Press Release

Goodman Gallery presents a group exhibition To Protect These Fragile Things. This show brings together a powerful selection of works by influential 20th-century and early 21st-century African artists, alongside a new generation making their mark on the global stage. Through this intergenerational dialogue, the exhibition explores how art acts as a protective force in a fragmented world. The show is inspired by writer Zadie Smith’s assertion in Feel Free that “The writer’s job is to protect these fragile things,” underscoring the importance of preserving the complexity of human experience. This aligns with writer and scholar Sara Ahmed’s notion of care as a radical act of repair and resistance, where creative acts offer protection, resist dehumanising forces, and create connections in a world that seeks to simplify complex human experiences. This exhibition extends Smith and Ahmed’s ideas of protection to image-making, where art becomes a force that resists emotional fragmentation and oversimplification.

Artists Exhibiting

Also Exhibiting at Goodman Gallery

About the Gallery

Goodman Gallery is an international contemporary art gallery with locations in Johannesburg, Cape Town and London. The gallery represents artists whose work confronts entrenched power structures and inspires social change.

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Address
37A Somerset Road
De Waterkant
Cape Town
South Africa
Opening Hours
Tuesday - Friday
9am - 5pm

Saturday
9am - 2pm
(1)
Cape Town 37A Somerset Road, De Waterkant
Goodman Gallery
37A Somerset Road, De Waterkant, Cape Town, South Africa

Opening hours
Tuesday - Friday
9am - 5pm

Saturday
9am - 2pm
The art world in focus