South African painter and sculptor Ndlovukazi Ngilande has been named the winner of the 2025 Gerard Sekoto Award.
The Gerard Sekoto Award is an annual prize given to a South African artist between the ages of 25 and 35 who consistently exhibits outstanding integrity in the quality of their work.
Ndlovukazi’s art celebrates the beauty, power, and spirituality of African women. Her bold, figurative pieces centre women as divine and resilient beings, using expressive colour and sculptural form to explore identity, faith and feminine strength. Rooted in a deep connection to heritage and womanhood, her practice blends traditional influences with a contemporary lens, challenging perceptions of beauty and agency.
As the 2025 Gerard Sekoto Award recipient, Ndlovukazi continues to champion narratives that honour African femininity and creative integrity.
Absa, the French Institute of South Africa and the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA) celebrates 21 years of supporting the Absa L’Atelier Gerard Sekoto Award this year — one of the French Embassy’s longest-running partnerships between the cultural and private sectors.
Congratulations to Ndlovukazi for this tremendous achievement and to this year’s Absa L’Atelier Ambassadors, Trevor Aloka (Uganda), Nana Sarpong Prempeh-Fordjour (Ghana) and Yolo Mantiyane (South Africa)!
Download the press release from Absa here.
Meet all the Absa L’Atelier Gerard Sekoto Award winners here.
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