Listen | Gallery Chosi by Zimkhitha Xwashu opens in Durban
The official opening of Gallery Chosi will also be exhibiting 'The Visual Art of Creating Beyond the Apartheid Imagination' on 21 August in Windermere, Durban. Xwashu shares some tips for emerging artists.
There's a part of Durban that breathes culture and art and identifies a deeper understanding of our history and heritage from the perspective of visual art.
This part of our culture isn't always given the attention it deserves. For art lovers whose first love is connecting through beauty and interpretation, you will be happy to know that the official opening of Gallery Chosi in Windermere, Durban, is finally here.
Gallery Chosi was launched in 2020 as a newly established artist, a developmental, collaborative, and exhibition space with the Art and Conversations art project. The project has been running a series of pop-up art exhibitions and dialogues about artist development and sustainability strategies.
Read more: Ricollin Moodley: Self-taught KZN artist visits ECR
Zimkhitha Xwashu, the woman behind the vision of the gallery opening, was born in the Eastern Cape but currently resides in Durban.
Xwashu embarked on a journey to forge a career in the arts and culture industry while completing her studies at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. She completed an internship at KZNSA Gallery from 2022 to 2023, gaining hands-on experience in gallery management, project management, and curatorial practice as a gallery assistant.
Xwashu's work
focuses on special projects exploring physical space as a medium of engagement. These projects use art and space as potent tools to facilitate and foster connections and cultivate community. What better place than an art exhibition showcasing talented artists and disruptive conversations to get people together...
Check out the Q&A with one of KwaZulu-Natal's artists, Ukhona Mthethwa, exhibiting at the gallery this week, courtesy of Instagram.
Read more: Artist sells invisible artwork for over R300k
Xwashu describes the opening of Gallery Chosi as an evolution into a "nomadic art space".
"Art & Conversations will continue being a pivotal part of CHOSI as we bring emerging artists and designers to the spotlight. The launch will take place simultaneously with our group exhibition opening, “The Visual Art of Creating Beyond the Apartheid Imagination”, which features artistic positions of three emerging visual artists who participated in the first cohort of the special project we ran in 2024", said Xwashu.
The opening of the exhibition: The Visual Art of Creating Beyond the Apartheid Imagination
- Date | 21 August 2025
- Time | 6 pm to 8 pm
- Venue | CommunityZA - 3 Millar Rd, Windermere, Durban
Listen to the interview between Zimkhitha Xwashu and Carol Ofori below.
We asked Zimkhitha Xwashu for some tips for up-and-coming artists and this is what she had to say.
1. Create art that is true to your vision.
2. Create art that is true to who you are and diversify your art forms. Don't just create. Big scale artworks, explore and experiment with prints to be accessible and more affordable to new collectors and new buyers, create and collaborate with new brands.
There are so many opportunities available. Even bigger and smaller brands are supporting artists. They're commissioning their work to create art. They run campaigns with artists. "I think that's something that artists could look at exploring, becoming part of a collective or just collaborating and networking with other artists and running shows", said Xwashu.
3. Look at alternative spaces for hosting exhibitions. Explore e-commerce. There's a platform in South Africa that's called Latitudes Art Fair, and there's also another one that was established this year by another artist called the Dealer. It's also an excellent platform for up-and-coming artists to sign up to sell their art online.
"However, even independently, artists can sell their ads via social media. But I would say that's where they can be diversifying. There are so many opportunities and new emerging initiatives supporting artists and working to bridge the gap in terms of information, resources, and accessibility to artists", said Xwashu.
It all takes innovation and strategy. Artists need to have a strategy for where they see themselves in 10 years', in 20 years', and develop a strategy and a plan that will ensure that they remain relevant and adaptable to the art industry's market.
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Image Courtesy of Instagram