Biography
To be an Artist is to be a mirror able to reflect the reality of one’s time, Sithabile Mlotshwa“As an artist coming from a colonized nation where colonialism utterly eradicated centuries of history, the legacies of colonialism are part of my lived experience. I use my art practice to challenge the whitewashing of history by disrupting settler colonial narratives.”
My practice and Artistic research focuses on critically analyzing and visually mapping Dutch and European Colonial Conquests, Slavery, Sexism, Racism and their link to Environmental degradation, through the lens of Trade and Maritime Chattered Companies.
Through my work, I challenge hegemonies and amplify the voices of communities whose stories are often not heard.
My interdisciplinary approach is driven by the desire to bring about reparatory justice, the abolition of racism and systemic injustice.
My practice and Artistic research focuses on critically analyzing and visually mapping Dutch and European Colonial Conquests, Slavery, Sexism, Racism and their link to Environmental degradation, through the lens of Trade and Maritime Chattered Companies.
Through my work, I challenge hegemonies and amplify the voices of communities whose stories are often not heard.
My interdisciplinary approach is driven by the desire to bring about reparatory justice, the abolition of racism and systemic injustice.
Sithabile Mlotshwa | Zimbabwean – Dutch
Sithabile Mlotshwa (Zimbabwe, b. 1975) is a Visual Artist and Independent Curator based in the Netherlands. She is the recipient of the 2024 EKWC Artist Residency Grant, the 2024 Stichting Van Achterbergh-Domhof Grant, the 2023 -2024 Mondriaan Fonds Grant - Slavery Memorial year for her project - Castle Zypendaal - Tracing Hidden parts of Slavery in the Gelderland region and the 2023 Mondriaan Fonds Grant for her project, Mokkum not Mokum.
Selected upcoming residencies (2024 – 2030)
A three-year programme (2024-2026) co-funded by the EU Creative Europe, engaging artists to examine European colonialism’s legacy in museums and heritage sites. First residency, Larnaca, Cyprus (January – February 2025). Historical Tiles Project on-going research + preproduction in collaboration with MCH (2024 – 2030) EKWC.
Upcoming exhibitions: 2025 – 2026
Historical Tiles project presentation, first research phase at the EKWC. CDCD Exhibition, Xarkis Festival, Cyprus.
Selected recent exhibitions (2023 - 2024)
Inheritance – Mapping Colonial History # 2 Museum Arnhem, (The World Made Wondrous: Dutch Collector’s Cabinet and the Politics of Possession) at LACMA - the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, (War and Conflict) Refresh Biennale, Amsterdam Museum, Mapping Colonial History # 1 Exhibition and Research project, Henry Tayali gallery, Lusaka, Zambia.
Selected past exhibitions include: the major historical exhibition, Golden Coach, (Gouden Koerts), at the Amsterdam Museum that was officially opened by the King of the Netherlands, the UNITED NATIONS Exhibition and panel discussion on "Cultural Identity and Ownership: Reshaping Mindsets", Prête-moi Ton Rêve, at Musée des cultures Contemporaines Adama Toungara d'Abobo, in Abidjan, Biennale of Casablanca in Morocco, PANAF - MAMA Museum in Algiers, KUNST aus Zimbabwe - KUNST in Zimbabwe, Museum of Bayreuth, Germany, Longman’s Women Biennale - National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Coming of Age, at Museum of Aschaffenburg in Germany, Recoleta Culture Centre in Buenos Aires, Douala Biennale in Cameroon, National Geographic exhibition House of Wonders Museum in Zanzibar, Africa 53, at Cooper & Civic Galleries in Barnsley, UK, Frölunda kulturhus in Sweden, Leeuwarden European Culture Capital project and a commission at the Kelvingrove Museums and Galleries in Glasgow, Scotland.
Aside from her art practice, Sithabile is also an Independent Curator, Founding Director Thamgidi Foundation, Producer & Artistic director IFAA Art Platform, which includes editions in (Paris, Belgium, Nijmegen, Arnhem, Kamina, Amsterdam and beyond). She is the Co-producer and Curator of the 1st edition of Yango Biennale 2014, , producer Art, Books En Wine, producer Collector’s Weekend and “Green is Cool''- (a recycling Design Lab and Fashion show for young people).
Shortlisted for the 2020 Municipal Acquisitions at Stedelijk Museum, she was 2010 Speaker at TEDxWomen Amsterdam and got published in The Next Women (an Online Magazine for Female Business Heroes) as an inspirational woman. Her IFAA project was nominated for the 2016 TEDxAmsterdam Awards. She is the Former Secretary-General of ResArtis, an international, worldwide network of Artists in Residency Programs and 2008 President of the Jury Dak’art Biennale. She was published in the Rebelle Art & Feminism 1969 -2009 catalogue of the Museum of Modern Art in Arnhem, which offers a retrospective, and a look at the Dutch women’s art movement, and pays particular attention, among other things to the role of Women in the Visual Arts Foundation, and the role of women artists in artists’ initiatives.
She has won several awards and was also selected for the Asia-Europe Network Training Program of Independent Autonomous Art Centers in Paris organised by Asia Europe Foundation, Trans Europe Halles & Artfactories where she represented the Netherlands for the building of the Asia – Europe Network for Independent autonomous art centers. She took part in restoring Cyrene Mission (restoration of a church which is on the UNESCO world heritage list).
Her works are collected worldwide with a major commission by the Kelvingrove Museums and Galleries, officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen of England. The installation and only piece from Southern Africa for the Museum collection is displayed alongside Picasso, Rembrandt, and Dali, in Glasgow, Scotland. This piece is also featured and promoted on Art UK, a cultural education charity working to transform access to the UK’s public art collections.
Sithabile Mlotshwa (Zimbabwe, b. 1975) is a Visual Artist and Independent Curator based in the Netherlands. She is the recipient of the 2024 EKWC Artist Residency Grant, the 2024 Stichting Van Achterbergh-Domhof Grant, the 2023 -2024 Mondriaan Fonds Grant - Slavery Memorial year for her project - Castle Zypendaal - Tracing Hidden parts of Slavery in the Gelderland region and the 2023 Mondriaan Fonds Grant for her project, Mokkum not Mokum.
Selected upcoming residencies (2024 – 2030)
A three-year programme (2024-2026) co-funded by the EU Creative Europe, engaging artists to examine European colonialism’s legacy in museums and heritage sites. First residency, Larnaca, Cyprus (January – February 2025). Historical Tiles Project on-going research + preproduction in collaboration with MCH (2024 – 2030) EKWC.
Upcoming exhibitions: 2025 – 2026
Historical Tiles project presentation, first research phase at the EKWC. CDCD Exhibition, Xarkis Festival, Cyprus.
Selected recent exhibitions (2023 - 2024)
Inheritance – Mapping Colonial History # 2 Museum Arnhem, (The World Made Wondrous: Dutch Collector’s Cabinet and the Politics of Possession) at LACMA - the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, (War and Conflict) Refresh Biennale, Amsterdam Museum, Mapping Colonial History # 1 Exhibition and Research project, Henry Tayali gallery, Lusaka, Zambia.
Selected past exhibitions include: the major historical exhibition, Golden Coach, (Gouden Koerts), at the Amsterdam Museum that was officially opened by the King of the Netherlands, the UNITED NATIONS Exhibition and panel discussion on "Cultural Identity and Ownership: Reshaping Mindsets", Prête-moi Ton Rêve, at Musée des cultures Contemporaines Adama Toungara d'Abobo, in Abidjan, Biennale of Casablanca in Morocco, PANAF - MAMA Museum in Algiers, KUNST aus Zimbabwe - KUNST in Zimbabwe, Museum of Bayreuth, Germany, Longman’s Women Biennale - National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Coming of Age, at Museum of Aschaffenburg in Germany, Recoleta Culture Centre in Buenos Aires, Douala Biennale in Cameroon, National Geographic exhibition House of Wonders Museum in Zanzibar, Africa 53, at Cooper & Civic Galleries in Barnsley, UK, Frölunda kulturhus in Sweden, Leeuwarden European Culture Capital project and a commission at the Kelvingrove Museums and Galleries in Glasgow, Scotland.
Aside from her art practice, Sithabile is also an Independent Curator, Founding Director Thamgidi Foundation, Producer & Artistic director IFAA Art Platform, which includes editions in (Paris, Belgium, Nijmegen, Arnhem, Kamina, Amsterdam and beyond). She is the Co-producer and Curator of the 1st edition of Yango Biennale 2014, , producer Art, Books En Wine, producer Collector’s Weekend and “Green is Cool''- (a recycling Design Lab and Fashion show for young people).
Shortlisted for the 2020 Municipal Acquisitions at Stedelijk Museum, she was 2010 Speaker at TEDxWomen Amsterdam and got published in The Next Women (an Online Magazine for Female Business Heroes) as an inspirational woman. Her IFAA project was nominated for the 2016 TEDxAmsterdam Awards. She is the Former Secretary-General of ResArtis, an international, worldwide network of Artists in Residency Programs and 2008 President of the Jury Dak’art Biennale. She was published in the Rebelle Art & Feminism 1969 -2009 catalogue of the Museum of Modern Art in Arnhem, which offers a retrospective, and a look at the Dutch women’s art movement, and pays particular attention, among other things to the role of Women in the Visual Arts Foundation, and the role of women artists in artists’ initiatives.
She has won several awards and was also selected for the Asia-Europe Network Training Program of Independent Autonomous Art Centers in Paris organised by Asia Europe Foundation, Trans Europe Halles & Artfactories where she represented the Netherlands for the building of the Asia – Europe Network for Independent autonomous art centers. She took part in restoring Cyrene Mission (restoration of a church which is on the UNESCO world heritage list).
Her works are collected worldwide with a major commission by the Kelvingrove Museums and Galleries, officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen of England. The installation and only piece from Southern Africa for the Museum collection is displayed alongside Picasso, Rembrandt, and Dali, in Glasgow, Scotland. This piece is also featured and promoted on Art UK, a cultural education charity working to transform access to the UK’s public art collections.