For more than a century, Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town has invited artists, writers and cultural tastemakers to gather beneath its palms and revel in the atmosphere of creative exchange that lives within its property’s walls. That legacy continues today through three exhibitions unfolding across the hotel’s grounds in collaboration with some of the country’s leading artists and institutions.
The Foreign Familiar at MAGUGU HOUSE CAPE TOWN examines colonial objects as symbols of contemporary African life, while Interior Weather, curated by Carmen Joubert of Norval Foundation, delves into art as atmosphere; and Goodman Gallery transforms the hotel’s lawns into a spectacular sculpture garden.
Inherited Histories Reimagined
At MAGUGU HOUSE CAPE TOWN, The Foreign Familiar, co-curated by Thebe Magugu and Julia Buchanan,considers the afterlives of objects, images and systems, introduced through colonial encounter. These forms once imposed, inherited or gifted from empire, are now absorbed into Southern African life and reshaped through ritual and symbolism.
Bringing together fashion and fine art, from uniforms to inherited religious objects, these customs and their associated objects have undergone decades of transformation. A collaborative sculpture between Magugu and Mary Sibande merges Victorian silhouettes with Basotho blanket textiles, while Sibande’s accompanying works on paper further explore themes of leisure, imagination and Black interiority. Meanwhile works by Wim Botha destabilise the visual language of Western art history through fragmented sculptural forms. The exhibition extends into Magugu’s Mafeteng capsule collection, inspired by the Basotho blanket and its layered history of colonial exchange and cultural reclamation.
Presented within MAGUGU HOUSE CAPE TOWN’s permanent gallery space, The Foreign Familiar forms part of a quarterly exhibition programme that places contemporary art in conversation with Thebe Magugu’s latest collections.
EXPLORING ART AS ATMOSPHERE
Presented in collaboration with Norval Foundation and curated by Carmen Joubert, Interior Weather unfolds throughout Mount Nelson’s lounges, corridors, patios and salons as a body of work shaped by mood, texture and emotional resonance.
Spanning six decades of African art, the exhibition explores how colour and material can shape atmosphere and feeling within a space. Rather than following a traditional gallery format, the works are woven into the halls of the hotel itself. Expect to see works such as Kate Gottgens’ atmospheric Hot as Hell as well as pieces from Dada Khanyisa, Eddy Kamuanga Illunga and modernist painter Ephraim Ngatane.
A Sculpture Trail Through the Gardens
In collaboration with Goodman Gallery, Mount Nelson’s historic gardens will play host to a year-long outdoor sculpture exhibition featuring works by internationally celebrated artists. Designed as a walk-through experience, the exhibition invites guests to encounter sculpture through discovery and quiet reflection across the property.
Among the highlights are Yinka Shonibare’s Fabric Bronze II, a sweeping bronze form that appears suspended mid-motion. William Kentridge’s sculptural works translate the artist’s celebrated drawing practice into three-dimensional form, with bronzes depicting branches, vessels and animals. Elsewhere, Walter Oltmann’s luminous Carpobrotus (2026) reimagines indigenous coastal fynbos through woven anodised aluminium, while Ghada Amer’s sculptural works transform language into physical form through intricate structures of interwoven Arabic script.
“Mount Nelson is a big part of Cape Town’s cultural story,” says the hotel’s General Manager, Patrick Fisher. “Through collaborations with institutions and artists shaping the continent’s creative landscape, we continue to open our spaces to meaningful dialogue and discovery.”
These exhibitions reflect Belmond’s evolving vision of hospitality; one rooted in cultural exchange and connection. Guests of Mount Nelson are invited to experience the works first-hand through ARTROUTE’s complimentary weekly art tour held every Thursday at 17:00. Led by an Art and Design specialist guide, the tour explores all three exhibitions, bringing the stories behind the works to life.
Interior Weather and Goodman Gallery’s sculpture exhibition will remain on view until February 2027. The Foreign Familiar at MAGUGU HOUSE CAPE TOWN is on show until 27 August 2026 and is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 10:00 to 18:00.
