Growing up in Gqeberha, curator Anelisa Mangcu lived in a milieu of actors, composers and writers as well as her great-grandfather, celebrated artist George Pemba.
Her intellectual fires lit, Mangcu obtained an honours degree in curatorship at the University of Cape Town’s Michaelis School of Fine Art and is an in-demand art curator.
At 31, she has curated an impressive 42 solo and group exhibitions and art fair presentations between Cape Town, Johannesburg and New York.
“I am also the founder of Under The Aegis, which offers curatorial and art advisory services, and facilitates the relationship between artists, collectors and institutional collections from the African continent and the diaspora,” she says.
She currently has two shows — “An Endless Night” at the Mount Nelson Hotel in partnership with Investec Cape Town Art Fair in Cape Town and the Stellenbosch outdoor photography exhibition titled “Freedom, I dream up for Myself and Others”, presented by the Stellenbosch Outdoor Sculpture Trust with the support of patrons Private Clients by Old Mutual Wealth.
The outdoor exhibition is mounted in public places and includes arresting, oversized works by eight master African photographers: Berni Searle, Malick Sidibé, Akinbode Akinbiyi, David Goldblatt, James Barnor, Calvin Dondo, Roger Ballen and Obie Oberholzer.
“My journey began in my birthplace New Brighton in Gqeberha, a township that birthed many great black art practitioners including actor and playwright John Kani, Winston Ntshona, political stalwart Vusi Pikoli and Bobo Pemba, and my great-grandfather visual social historian and modernist George Pemba,” says Mangcu, who divides her time between Cape Town and Paris.
I was fortunate to be exposed to a salon/supper club meeting of minds where artists, collectors, composers, writers, critics, intellectuals and general persons of interest came together to indulge in discourse
“I was fortunate to be exposed to a salon/supper club meeting of minds where artists, collectors, composers, writers, critics, intellectuals and general persons of interest came together to indulge in discourse.”
After moving to Cape Town, Mangcu matriculated at Rustenburg Girls’ High School before obtaining a BA in creative brand communications specialising in copywriting from the Vega School of Brand Leadership which she followed up with studies at Michaelis where she was also an academic tutor.
“The black intelligentsia movement played a huge role in my move from the Eastern to the Western Cape to pursue a better life and education.
“My identity and the exploration of it informed how I viewed the world and the things that stood out for me.
“My academic and practical area of concentration is identity politics in contemporary art and its intersecting effect in social, political and economic development.”
Identity politics also shaped the path she chose for her honours degree.
“For my honours dissertation my chosen object to explore, under the guidance of Professor Pippa Skotnes, was inspired by my personal quest to unpack the unethical evaluation of black women’s hair.
“An object that can be viewed as a psychological space where we question how far we self-construct, how we self-identify and how mutable that identity is.
“The construction and reconstruction of identity in Africa and the African diaspora and finding the common thread that binds black people.”
Mangcu had her first encounter with curatorship when she was a teenager and the experience left her wanting to explore its long-term possibilities.
“When I had my first show I was around 17. I enjoyed the curatorial part more than I did creating the work.
“At the time I was a kid and had no pressure to produce photographs for exhibition purposes. I was just having fun.
“So being able to exhibit a body of work was exciting. I was interested in how the gallerist, who had offered me the space, went about arranging the show, so I observed and realised that I was good at doing what he was doing.”
Forty-two shows later Mangcu reflects on the powerful role the province of her birth has played in shaping her work.
She is also passionate about preserving the legacy and historical expertise that is rooted in the Eastern Cape.
“When we were faced with this existential crisis, which was worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, my friend and visual artist Athi-Patra Ruga and I co-founded Victory of The Word.
“The association was designed to support the work of the historic Lovedale printing press in Alice.”
Ruga and Mangcu were determined to save the 200-year-old printing press, established by Scottish missionaries with members of the Xhosa nation which documented the oral history and language of the Xhosa for posterity.
“Determined to ensure that it didn’t have to close its doors, and that its custodians could preserve its legacy, we established the BODYLAND residency and incubator, which invited eight artists to engage with the history of the press and to create contemporary responses to their findings.”
The residency was held in Hogsback in 2020.
“Due to the world navigating the Covid-19 pandemic, we only had the pleasure of exhibiting their works in Cape Town and Johannesburg in 2022.
“The artists that we showcased have since exhibited with many local and international leading galleries and institutions are Baz Bailey, Fundiswa Douw, Sisonke Papu, Yonela Makoba and Wezile Harmans.
“BODYLAND aims to bring the work of the Lovedale pioneers to a multidisciplinary, contemporary and engaging platform to serve our arts community, and we are looking forward to opening the residency again later this year.”
With her busy schedule Mangcu says she lacks the opportunity to create her own art.
“I do not have much time to do so, but it has been something I have wanted to dive back into.”
Her advice to aspiring young curators?
“Simply start,” she says.
Regarding future projects, Mangcu is similarly succinct.
“[There are] plenty, but you will have to wait and see ...”
DispatchLI VE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.