Nel Art Gallery Participates in Heat Winter Arts Festival 2025
As the vibrant Dog Show at Nel has reached its logical ending, the South African gallery is back with the exciting news about upcoming projects and events. August, in particular, is marked by Nel’s participation in Heat, a local winter arts festival unifying exhibitions at 13 galleries and museums. So, what should you know about the festival to plan your art exploration adventures in Cape Town next month?
About Heat Winter Arts Festival
Heat is a festival launched in 2024 to add more colors and activity to the low winter season in South Africa. It is an exciting event held on August 6-16, 2025, staged in the city center of Cape Town. Visitors will be treated to live music, from jazz to opera, and will enjoy an outstanding theater program and stand-up comedy performances by local artists. Innovative digital artwork will be displayed alongside art objects created in traditional techniques to familiarize the audience with the vibrance of contemporary South African art.
“Baboonish Hyenas Not Monkeying Around” by Hannelie Coetzee
As part of Heat festival, Nel Art Gallery will be hosting “Baboonish hyenas not monkeying around,” a remarkable solo exhibition by the South African artist and scientific researcher Hannelie Coetzee, whose unique first-hand experience of studying wildlife during her Master of Science dissertation project laid a solid foundation for her further creative work. The upcoming exhibition at Nel is a bold exploration of the otherness of the “third” world, presented in a series of drawings and ceramic sculptures.
Hannelie Warrington-Coetzee (b. 1971) is a visual artist and honorary research fellow at the Global Change Institute (WITS University), based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Coetzee specializes in both permanent and ephemeral art and shares her respect for nature and the environment in her creative projects.
The artist creates her paintings en plein air while observing wild animals in their natural habitats. Most of her works represent ink drawings and rapid wildlife sketches to reflect the dynamics of natural processes in the local fauna. Some of the pieces presented at “Baboonish hyenas not monkeying around” were created by Coetzee during her residency in the Himalayas, India, in April-May 2025.
Schedule a Visit to Explore Heat Festivities
Heat Winter Arts Festival will start with a grand opening night on August 6, 2025, with a variety of musical and performative treats prepared for the visitors. Book a seat at the event to explore the “other worldling” theme together with South Africa’s creatives, diving into the nuances of decolonial speculative practices and drawing inspiration from the past to reimagine the future. Heat will run through August 16, 2025.
“Baboonish hyenas not monkeying around” will be on view at Nel throughout August 2025.