Artist and music teacher VusiSiwela driving Melville Mzansi Art Expo
The expo will take place at three venues in Melville 26 September to 1 October, 2026, featuring art, live performances, and workshops and will form part of the Melville 130th birthday celebrations.
By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor
South African artists, particularly those who are at the emerging stages of their careers struggle to access the market once they have completed creating their art in their studios.
Without a gallery representation which organise exhibitions for their works, and without access to exhibiting at art fairs, their work and the artists themselves remain on the margin of the art market.
And therefore, their labour of love, their talent to tell stories about contemporary South Africa, and an opportunity to expose their work works to those who would emotionally and intellectually connect with their work, remains elusive for many of such artists.
It is this realisation that music teacher and artist Vusi Siwela, decided to do something around Melville, where he lives. A music graduate from University of South Africa, performer and producer, Vusi believes that there is a room for an Afrocentric expo in Melville, especially an expo that centres African traditional culture, such as dance, and traditional games, being exhibited alongside contemporary art.
He therefore, conceptualised Melville Mzansi Art Expo through his Non-Profit Organisation Hippopcorn Foundation, which organised the first iteration last year, and according to him, attracted a significant number of visitors and drew in artists, not only from Melville, but beyond.
Besides participating artists from around Melville, the expo also attracted artists from the Gauteng’s townships, who had an opportunity to expose their art and art practices to the public.
“We are doing the expo again this year. There will be visual artists, dancers, particularly those pursuing indigenous South African dances. There will be a moraba raba (a South African indigenous game), tournament, musical performances, poetry performances and workshops.
“This year, we have partnered with Gauteng Department of Environmental Health Services, who will hold workshops about how vendors can access licenses by being compliant,” explained Vusi in an interview with CITYLIFE/ARTS. There will also be arts administration and business of arts workshops.
He said that the expo will take place from September 26 to October 1, 2026, at a number of venues in Melville. The other partners are Indoni Entertainment and Melanine Zone.
“The expo will take place at three venues-Studio 79 on 4th Avenue, Melville, Indoni Gallery and the Roof Top Gallery, all at 27 Boxes. The expo this year, will form part of the Melville 130th birthday celebrations, which will take place around several venues in Melville, officially starting on October 1, running till October 5, 2026,” he said.
The medium suburb, known for its cultural vibrancy, turns 130 this year. On October 5, and as a result a number of celebratory events are being organised to mark the milestone reached by this popular suburb, popular with students, artists and tourists.
Limited slots for dancers available
Vusi has indicated that there are still limited spaces for dancers who would like to participate in the expo to conduct the organisers to register.
“Dancers, particularly those pursuing indigenous South African dance can reach us through our email Hippopcornfoundation23@gmailcom