Gallery Momo, Absa, and SANAVA are excited to present visual artist Kutlwano Monyai's debut solo exhibition, 'Dakalo - The Ultimate Gift', following her 2024 Absa L'Atelier Art Award win. The exhibition opens at Gallery MOMO on July 17th, 2026, marking a major moment in Monyai's career and showcasing what the Absa L'Atelier Art Award—one of Africa's most respected visual arts programs—makes possible.
'Dakalo - The Ultimate Gift' dives into the deeply personal connection between grief, healing, and joy. Using polyethylene, concrete, wood, and crocheted materials, Monyai asks us to think about how pain, memory, and resilience come together to shape who we are—both individually and collectively.
'Dakalo' means joy or happiness in Tshivenda, but Monyai doesn't present joy as a destination you reach. Instead, she sees it as an ongoing practice—returning to gratitude, hope, and human connection even after loss and uncertainty.
The exhibition starts from grief and unfolds into a meditation on transformation. Through fractured forms, woven structures, and reconstructed domestic materials, Monyai reflects on how communities inherit trauma and reshape it. She challenges us to stay present with mourning, seeing grief not just as absence, but as something that opens us up to empathy, healing, and renewal.
Dr. Paul Bayliss, Senior Art and Museum Curator at Absa Group, says, "Absa L'Atelier Art continues to invest in artists by helping them fast-track their careers. We create opportunities that support artistic growth, professional development, and international visibility. Kutlwano's debut solo exhibition is a powerful example of how we support bold, thoughtful, socially relevant artists who contribute to South Africa's contemporary art scene."
On 'Dakalo', Dr. Bayliss adds: "Monyai's work courageously examines how grief and joy can coexist, showing that healing isn't a straight line. She transforms everyday materials into powerful sculptural stories that explore memory, community, and interconnectedness with remarkable sensitivity. Through 'Dakalo', Kutlwano shows us that joy is often found not by avoiding suffering, but through our ability to rebuild, reconnect, and imagine new possibilities together."
Born in 1996, Kutlwano Monyai is an artist, scholar, and independent curator based in Johannesburg. After completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Fine and Applied Arts at Tshwane University of Technology, she's become one of South Africa's most promising emerging artists. Her work has been exhibited at the Pretoria Art Museum, the Bag Factory Artists' Studios, the Turbine Art Fair, Modern Arts Projects South Africa, and other collaborative initiatives exploring memory, identity, and materiality.
Her selection as a 2024 Absa L'Atelier Art Ambassador marks another important chapter in a career built on thoughtful experimentation and critical engagement with contemporary social realities.
For four decades, Absa L'Atelier Art has been one of Africa's leading visual arts development platforms, supporting emerging artists through mentorship, residencies, exhibition opportunities, and professional development. The program invests in artistic excellence while creating pathways for African artists to gain greater recognition locally and internationally.
As 'Dakalo - The Ultimate Gift' opens at Gallery MOMO, it's both Monyai's debut solo exhibition as an Absa L'Atelier Art Ambassador and a testament to the program's enduring role in nurturing artists whose work expands cultural conversations and enriches South Africa's creative landscape.
**Exhibition Details**
Exhibition: Dakalo - The Ultimate Gift
Artist: Kutlwano Monyai (2024 Absa L'Atelier Art Ambassador Award Winner)
Gallery: Gallery MOMO, Rosebank, Johannesburg
Exhibition Dates: 18 July – 29 August 2026
Free Entry
ENDS