Art spaces can feel intimidating, especially if you didn’t grow up around them. Curator, writer and creative guide Mpumi Mayisa understands this intimately. With Glide Through The Gallery, she’s reshaping how audiences encounter art, replacing hierarchy with curiosity and community. We asked her how it all works.
YLA: What actually happens during a Glide?
Mpumi: You book a ticket and I take care of the rest. I research the exhibitions, artists, and their histories. Sometimes people get a bit of homework – a few things to research.
On the day, guests walk around before I provide context, followed by more wandering and chatting. Occasionally I bring in guest curators if a show needs deeper expertise.
Every Glide is different.
YLA: How often does Gliding Through the Gallery take place?
Mpumi: In Johannesburg, it happens on the last Saturday of every month. It runs bi-monthly in Cape Town, and we’re looking at taking it to Pretoria and possibly places like Makhanda in the Eastern Cape – depending on what’s happening in the arts calendar.
YLA: Were you always involved in the arts?
Mpumi: Not at all, I studied law! I grew up in the far East Rand where art wasn’t easily accessible.
When I moved to Johannesburg, I picked up a camera and worked as a photographer for JHBLive. I started covering art events, and that’s where the curiosity really kicked in.
That eventually led to an internship at the Nirox Foundation, which changed everything.
YLA: How did the internship come about?
Mpumi: I was a poet before anything else – my work was even published in the Sol Plaatjie European Union Poetry Anthology.
I attended a writing workshop linked to Nirox, stood out, and the curator offered me a spot on an all-women exhibition.
Much of my journey has been about surrender; being open and present when opportunities appear.
YLA: When did your art career begin?
Mpumi: In 2017, when I founded the creative platform Among The Lilies. It became a space to experiment and build community.
I then created Ode to the Woman, an all-women exhibition and market, Bathini Abafazi, which explored women’s voices and lineage; and later The Book Social, bringing authors and readers together through conversation.
YLA: What’s been the biggest highlight of Gliding Through The Gallery so far?
Mpumi: Building a real community.
Art spaces can feel intimidating, and the Glide softens that. People leave curious, inspired, and wanting to learn more – not overwhelmed.
YLA: What stories are you interested in exploring next?
Mpumi: Love. I want to understand love more deeply through art and my practice – it is expansive, layered, and endlessly interesting.
YLA: What does luxury mean to you?
Mpumi: Over-considered design. Refinement. Softness. Feeling held and cared for, whether it’s an experience or an object.
YLA: If South Africa were a person in one of your exhibitions, how would you describe her?
Mpumi: Vibrant, raw, rough, beautiful, and full of possibility. A place where dreams can genuinely be cultivated.
YLA: What’s on your travel bucket list?
Mpumi: Brazil, especially the São Paulo Biennale. In 2027, I’ll hopefully take my gliders there.
YLA: Top cities you’ve visited?
Mpumi: London is my favourite art city. Lagos is intoxicating — powerful, luxurious, and electric.
YLA: Who’s catching your eye in the art world at the moment?
Mpumi: Bonolo Kavula. She creates punched geometric works that feel both scientific and mathematical. Her practice is incredibly innovative.
YLA: If your life had a theme song, what would it be?
Mpumi: My Road, Our Road by Lee Oskar.
YLA: What should we know about your work this year?
Mpumi: I’ve launched the Being Collector Circle to grow a new generation of art collectors, and I’m expanding Gliding Through the Gallery internationally.
The Venice Biennale and Paris Glide runs from 3 to 12 August, and will include flights, accommodation, and more.
YLA: And your theme for 2026?
Mpumi: Expansion.
Follow @mpumi.mayisa for upcoming Glide date in Johannesburg and Cape Town, or join the Being Collector Circle to deepen your engagement with African art.
