The KZNSA Gallery is proud to host an artist workshop The Industry a dynamic public program forming part of the ongoing exhibition Not for Sale, curated by The Dealr. This workshop is designed to open up conversations about how artists can navigate the complex terrain of the art world, where questions of value, visibility, and sustainability are constantly in play.

The exhibition itself interrogates the irony embedded in its title – Not for Sale. While the phrase suggests transactional exchange, the curatorial framework insists that art must first be experienced, felt, and understood before its value can be measured. Extending this idea into practice, this workshop invites artists and audiences to reflect on how creative labor is positioned within systems of sale, support, and collaboration.

This workshop will feature three practitioners – Jessica Bothma, Zinhle Khumalo, and Azola Krweqe – who each navigate the industry in distinct ways. Their experiences span working within institutions, building independent practices, and sustaining collaborative networks. Together, they will share insights into the challenges and opportunities of working in the arts today, offering practical guidance for artists seeking to chart their own paths.

The session is not only about professional development but also about community-building. It emphasizes that while the art industry can often feel fragmented or opaque, collaboration and shared knowledge remain powerful tools for resilience. By bringing together voices from different contexts, the workshop highlights the multiplicity of ways artists can sustain their practices – whether through institutional support, independent initiative, or collective action.

Speaker Bios

Jessica Bothma
Jessica Bothma is a Durban-based sculptor and writer currently completing her Master’s in Fine Art at the Durban University of Technology. Her practice spans sculpture, drawing, and writing, with themes that interrogate identity, memory, history, dreams, power, gender, and the environment. Bothma’s work often uses materials as metaphors, exploring how they carry meaning and cultural resonance. She has participated in numerous exhibitions, including Material is Metaphor at the Tatham Art Gallery, and was awarded first prize in the 2024 KZNSA Members’ Award.

Zinhle Khumalo
Zinhle Khumalo (b. 2001, Johannesburg) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice is rooted in sculpture and installation. Her work explores the relationality between body, memory, water, space, and material, often creating immersive environments that evoke ecological entanglements and personal histories. Khumalo’s installations investigate how multiple memories can coexist within a single space, and how material can act as a vessel for memory. Alongside her artistic practice, she has contributed to arts administration and curation, including roles at Art for Humanity and Durban Art Gallery, and co-founded the Aweh! Art Collective to foreground artistic processes.

Azola Krweqe
Azola Krweqe is a cultural practitioner and curator whose work centers everyday Black stories and the layered identities of Black women. Drawing inspiration from Black intersectional feminist thinkers, she challenges white-supremacist and patriarchal systems through her practice. Krweqe advocates for accessible art spaces rooted in local contexts and committed to equity and community engagement. She holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Industrial Sociology and Social Development and a BA Honours in Curatorship from the University of Cape Town. Her multidisciplinary practice includes curation, writing, photography, and beading, often grounded in Indigenous Knowledge Systems.

The Industry workshop is an invitation to artists, students, and audiences to engage deeply with the realities of working in the arts. It is a space to learn, to share, and to imagine new possibilities for navigating the industry. Whether you are an emerging artist seeking guidance, an established practitioner reflecting on your journey, or simply curious about the inner workings of the art world, this session offers valuable perspectives.