Echoes of Elsewhere raises the temperature at Heat Festival 2025

Cape Town’s city centre will be transformed into a cultural playground for the second annual edition of the Heat Festival, a winter arts fair taking place in August under the theme of ‘Other Worlding’. As part of a city-wide series of festival exhibitions, HUB Gallery presents a bold new show, Echoes of Elsewhere: Fragments of the Past, Visions of Tomorrow, that invites audiences to step into imagined futures and reflect on the world as it could be.

Echoes of Elsewhere is curated by guest curator Zinhle Khumalo and brings together works by 18 contemporary South African artists. Participants include printmaker and painter Nathaniel Sheppard, sculptor Effo Munguanzo, collage artist Dorothy Barnes, mosaic artist Ziyanda Majozi, mixed-media artist Patrick Bongoy and painter Asanda Kupa. Together, their work reimagines the past, interrogates the present and conjures new ways of seeing the world beyond the limits of conventional narratives.

‘In a world constantly changing at a rapid velocity, Echoes of Elsewhere offers a Pause – a space to reflect on the stories we inherit, the identities we perform, and the futures we dare to dream. Echoes of Elsewhere is not merely an exhibition to be observed but an experience to be inhabited. It encourages viewers to sit with the discomfort of the unknown, and to imagine worlds where liberation is a tangible possibility. By merging the speculative with the tangible, the artists remind us that the future is not predetermined – it is a collective project, waiting to be shaped. The exhibition ultimately asks not just ‘what if?’; but ‘what now?’ – compelling us to recognize ourselves as co-authors of unfolding stories,’ Khumalo states.

From digital distortion and ancestral echoes to imagined lands and speculative identities, Echoes of Elsewhere challenges viewers’ perceptions and suggests alternative futures. In this exhibition, the artists employ distinct materials and imagery to articulate their speculative vision.

‘Some may use augmented reality to create fractured landscapes where time collapses. While others rework historical photographs, documents, or oral traditions, embedding them with futuristic elements. And a few explore the body as a site of transformation where the line blurs between human and machine, natural and artificial,’ Khumalo continues.

The exhibition is part of HUB Gallery’s broader mission to support and showcase independent artists. ‘We’re proud to present this group show as part of a festival that embraces creative disruption, reflection and change,’ says Mirna Wessels, CEO of HUB.

HUB provides opportunities for artists who are not exclusively signed with commercial galleries to exhibit and sell their work, while connecting them to new networks in the interior design, architecture and artisan industries.

All the details:

Heat Festival 2025: 6–16 August 2025

Echoes of Elsewhere opening: 6 August at 18h00

Venue: House Union Block (HUB), Union House, 25 Commercial Street, Cape Town CBD

For more information on the Heat Festival, visit the website.

For more on HUB, visit https://houseunionblock.co.za/