The BMW Art Generation Vol. III Returns to NIROX Sculpture Park
Featuring high powered musicians and events on August 30, 2025
By CityLife Arts Writer
+ Presented by FNB Art Joburg in collaboration with BMW Group South Africa
+ Emphasis on critical thought and cultural engagement under the theme “A Tropology Between Image and Imagination.”
+Curated talks programme with notable artists like Zanele Muholi and Nicholas Hlobo
+ BMW Centre for Art Education hosts workshop for the Kromdraai community.
On August 30, 2025, The BMW Art Generation Vol. III returns to NIROX Sculpture Park with a bold and immersive program focused on celebration, dialogue, and the poetics of possibility. Presented by FNB Art Joburg in partnership with BMW Group South Africa, this third edition deepens its commitment to critical thought and cultural engagement.
This year’s theme, “A Tropology Between Image and Imagination,” explores the narrative power of creative practice. The BMW Art Generation Vol. III brings artists and cultural thinkers together to investigate how symbolism, gesture, and form serve as tools to reclaim histories and shape speculative futures. Through this lens, the festival underscores imagination as methodology, illuminating African presence in all its complexity and nuance.
To open up The BMW Art Generation Vol. III programme, Garden Affirmations with Muneyi invites you to slow down and be present. Framed through a deep commitment to intergenerational conversation and critical joy, the programme draws on cultural giants and contemporary visionaries alike. Musical performances by the legendary Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse and genre-defying composer Msaki continue the legacy of South African sonic innovation, threading the foundation laid by elders through the voices of those shaping sound today.
Talks Programme
A curated talks programme anchors the day’s intellectual offering:
Talk I | Image and Imagination
This panel features acclaimed artists such as Zanele Muholi, examining how image- making becomes a means of resistance, self-author ship, and future-building. The conversation unpacks the frameworks through which artists interpret identity, presence, and cultural mythologies.
Talk II | Existing, Performance & Being
Featuring luminaries like Nicholas Hlobo, this conversation responds to Koyo Kouoh’s call for loving and emancipatory depictions of Black experiences. Artists reflect on how performance and representation in intersect with history, grief, and joy.
These talks serve as key moments for reflection, offering audiences deeper insight into the artistic processes and lived experiences that shape contemporary art on the continent and beyond.
Community Workshop
The BMW Centre for Art Education will also host a workshop for the Kromdraai community, led by Liesl Hartman, Head of Education at Zeitz MOCAA. This initiative encourages hands-on creativity and fosters intergenerational exchange through artmaking.
Legacy & Vision
At its core, The BMW Art Generation is about legacy-building. Since 2020, BMW and FNB Art Joburg have cultivated a new wave of art patrons through the BMW Young Collectors Co., a community committed to collecting African art and investing in local cultural ecosystems.
Taz Ramphisa, General Manager: Customer and Brand for BMW Group South Africa, notes, “BMW is committed to creativity and innovation within the art world. Art Generation reflects our ongoing support for platforms that shape discourse, nurture talent, and enrich communities.”
Mandla Sibeko, Managing Director of FNB Art Joburg, adds, “Art is a language of meaning, memory, and transformation. Through Art Generation, we honour those who stretch the limits of imagination and visual storytelling.” The event promises a day of deep engagement with art, imagination, and dialogue, continuing to shape the future of artistic expression on African soil.
Event and Ticket Info
Date: August 30, 2025 Venue: NIROX Sculpture Park
Tickets: R500 (includes access to talks, exhibitions, and all programming) Book here: https://tickets.tixsa.co.za/event/bmw-art-generation