its future, we encourage you to delve deeper. To explore the full scale of the heritage repatriation work, cultural entrepreneurship, and the complete collection, please visit the official platforms:
For more articles, go here.