Here they are: 2018 studio residency recipients!

Pro Helvetia Johannesburg is pleased to announce the award of studio residencies for 2018 to an exceptional group of artists from Switzerland and the Southern African region.

This year we had the difficult task of making selections from a larger volume of applications than ever before from across our region, with nearly 60 submissions coming from Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The generally very high standard of submissions and applicants additionally made the process of selection more challenging. Over the last three years our office has also made a conscious effort to build awareness of the programme among artistic networks in the Southern African region beyond South Africa, and we have been gratified by the quality of response to those efforts, as reflected in the awards below.

Pro Helvetia’s three-month studio residencies provide a unique and open-ended opportunity for artists to develop their work and professional networks in another context, and have also generated fertile ground for ongoing collaborations and connections in the artistic field between Southern Africa and Switzerland over the years. We look forward to working with the 2018 Pro Helvetia supported artists in residence.

From Southern Africa:

Shane Cooper (Music, South Africa)

Alexandre Kyungu (Visual Arts, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Lebohang Kganye (Visual Arts, South Africa)

Vuma Levin (Music, South Africa)

Wallen Mapondera (Visual Arts, Zimbabwe)

Nashilongweshipwe Mushaandja (Interdisciplinary, Namibia)

Thabiso Pule (Dance, South Africa)

Cara Stacey (Music, South Africa/Swaziland)

From Switzerland:

Emilie Ding (Visual Arts)

Benedikt Reising (Music)