The highly anticipated Heat Winter Arts Festival program has been announced

16 Jul 2025

Cape Town’s HEAT Winter Arts Festival returns this August with a bold, multi-genre programme focussed on Other Worldliness – this year’s theme. From August 6 to 16, audiences can look forward to over 13 exhibitions in walking distance at some of the city centre’s leading art galleries. Additionally, there is a stunning theatre and music line-up that presents Cape Town’s rising singers, musicians, performers and theatremakers.

Cape Town’s hottest emerging artists, from Sahlah Davids, Oupa Sibeko, Balekane Legoabe, Nada Baraka, Colijn Strydom, Bella Knemeyer and Ulrich Jantjes will show works in exhibitions alongside renowned figures such as Gareth Nyandoro, Cathy Abraham, Joseph Ntensibe, Dan Halter, Richard Mudariki and Johann Louw.

Curated exhibitions aligned to the Other Worlding theme of the festival will be staged at; the AVA, artHARARE, Christopher Moller, EBONY/CURATED, Eclectica Contemporary, Everard Read, HUB Gallery operated by Spier Arts Trust (SAT), Nel, RESERVOIR, Smac, Untitled, WORLDART and Sisonke in partnership with SAT and Our Cape Town Heritage.

Unmissable music and art pairings will take place at the Iziko South African National Gallery, where the Motherhood: Paradox and Duality exhibition will be heightened by the local choir Amici de Lumine. At the Norval Foundation, Sky Dladla will contribute to the evocative atmosphere of the works by Lucas Sithole and Cyprian Shilakoe at the “They Came and Left Footprints” exhibition.

The Open Studio Event at Lemkus will see artists Mongezi Ncaphayi, Mhlonishwa Zulu, and Russel Abrahams, invite ticket-holders into their studios, giving them access to the process of their art-making.

On the theatre stage, expect an evocative mix of comedy, history, and emotional depth, with a programme curated by Fleur du Cap judge, Ngkopoleng Moloi. Tankiso Mamabolo stars in Don’t Believe a Word I Say, a poignant, comedic solo performance that journeys through childhood memory and the fluid nature of truth. In Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, actors Jessie Diepeveen and Max du Toit explore love and language in a world where speech is rationed. A standout revival comes in the form of Confused Mhlaba, originally written in 1974 and once censored for its anti-apartheid stance. Adapted by Kitso Seti, it returns as a haunting, historically significant reflection on identity under oppression. Rounding off the programme is Edward Albee’s classic The Zoo Story, brought to life by Michael MacKenzie and Francois Immelman in a raw, unsettling performance about human connection and estrangement.

Cape Town’s boldest stand-up comics will bring sharp social commentary to the festival in two events curated by Comedy-in-Commons, headlined by the indomitable KG Mokgadi.

A bumper music programme curated by Quiet Life Co pulses with variety and soul. Singer-songwriter Jabulani Majola will woo audiences with his folksy and lyrical reflection on identity inspired by Paul Simon and Leonard Cohen. The female trio of artists, MANA, giulietta price and Mishy Kope, will be forging new sonic territory across jazz, soul and Latin-infused soundscapes at the Lemkus Gallery. Yellow House will bring their Dream Pop’s ethereal sound to an event at the HUB Gallery with Maya Grey a folk musician known for her evocative melodies and rich storytelling.

Luukhanyo and the HI Rollers will close the festival with their dynamic brand of rap that fuses R&B, hip-hop, funk, and jazz.

A programme of arias centred on Dreams & Desires by Opera UCT, conducted by their acclaimed director Jeremy Silver staged at the Alliance Francaise, the festival hub will give audiences a special taste of this exceptional talent in this company.

The festival hub is where visitors can find out about the festival, attend a stimulating talks programme created by Art School Africa that probes Futurism, absorbing female artists into the art canon, turning Cape Town into a cultural capital and building sustainable careers in the performing arts. In between all this brain food visitors to the hub can view Wessel Albertse’s Convergence a VR experience that takes viewers into a dystopian future.

The Festival is supported by BASA, Wesgro, The Spier Arts Trust, Orms and Mission for Inner City Cape Town.

With such a wide variety of art forms and events available, Capetonians have no reason to stay home this winter.

The full programme can be found on www.heatfestival.org Tickets are available on Quicket. Email: hello@heatfestival.org for more information