Each year, the BMW Centre for Art Education at Zeitz MOCAA invites Grade 12 Visual Art learners from schools across Cape Town to respond to an exhibition at the museum. The resulting Matric Exhibition offers a glimpse into the ideas and concerns shaping a new generation of artists at a pivotal moment in their lives.

This year’s exhibition, Homeward Bound, takes its cue from A Protea is Not a Flower, the museum’s current exhibition examining exile, belonging and identity across generations. Rather than focusing on displacement, the participating learners were asked to consider its opposite: what it means to create, find or imagine a sense of home.

The works reflect on home as something that extends beyond place. Through themes of memory, family, transition and aspiration, the eighteen young artists explore belonging as an experience that is continually shaped by the past, the present and the future. Created over ten weeks through workshops, critique sessions and independent studio practice, the exhibition marks the culmination of an intensive educational programme that encourages experimentation alongside the development of each student’s individual voice.

Now in its fifth year, the Annual Matric Workshop continues to provide emerging artists with an opportunity to engage contemporary art beyond the classroom. Over the course of the programme, participants develop new technical skills while gaining experience in critique, collaboration and exhibiting within a major museum context. For many, it offers an early introduction to the possibilities of a career in the visual arts.

Programmes such as this play an important role in strengthening South Africa’s arts ecosystem, creating meaningful pathways for young artists at a formative stage of their practice.

Participating artists: Alexandra Knutsen, Alexis D’Oliveira, Alice Croft, Ammaarah Manuel, Calen Vaughan, Casper Wepener, Chelsea-Lee Alexander, Christina Edson, Eliza Koning-Smith, Ella Orford, Isabelle Bessick, James Goodchild-Brown, Liam Wessels, Muaath Francis, Nadine Fillies, Natalie Emeledoh, Nazeerah Ceres and Toni Lyla Etson.

Participating schools: Belhar High School, Bridgehouse High School, Cedar High School, Edgemead High School, Gardens Commercial High School, Herschel Girls’ High School, International School of Cape Town, Livingstone High School, Paul Roos Gymnasium, PJ Olivier Art Centre, Rallim Modern Learning Environment, Reddam House Constantia, Rhenish Girls’ High School, Rustenburg Girls’ High School, South Peninsula High School, Springfield Convent High School, St Cyprian’s High School, The Settlers High School and Wynberg Girls’ High School.