/ Forthcoming Exhibitions

North Gallery

Mimi van der Merwe - Gebeurtenisse 7 November to 21 November 2026

On Saturday 7 November 2026 at 11:00 two exhibitions will be opened at the Association of Arts Pretoria – the Sacred in the Ordinary by Mia van Wyk and Gebeurtenisse by Mimi van der Merwe.
Mimi van der Merwe was born in 1934 and grew up in Malmesbury. She studied literature at the University of Stellenbosch and did a three-year diploma under Edith ten Kate in Fine Arts at the Stellenbosch Technical College at the same time.

In 1960 she went to Brussels where she studied painting and etching at the Académie Royale. In 1961 and 1962 she specialised in etching at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. In 1961-62 she obtained a bursary from the French government, and at the end of her studies she obtained the Prix de l`Atelier.

Mimi has taken part in several exhibitions locally and overseas. In France in 1997 she had an exhibition at the Arte et Empreintes gallery in Paris and in October 1997 she had an exhibition at Gallery III in Harstad, Norway.

Her studio in Pretoria was established in 1983. She teaches printmaking, drawing and painting. Her own art centres on the human figure, particularly the face, and its capacity to reveal emotional, psychological and spiritual states. She is interested in how people relate to one another and respond to their surroundings. Mimi works confidently across a broad range of artistic disciplines.

Mimi van der Merwe’s exhibition will be opened by Gerda Taljaard on Saturday 7 November 2026 at 11:00. The exhibition runs until Saturday 21 November 2026.

Main Gallery

Mini Masters 2026 14 November to 12 December 2026

In a world that rarely slows down, the act of creating becomes a search for stillness. Finding moments of harmony in the shapes, textures, patterns and delicate complexities of the world around us.

The Mini Masters exhibition at the Association of Arts Pretoria brings together 40 invited artists, each presenting three small-scale artworks. Drawing from a diverse range of mediums, styles and personal perspectives, these works reflect the many ways in which artists find meaning in the details of their surroundings, expressing their impressions through their creative practice. Though modest in scale, each work offers a world of its own. These intimate pieces invite us to look closer, to discover beauty in the details and to experience the quiet power of art to offer moments of pause in our busy lives.

Mini Masters 2026 celebrates not only the mastery of working small, but also the ability of art to create space for contemplation and connection.

Gallery Chaton

Mia van Wyk - 'The sacred in the ordinary'
7 November to 21 November 2026

My work begins with noticing — a small detail in nature that catches my attention and invites me to pause, observe and look more closely.

I am drawn to the quiet beauty of the natural world: its intricate structures, delicate forms and often overlooked wonders. Working from my own photographs, I explore these ordinary encounters through painting, giving them space to reveal something extraordinary.

Inspired by David Richo's reflections in The Five Things We Cannot Change, I have come to experience nature as a kind of sacrament — a source of connection, wonder and deeper meaning. In its constant cycles of growth, change and decay, I find a sense of the sacred and an awareness of our shared connection to life.

I am fascinated by the contrasts within nature — strength and fragility, beauty and imperfection, life and death. There is something deeply moving about the fleeting existence of a flower, the delicate structure of a wing, or the quiet transformation of a fallen leaf.

I seek to capture more than the physical appearance of my subjects. I hope to convey something of their presence, vulnerability and place within the larger rhythms of life.
For me, painting is an act of contemplation — a way of slowing down, looking more closely and honouring the beauty and mystery of life in all its forms.