Prize winners 2026 | Where are they now?

Recognising the contributions and talents at the forefront of creative discovery through our annual selection of prizes is a major highlight of each edition of our fair. At our 2026 edition, we were thrilled to celebrate the artists who were awarded from our largest selection of prizes yet, spotlighting the voices making strides in contemporary art.

 

There were five prize winners at the fair’s 13th edition:

 

Sibusiso Bheka, who exhibited with AFRONOVA (Johannesburg, South Africa), was the inaugural winner of the ORMS International Photography Prize for his photograph Super Mega.

 

Amy Rusch, who exhibited with Suburbia Contemporary (Barcelona, Spain), was the inaugural winner of the Materiality Prize in partnership with Homo Faber for her work What arrives with first light, and the goodness of silence.

 

Chidirim Nwaubani, who exhibited with Doyle Wham (London, United Kingdom), received the Tomorrows/Today Prize supported by Fiera Milano Exhibitions Africa for his installation Mbari Memorial: What Cannot Be Returned Must Be Reconceived.

 

Warren Maroon, who exhibited with Everard Read (Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Franschhoek, South Africa and London, United Kingdom), won the Investec Emerging Artist Award for his work Rising Sun.

 

Mellaney Roberts, who exhibited with Berman Contemporary (Cape Town, South Africa), won the RDC Art Collection Award for her work, Echoes in the Reeds 1.

 

Since their wins in February earlier this year, these artists have continued expanding their practices and enjoying their well-deserved recognition. During this time, works have been created, exhibitions organised, relationships have evolved, and new projects have emerged. We’re now weeks away from announcing the exhibitors for our 2027 edition of the fair, and as excitement builds, we’ve taken a moment to catch up with each of the award-winning artists who’ve filled us in on how their careers have continued to flow since.

 

 

 

 

 

After winning the first iteration of the ORMS International Photography Prize, Sibusiso Bheka has continued his photographic work, growing through his community-focused approaches and upcoming projects.

 

 

Back in February 2026, after it was announced that Bheka had won the prize, a collector came to buy one of his photographs from the same series as his winning piece. This turned out to be quite the point of connection, with this purchase opening up a conversation about a potential project: photographing the development and construction of a renewable energy farm in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. The project, headed by TotalEnergies Renewables South Africa, saw Bheka flying to the Northern Cape a week after the fair.

 

Since then, Bheka has continued visiting the area twice a month, putting together a photo book that will be published at the end of November. His photographs focus on the solar and wind farms that were still being built, but also document and honour the communities living in De Aar, near where the farms were being built. Bheka was given free access to photograph anything about the farm at any time of day, from the workers and planning to safety measures and extensive building processes. In our conversation, he noted that this was an eye-opening experience to be introduced to this new kind of space. It was also incredibly clear that his work is always conducted with an unwavering consciousness of giving back, including his efforts to offer a rural photographic teaching programme in Phillipstown, which is a neighbouring community of De Aar.

 

Education and community upliftment are a key part of Bheka’s work. Looking beyond his project with TotalEnergies, he also continues an ongoing project of photographing in more rural and agricultural areas of South Africa. Historically, he has generally worked in more urban areas or townships, but he is now focusing on photographing in other parts of the country, largely to connect with his family history. Again, documenting lives and stories naturally sits alongside a practice of mentorship and social building, where Bheka makes time to give back to the programmes that have given him opportunities previously. Recently, he was involved in a project teaching photography to people staying in Merafe hostel in Soweto. He was also particularly excited about ‘Of Soul and Joy’s workshop participants having their photographs shown at WITS Art Museum alongside South African photographic legends David Goldblatt, Lindokuhle Sobekwa, Jodi Bieber, Sabelo Mlangeni, and others in the exhibition ‘What We Don’t See’, on show until 24 October 2026.

 

 

Looking more generally, Bheka is producing more art and is also applying for grants and a lot of international publications to be featured — important practices for many artists to expand their careers globally. He said that his achievement at Investec Cape Town Art Fair was a big motivation to keep pushing. As the winner of the ORMS International Photography Prize, Bheka won a Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 printer, which he says has supported his work significantly on a day-to-day basis. He is able to print his own artwork for most sizes, and he says it’s been a great help to his surrounding community by reducing printing costs and nurturing more creative exploration as a result. Recently, a work of Bheka’s was acquired to join the La Junqueira Collection, made during a residency he completed in Lisbon, Portugal.

 

Next year, the photographer will celebrate fifteen years of practising photography, and his goal for the year is to create more work and branch out through more residencies. As he mentioned, more stories need to be told, and he would like to bring that work to more local contexts. His work as an artist, and as a mentor to young students through OSJ Photo Project, is an ongoing reflection of the generosity of his time, sharing his skills and experiences to contribute to meaningful and vital conversations taking place across South Africa and the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In its inaugural year as a prize, the Materiality Prize in partnership with Homo Faber was awarded to Amy Rusch for her work What arrives with first light, and the goodness of silence.

 

 

As part of the prize, Rusch was given a complimentary spot in the Homo Faber Fellowship Masterclass Programme in Venice, Italy, which she experienced over the month of September 2026. Her trip included an extensive series of lectures and teachings along with the other fellows, guided by the IE School of Architecture and Design.

 

We were able to witness those processes of development in action, as Rusch spoke to us at the beginning of her time in Venice: “Going on what I experienced yesterday, my first day of lectures, it’s going to be deeply insightful and full of learnings. Just the change of context from Cape Town to Venice as the starting point has been incredible to experience. To be here during the Art Biennale is also an incredible gift… I can’t say just yet how this entire experience will influence my ongoing artistic journey, but I am certain it will. Just going on the conversations and connections made yesterday with the other masters and fellows, I know that I will leave Venice with new friends and fellow makers. The power of a conversation can permeate deeply, and I already have voices from yesterday ringing strong. I hope to remain open, receptive and curious.”

 

 

Just after her win at the 2026 edition of Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Rusch swapped the vibrant and busy energy of the fair weekend for a ten-day-long Vipassana silent meditation. Directly after this, she spoke with Francesco Ozzola, Director of Suburbia Contemporary, and the two of them began to put together a plan for her to show a solo exhibition in Brescia, Italy, in collaboration with A+B Gallery. Months later, this show has come to fruition as her first international solo exhibition, which opened on 1 October 2026, named ‘Fold-lines form the surface of the world - sound drawings in plastic’. Amy’s previous solo show was a culmination of three years of research, hard work and making. By contrast, her current solo show is the culmination of three months of research and equally hard work and making: “... it’s been so surprising to see what has arrived in this time. I’ve worked at a pace very different to the previous years of making and the works have taken on a different scale.”

 

Rusch mentioned that this development in her practice is deeply rooted in a timeline influenced by her success at the fair: “This body of work wouldn’t have arrived in the form that it has, had it not been for The Materiality Prize and the opportunity of coming to Italy. I’m incredibly grateful to Francesco for suggesting the collaboration with A+B Gallery and how things have unfolded with such a fluid ease.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since winning the Tomorrows/Today Prize supported by Fiera Milano Exhibitions Africa, Chidirim Nwaubani has been involved in a variety of exciting projects and developing opportunities, furthering the important cultural conversations his work engages, and including an expansion and continuation of Mbari Memorial, the immersive installation that won him the prize.

 

 

Nwaubani mentioned to us about the momentum that was generated from his award, which continues to nurture his career: “Winning the prize at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair was an amazing milestone for me, and things have really gone from strength to strength since then.” These strengths include a month-long group exhibition at Art Jameel in Dubai, the release of a new documentary, and his upcoming solo show in London.

 

In June this year, ABC released a documentary covering a history-making project that Nwaubani had worked on alongside Professor Monica Hanna regarding a campaign to return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt. More specifically, it covers the story behind his art ‘heist’ performance at the British Museum, where he used three-dimensional scanning and augmented reality to legally ‘steal back’ the Rosetta Stone.

 

By taking a LiDAR scan of the stone, they flew to Egypt and used geo-located augmented reality to ‘return’ the Rosetta Stone. The actual Rosetta Stone has been housed outside Egypt since 1799, when Napoleon’s troops seized it, before it was taken by the British. The digital recreation now stands exactly where it originally stood in Rashid, where anybody can use their phone to access it in place. It is an artistic exercise in an ongoing conversation about colonial looting and restitution, in which Nwaubani remains heavily involved.

 

 

Soon, Nwaubani will be opening his debut solo show, ‘Notice of Reclamation’ at Art’Otel in London. Excitingly, this exhibition, presented by Doyle Wham Gallery, is an expansion and continuation of Mbari Memorial, his award-winning installation. The show offers a comprehensive look into his recent practice across digital reclamation and critical museology. His interactive installation will turn the gallery space into a portal where visitors become co-creators, generating unique three-dimensional sculptures through their welcomed participation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warren Maroon continues to draw from his deep love of storytelling to encounter new opportunities and projects that have emerged since he won the Investec Emerging Artist Award in February. Maroon reflected on the tangible impacts winning a prize can have on artists’ careers, as well as the differences that have come about for him after winning this prize specifically: “Winning the award has definitely helped with investor attention, and I am sure it’s influenced new relationships and opportunities.”

 

 

A recent opportunity includes Maroon’s work exhibiting at ‘Matereality V2’, a ten-month-long show at Iziko South African National Gallery, which features seventy creators from across the African continent and over one hundred artworks exploring new possibilities of everyday materials to forge profound political, social, and cultural expressions. ⁠Exhibiting at the National Gallery was a lifelong goal of Maroon, which he can now proudly say he has accomplished.

 

Additionally, the artist has been part of a group show, ‘Gut Feeling’ at Everard Read Franschhoek, and also exhibited at other art fairs with Everard Read. Now, Maroon is working toward a solo show at Everard Read Johannesburg, which will be taking place in 2027. On this, he mentioned: “I really do enjoy the storytelling that comes with solo exhibitions.”

 

 

In an article released by Investec recognising Maroon’s work, it is noted: “The jury recognised ‘Rising Sun’ for the way it transforms a familiar South African reference into a striking contemporary wall work, balancing meticulous craft with an undercurrent of fragility and risk. The judges cited the work’s strong conceptual anchor, disciplined execution and the sense of a practice ready for wider international attention.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since Mellany Roberts won the RDC Art Collection Award, her practice has encountered national recognition, new international opportunities, and meaningful institutional relationships complementing her ongoing work and extensive research. As she reflected: “The period since February 2026 has been an important chapter in my artistic journey, affirming my commitment to memory, identity, land, belonging, ancestry and the preservation of community histories.”

 

While reflecting on the time that has passed since winning her award at Investec Cape Town Art Fair, she also discussed what her success meant to her and how this, in a sense, has made an impact on her practice: “The acquisition of Echoes in the Reeds 1 into the RDC Art Collection is particularly meaningful because the work will continue its life beyond the temporary context of the art fair. For me, this is important because the work is concerned with memory and place, and the idea that an artwork can enter another environment and continue generating conversations around these themes is very significant.”

 

This year, Roberts also won another prestigious award, receiving the 2026 National Arts and Culture Award for Outstanding Visual Artist, presented by the South African National Department of Sport, Arts and Culture. This was given for her body of work Waar Bloed Nie Loop Nie. This win represented a real personal win for the artist, as this body of work is deeply rooted in her personal history and the collective memory of her heritage and community of Baviaanskloof. Roberts shares: “Waar Bloed Nie Loop Nie brings together interconnected installations that investigate what remains when people, places and histories become fragmented, and how memory can be carried through material, landscape and objects. The award has been a significant affirmation of the importance of these stories and my continued commitment to using ceramics to engage with memory, identity, belonging and heritage. Again, I celebrate this award with the Baviaanskloof Coloured community. Everything goes back to where it all started, and my love for clay.”

 

 

Additionally, Roberts’ work is gaining international exposure and gaining new opportunities. Notably, she has been invited by Nando’s and the Spier Arts Trust to take part in their presentation at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London this month. The works she will be showing are a continuation of her exploration of memory, land, and belonging through the medium of clay: “In response to the recent floods in the Baviaanskloof, the works reflect on the experience of grieving the land and the histories it holds. For the Baviaanskloof Coloured community, the landscape is not merely a geographical place, but a repository of memory, ancestry and lived experience. The flooding becomes a point of reflection on what happens when the land is disrupted, when traces are washed away, and when histories risk being submerged or forgotten.”

 

Prizes and institutional support can deeply aid an artist in continuing their work. Both Nando’s and Spier Arts Trust have a longstanding supportive relationship with Roberts, including her involvement in the Creative Block programme, which gave her the opportunity to develop her work, engage with a professional art ecosystem, and build confidence in her practice. The same goes for the galleries that represent their artists at fairs like ours: “I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Berman Contemporary for its continued support, representation and belief in my practice. The gallery has played an important role in bringing my work to audiences, creating opportunities for meaningful engagement and supporting the development of my artistic journey. Having the gallery present Echoes in the Reeds 1 at Investec Cape Town Art Fair, where it received the RDC Art Collection Award, was a particularly significant moment. I am grateful for the trust, guidance and commitment that Berman Contemporary continues to invest in my work.”

 

 

Her successes over this year leave her excited to look towards the future: “I am currently in an exciting period of my practice, where recognition such as the RDC Art Collection Award and the National Arts and Culture Award, together with the continued support of organisations such as Nando’s and Spier Arts Trust, is encouraging me to push the work further while remaining grounded in the histories and communities that inform it.”

 

“I hope to carry the meaningful connections I have made into the next stages of my career, and to continue growing as an artist both nationally and internationally. I am grateful for every opportunity to learn, collaborate and share my work, and I hope that these meaningful exchanges and relationships never stop.”