The UJ Art Gallery invites you to the launch of Fire my Spirit, a new site-specific installation by Johannesburg-based spatial-weaver Bev Butkow, which was developed as part of the University of Johannesburg Arts & Culture’s Artist in Residence (AiR) programme.

Installed in the foyer of the Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre, named after the South African Poet Laureate, Fire my Spirit draws on the poetic, historical and collective resonances embedded within the space itself.

Suspended layers of painted fabric, ribbon, plastic and organza drift through the foyer space, catching air, light and movement. As viewers move around the work, colours intensify and recede; translucent surfaces overlap and separate, while shifting gestures and poetic rhythms continually reorganise perception.

The launch evening will also include a live poetic intervention by Quaz Roodt, responding to the installation and the poetic resonances embedded within the space, with opening remarks by Dave Mann.

The installation’s title draws from an elemental incantation referenced in the research of Dr. Uhuru Portia Phalafala on the work of Keorapetse William Kgositsile:

“Earth my Body, Water my Blood, Air my Breath, Fire my Spirit”

Within the installation, fire becomes a force of transformation rather than destruction, unfolding through shifting fields of colour, light, transparency, and movement that continually reconfigures the space and the experience of the work itself.

“At UJ Arts & Culture, we are particularly invested in reimagining our venues as living cultural sites – spaces where visual art, performance, poetry, and everyday life intersect in ways that are accessible, dialogic, and socially resonant. This installation speaks directly to that vision, foregrounding the role of the university not only as a site of learning, but as a dynamic platform for creative and critical exchange,” says Pieter Jacobs, Head of UJ Arts & Culture.

“Bev Butkow’s installation exemplifies this approach with sensitivity and depth. By responding directly to the architectural, historical, and poetic resonances of the Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre foyer, Fire my Spirit transforms a transitional space into a site of encounter – one that invites reflection, movement, and layered interpretation. In doing so, it expands our understanding of how art can inhabit and activate institutional environments” he continues.

A panel discussion will be held, bringing together artistic, curatorial and academic perspectives on site-responsive installation practice, materiality, collaboration, audience encounter, and the relationship between visual art and space.

Launch

Date: Tuesday, 18 June 2026
Time: 17:30
Venue: UJ Arts Centre, Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre Foyer, Auckland Park Kingsway Campus

RSVP Here: https://forms.office.com/r/5TCHwMXmL3

Panel Discussion

Date: Tuesday, 28 July 2026
Time: 17:30
Venue: UJ Arts Centre, Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre Foyer, Auckland Park Kingsway Campus

About Bev Butkow

Bev Butkow is a Johannesburg-based spatial-weaver working across painting, textile, and installation. Through acts of weaving, knotting, binding, and repair, she constructs works that explore how tension, fragility, repetition, and care shape bodily and spatial experience.

As a 2025 Artist in Residence at the University of Johannesburg, Butkow has developed a site-responsive installation for the theatre foyer. She has exhibited at the 18th International Triennial of Tapestry in Łódź, Poland, Iziko South African National Gallery, Museu da Água in Lisbon, the Dak’Art Biennale, Wits Origins Centre, Yi Tai Projects at Art Central Hong Kong, and 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair.

She holds an MFA (with distinction) from the University of the Witwatersrand. Butkow is represented by Guns & Rain, contemporary African art.

About Quaz Roodt

Quaz Roodt is a writer, poet, performer, and social activist. He is the poetry facilitator for the UJ Arts Academy and teaches a poetry and creative writing class. He is also involved in various social outreach programmes across South Africa. Quaz is the co-curator of the Poetry Africa festival on behalf of UJ Arts and Culture and the editor of Poetry Potion, one of South Africa’s long-running print and online poetry publishing platforms. He regularly performs at national and international festivals and has a strong presence on Johannesburg’s poetry and hip-hop scene. Under his alias Sam English, Quaz has released four mixtapes, one EP, and several instrumental projects. He has appeared in numerous albums, short films and documentaries, reflecting his connection to various art forms. In 2009, he published his first collection of poems, The Orange Book Vol:2, and is currently working on his second collection.

About David Mann

David Mann is a writer, editor and art critic from Johannesburg. His short fiction, which draws from the undercurrents of the South African artworld, has appeared in various local and international journals, including Portside Review (AU), Strange Matters (USA), AFREADA (UK), The Kalahari Review, ITCH Creative Journal, Sunday Times Books, ImbizaJournal, Ons Klyntji, The Thinker, Botsotso, New Contrast and the Short.Sharp.Stories anthology One Life. He has also co-edited the 2025 short story anthology POWER (Tattoo Press) and Makers & Shapers of Media: The School of Journalism & Media Studies at 50 (Jacana). His short story collection, Once Removed, was published in 2024. That same year, it was awarded the Thomas Pringle Short Story Prize for the story, ‘Meaningful Contributions’, and shortlisted by the NIHSS Awards and the Nadine Gordimer Award for best short story collection. Mann is also a multi-award-winning art critic, having recently been acknowledged by the Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South African awards for his work as a writer and critic in the South African arts.

About UJ Gallery

The UJ Art Gallery, located at the University of Johannesburg’s Kingsway Campus in Auckland Park, is a dynamic platform for showcasing art. It features a permanent collection of over 2,000 diverse artworks, with a focus on promoting artistic expression, fostering engagement with contemporary art, and nurturing the Johannesburg arts ecosystem. The gallery hosts curated exhibitions, educational programs, and public events, aiming to create a space for dialogue, reflection, and inspiration.

About UJ Arts and Culture

UJ Arts & Culture, a division of the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (FADA) produces and presents world-class student and professional arts programmes aligned to the UJ vision of an international university of choice, anchored in Africa, dynamically shaping the future. A robust range of arts platforms are offered on all four UJ campuses for students, staff, alumni, and the public to experience and engage with emerging and established Pan-African and international artists drawn from the full spectrum of the arts.

In addition to UJ Arts & Culture, FADA (www.uj.ac.za/fada) offers programmes in eight creative disciplines, in Art, Design and Architecture, as well as playing home to the NRF SARChI Chair in South African Art & Visual Culture, and the Visual Identities in Art & Design Research Centre. The faculty has a strong focus on sustainability and relevance, and engages actively with the dynamism, creativity, and diversity of Johannesburg in imagining new approaches to art and design education.

Disclaimer – All events taking place in this venue may be photographed and video recorded for marketing, archival, and reporting purposes. Attending this event grants the University of Johannesburg permission to use and publish such media, recorded materials, and footage for institutional purposes. Please note that the views and perspectives expressed by – or perceived to be expressed by – creative work presented under the auspices of the University of Johannesburg do not necessarily reflect those of the University.

Surprise Nkomo
surprisen@uj.ac.za
011 559 1315
https://arts.uj.ac.za/whats-on/fire-my-spirit-a-site-responsive-installation-by-bev-butkow-comes-to-the-uj-arts-centre/