AVA Gallery Explores Ripple Effect at The Investec Cape Town Art Fair 2026

PRESS RELEASE

The Association for Visual Arts (AVA Gallery) is pleased to announce its participation in the upcoming 2026 Investec Cape Town Art Fair (ICTAF). Located at Booth SP4, the AVA will showcase an immersive curation featuring The Printing Girls (TPG), an all-female collective of South African-based artists who work with print.

Responding to the fair's 2026 theme 'Listen'

The AVA’s presentation explores the imaginative and metaphysical associations with water, creating a resonant space to reconsider our relationship with the natural world. Using an intersectional lens, this presentation explores our diverse connotations with watery matters and examines some of its paradoxes, urging viewers to attune themselves to what might linger beneath its surface.

Featured Works & Artists

At the heart of our exhibit is a unique collaborative piece featuring 50 original prints from 50 artists across the country and collective. This central piece is complemented by striking, large-scale works — unique monotypes or of small editions — from spotlighted artists and TPG members:

Lebogang Mogul Mabusela
Kristen McClarty
Emma Willemse
Mbali Tshabalala
Natasha Norman
Clare Menck

True to the experimental spirit of AVA, the selected works push print as a medium, technique and process to create unexpected surfaces, layered textures and unconventional material partnerships that encourage the viewer to linger and look again.

By platforming female artists, AVA’s ICTAF presentation will be a shared opportunity for both the AVA and TPG, to broaden their circle of impact and amplify voices often overlooked.

Visit Us

Location: Booth SP4, Investec Cape Town Art Fair
Dates: 20 – 22 February 2026
Book tickets: here

About the AVA Gallery:

The Association for Visual Arts (AVA) is Cape Town’s oldest non-profit gallery, with a mission to support and advance contemporary art and artists. The AVA curates over 28 exhibitions a year at its iconic gallery space at 35 Church Street, upholding its legacy as a vital springboard and a recognised rite of passage for generations of South African artists. Rooted in experimentation and collaboration, AVA is committed to being the most accessible professional gallery space for emerging and independent artists to exhibit and develop their work. Learn more at www.ava.co.za or follow their social media @avagallery.za.

About The Printing Girls:

The Printing Girls (TPG) is an all-female collective of South African-based artists who work in print. The collective was started in 2019 by six graduates from the Arts Faculty of Rhodes University, to encourage one another to work in print and to exhibit together. The following year they invited new female printmakers to join up, and TPG in its current form, now numbering 124 printmakers, began to materialise. The main focus remains to create a platform exclusively for our country's women printmakers to share ideas, network and exhibit together. To learn more, visit their website www.theprintinggirls.co.za or follow them on social media @theprintinggirls.

Media Contact: Ruby Wilson: ruby@ava.co.za

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