Artists

Igshaan Adams is a South African multidisciplinary artist. Born in Bonteheuwel, a segregated township outside of Cape Town, during the last decade of apartheid, his art is a reflection of his upbringing and an investigation of his identity as a queer, Muslim, coloured man. Adams utilises mixed media – plastic, rope, shells, beads, glass, wire, and other found objects – to create expansive handwoven tapestries.

Adams received a National Certificate in Art and Design from the College of Cape Town in 2003 and a Diploma of Fine Art from Ruth Prowse School of Art in 2009. In 2018, he was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year Award for Visual Art. Adams has held several residencies including at Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town (2022); A4 Arts Foundation, Cape Town (2020); I.D.E.A. Residency Project, Milan, Italy (2019); and Pro Helvetia, Basel, Switzerland (2013). He has exhibited in numerous solo exhibitions since 2009, most recently Desire Lines at Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Vastrappleck, Casey Kaplan, New York City, NY, USA; Igshaan Adams: Kicking Dust, Kuntsthalle in Zurich, Switzerland.; and skarrelbaan at blank projects, Cape Town all in 2022. He has also participated in local and international group shows such as the Venice Biennale (2022) and is currently included in the exhibition Narrative Threads: Textile Art Now (2023) at the Moody Center for the Arts, Houston, TX.