RADICAL ADDLIB
Radical AddLib forms part of a media partnership between Culture Review Magazine and VIAD Research Centre’s RADICAL I OTHERS. Radical AddLib is a living library that archives and adds to ongoing documentation of practices of freedom by African and African-Diaspora artists, bridging the gap between scholarly concepts and accessible public engagement through critical writing.
In 2024, special feature articles under the Radical AddLib reflected on the intricate web of living in a democracy and building a livable world. Guided by the over-arching theme of 30 Years of Democracy, the special features focused on sharing creative practices of freedom by artists across generations. A clear focus on expanding notions of Blackness and indigeneity became a thread through the published pieces, gaining media attention from radio to television interviews.
DEMOCRACY IS DIFFICULT
A CONVERSATION BETWEEN DINEO DIPHOFA AND KAMOGELO WALAZA
ONLINE
3 April 2024
The first Radical AddLib features Kamogelo Walaza, independent curator, and Dineo Diphofa as they reflect on the complexities of democracy, creativity, and freedom in post-apartheid South Africa, exploring how lived experience shapes curatorial and artistic practice. Walaza discusses how her background in drama influences her socially engaged, emotionally invested curatorial approach, and emphasizes the importance of relationships, visibility, and initiative for emerging curators and creatives.
Kamogelo Walaza is an independent curator, arts education facilitator, writer, and ethnographer, with a diverse academic and professional background. Walaza curated the SENSES exhibition, which was initially held at the Goethe-Institut and has now traveled to the Michaelis School of Fine Art Gallery at the University of Cape Town. She won the YOUNG/UNFRAMED 2023/2024 award which resulted in a curated solo exhibition with at Bag factory and was one of the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans award in 2024.
Dineo Diphofa is a curator, scholar and writer who currently works as a Specialist and Subject Matter Expert for Nedbank’s corporate art collection.
HOW THEY EMBRACE INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGES
A REVIEW OF BRONWYN KATZ’S SOLO EXHIBITION BY DINEO DIPHOFA
ONLINE
13 June 2024
This Radical AddLib features artist Bronwyn Katz and her solo show stone’s embrace, a love spiral of erosion and renewal where Dineo Diphofa, offers us a poetic insight into Katz’s work. This exhibition uses sculpture, sound, and indigenous materials to confront the legacies of colonialism, apartheid, and the erasure of indigenous cultures in South Africa. Centered around the symbolic soetes tree, Katz’s work becomes a personal and political act of resistance and renewal, using ancestral materials, language, and memory to propose a healing, land-rooted future where indigenous narratives are vital and honored in South Africa’s democracy.
Bronwyn Katz is a South African artist working across various mediums who is interested in the notions of objects, people and spaces as lived. They are also the founder of iQhiya, an 11-womxn artist collective based in Cape Town and Johannesburg which has performed across various spaces, including Documenta (in Kassel and Athens), Greatmore Studios, and Iziko South African National Gallery. Their work has been shown in various solo and group exhibitions including VIAD Research Center’s Bioart + Design Africa’s Imminent and Eminent Ecologies.
Dineo Diphofa is a curator, scholar and writer who currently works as a Specialist and Subject Matter Expert for Nedbank’s corporate art collection.
REFUSAL IS A HOMECOMING
CONTEMPLATIONS WITH MME MMAKGABO HELEN SEBIDI BY DINEO DIPHOFA
ONLINE
11 October 2024
This reflection recounts a powerful visit with renowned South African artist Mme Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi on her 81st birthday, offering insight into her deep-rooted artistic philosophy. Through storytelling and a rejection of imposed roles, she practices a quiet, radical refusal that asserts autonomy, collective memory, and spiritual connection. Her approach challenges Western notions of artistic genius, instead embracing a pluriversal way of creating, grounded in indigenous knowledge and ancestral ties. The visit profoundly impacted Dineo Diphofa, who, as a Black academic woman, reclaims her own path in scholarship, seeing refusal not as resistance, but as a liberatory affirmation of self-determined work and voice.
Mme Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi is a South African artist born in Marapyane who lives and works in Johannesburg. Sebidi’s work is characterized by a dynamic interplay of abstraction and figuration, often portraying the complexities of rural and urban South African experiences, particularly those of Black women. Throughout her career, Sebidi has received numerous accolades, including the Standard Bank Young Artist Award in 1989, making her the first Black woman to receive this honour. Her works are housed in esteemed collections worldwide.
Dineo Diphofa is a curator, scholar and writer who currently works as a Specialist and Subject Matter Expert for Nedbank’s corporate art collection.
IN SUNNY SOUTH AFRICA: THE APPLE OF DEMOCRACY DOESN’T FALL FAR FROM THE APARTHEID TREE
A REVIEW OF SUNNY SOUTH AFRICA BY NQOBILE MKARI WITH COMMENTARY FROM LUTFIYAH HAFFEJEE AND SHANDRÉ LUMMIS
ONLINE
11 October 2024
Young South Africans, especially Gen Z, live in a paradox of privilege and struggle. The play Sunny South Africa, created by AFDA students and directed by Nondumiso Msimanga, explores this through satire, highlighting the country’s stark inequalities. Set in a fictional suburb and township, the play uses irony to question whether democracy has truly delivered for all. Students reflect on their personal experiences with race, class, and identity, drawing connections between art, activism, and truth-telling. Despite having access to education or privilege, many still feel excluded or burdened by systemic issues. Through collage, poetry, and performance, the play confronts the contradictions of post-apartheid South Africa, showing that while some are free to fly, not all have the fuel to soar.
Nqobile Mkari, Lutfiyah Haffejee and Shandré Lummis were interns at the VIAD Research Center for 2024.