March, to the max

Art & design

Ljubljana Biennial of Design

The Ljubljana Biennial of Design is an international collaborative process in which designers and creatives question design as a creative discipline and develop alternatives to established systems. This edition’s theme is “Double Agent: Do You Speak Flower?”, examining floriography, a code hidden within flowers to transmit secret information.

Dates: Until 6 April

Venue: Rusjanov trg7 SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

28.bio.si/en/

Spier Light Art 2025

Spier’s annual Light Art is back with a month of interactive and experimental light, sound, and video artworks from local and international artists. Sixteen site-specific art installations dot the landscape — visit at dusk, when the sun goes down and the lights go up.

Dates: 6.30pm-9pm, 21 March - 21 April

Venue: Spier Wine Farm, Stellenbosch

Tickets: Free entry

spier.co.za

Don’t miss:

Conrad Botes’s “Raft of the Medusa” show at Kalashnikovv Gallery, Cape Town, until 29 March

Sanell Aggenbach’s “Past Lives” solo exhibition at Everard Read Cape Town, 5-26 March

Hylton Nel’s “Wel! wel! durft ge nog zoo laat op ’t pad, Pad!” ceramics exhibition at Stevenson Amsterdam, 8-29 March

Hazel Mpande, Lebogang Tlhako, Remofiloe Mayisela, and Thalente Khomo’s “Ke Rona” group show at Berman Contemporary in Joburg until 6 April

Keiskamma artists in profile at AVA, Cape Town, from 6 March to 16 April

Music

Bongi Mvuyana 

Alternative soul artist Bongi Mvuyana is taking her new album, “Power”, on tour, with two intimate performances in SA.

Joburg: 15 March, Artistry

Cape Town: 29 March Youngblood

Tickets: From R275

quicket.co.za

Theatre

Life and Times of Michael K

The literary masterpiece by Nobel Prize and Booker Prize-winning South African novelist JM Coetzee has been adapted for the stage by Lara Foot in collaboration with the Handspring Puppet Company. It has had a hugely successful international run with cast members Sandra Prinsloo, Andrew Buckland, Faniswa Yisa, puppet master Craig Leo, Roshina Ratnam, Carlo Daniels, Billy Langa, Nolufefe Ntshuntshe, and Nkosinathi Mngomezulu.

Dates: 27 March - 13 April

Venue: Market Theatre, Newtown, Joburg

Tickets: R198-R275

webticket.co.za

Kafka’s Ape

This one-hander, by Noma Yini Storyers, is a multi-award-winning adaptation of Franz Kafka’s A Report to an Academy and holds humanity to an ape’s mirror, with devastating effect.

Dates: 26 March - 12 April

Venue: The Baxter Studio, Cape Town

Tickets: R110 - R200

webtickets.co.za

Festivals

Time of the Writer

Hosted by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, this year’s festival is themed around “Imagination, Freedom & Accountability” and features authors such as John van de Ruit, Niq Mhlongo, Philiswa Lila, Shubnum Khan, Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, Zukiswa Wanner, and Sven Axelrad.

Dates: 18-23 March

Venues: Across Durban & online

tow.ukzn.ac.za

Joburg Film Festival

Showcasing and celebrating African narratives, the seventh Joburg Film Festival explores the essence of connectivity through storytelling and features acclaimed movies, documentaries, and short films.

Dates: 11-16 March

Venues: Theatre on the Square, The Bioscope, Artistry, The Forge, Nu Metro

Tickets: R80-R100

joburgfilmfestival.co.za ; webtickets.co.za