Gallery hopping: catch the creative wave that's sweeping through SA's art world

You could call it an art feast. With Mary Sibande, Jodie Paulsen, Jared Ginsberg and Bronwyn Lace all launching new solo exhibitions in February there will undoubtedly be some fevered gallery hopping.

What a relief after being forced to roam the cultural desert that is December and January when galleries in Joburg are closed or (as in Cape Town) exhibit nondescript summer salon-type shows.

The action is clearly driven by the Cape Town Art Fair, which takes place from February 17 to 19 . The buzz is linked to the fair's new ''curator", Tumelo Mosaka.

According to the promotional material, Mosaka has a firm foot in the international art fair scene. Proof of his curatorial nous will be measured via the artists and works he has selected for the Tomorrows/Today platform which is dedicated to solo presentations by emerging artists from Africa and the African diaspora.

We know who they are already - Onyis Martin (Kenya), Jackie Karuti (Kenya), Sandile Zulu (South Africa), Helen Teede (Zimbabwe) and Joël Andrianomearisoa (Madagascar).

The Art Africa Fair, which runs from February 24 to March 3 at the Watershed in the V&A precinct, is also advancing its curators as a selling point.

It should offer a more continental African slant with Salimata Diop, Uche Okpa-Iroha and Pierre-Christophe Gam ''curating" alongside well-known local art heavyweight Thembinkosi Goniwe.

Mary Sibande hasn't presented a solo exhibition since her Standard Bank Award show in 2013, so there will be a lot of interest in the one planned for Gallery Momo in Cape Town in February. Will she present another shift in her biographical ''Sophie" story or will she dispense with her fictional mannequin figure altogether?

Jody Paulsen hasn't exhibited his distinctive felt collages since the Brundyn Gallery shut its doors a number of years ago. As such his solo exhibition at Smac Gallery in Cape Town is sure to generate attention.

Jared Ginsberg is advancing his makeshift kinetic brand of sculpture in a new direction in his solo show planned for the Blank Projects gallery, dubbed Interludes. It pivots on a theatre structure which will form the platform for a variety of multimedia works.

Almost everything Ayanda Mabulu does these days makes the front page and this will probably be the case in March/April as he delivers a solo exhibition at the newly established Agog Gallery in Maboneng, Johannesburg, where he'll deliver sculptures dealing with rape culture. Will our illustrious president feature?

In late July, Grahamstown will temporarily operate as the cultural centre during the National Arts Festival where Beth Armstrong and Dineo Bopape, winners of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for visual and performance art respectively, will present new exhibitions.

However, the landmark art event that will define 2017 will be the long-awaited opening of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art at Cape Town's V&A in September. Its director, Mark Coetzee, has been keeping developments under wraps, heightening curiosity. If there is one invitation you want to appear in your virtual mailbox, it will be to the opening night of this museum.

This article was originally published by The Times.