Visual Arts
Woordfees auction
The 4th annual Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees Benefit Auction is presented in collaboration with Strauss & Co and curated by award-winning curators Heinrich Groenewald and Shona van der Merwe of Reservoir. The Timed Online auction features works by both emerging and established artists, offering visibility and affirmation of their practices with proceeds benefiting the artists and Woordfees. The sale is designed to encourage participation from new collectors, helping to expand both the market and access to local artistic practice.
The auction includes works by Ben Stanwix and Xhanti Zwelendaba—the Cape Town-based collaborative duo and winners of the inaugural Investec Cape Town Art Fair Emerging Artist Award.
How to bid at the auction?
“The auction runs from 6 October until 21 October at 14:00 You can bid on any item in the auction during this period.
Bids can be made either online on Strauss Co’s website or via their mobile app. Bidders are able to monitor the bids on an item up until an hour before the closing of the bids. Bidders are able to make several bids on the same work throughout the period. Track items by clicking on the ‘Auction Favourites’ button under ‘My Account’.
If there is bidding activity within five minutes of an item’s scheduled closing time, a five-minute extension period will be added to that item until only one bidder remains. These extensions will continue indefinitely until there is no bidding activity for a period of five minutes, indicating that there is no further interest.
All prospective bidders must register online even if you have previously participated in a Strauss Co auction.
For more information visit straussart.co.za
Less than R10 000
Less than R30 000
Above R30 000
Supported by
Guided tours
Join curators Heinrich Groenewald and Shona van der Merwe of Reservoir for guided walkabouts of the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees Benefit Auction Preview to explore a diverse selection of works by both emerging and established artists.Strauss & Co staff and specialists will be on site to assist with the bidding process.The auction opens on Friday, 10th October, and closes on Monday, 20th October 2025.To browse and register to bid, visit www.straussart.co.za
14 to 16 October, 15:00 |
60 minutes | City Hall
Free
Xhanti Zwelendaba en Benjamin Stanwix
Xhanti Zwelendaba and Benjamin Stanwix form a collaborative art duo in which they explore soil, the landscape, and the history of South Africa as a shared interest.
By creating work rooted in their own experiences, as well as their understanding of the legacy of colonialism and apartheid, their collaboration often references conflicting representations of the past as a way of making sense of our individual and collective present. Their practice follows a multidisciplinary approach that includes installation, sculpture, textile and tapestry work, printmaking, and video.
The artists met while studying together in 2017 at the University of Cape Town’s Michaelis School of Fine Art. In 2025, their monumental tapestry Thaba Nchu (2025) earned the duo the Investec Award for Best Emerging Artist.