BULELWA KUNENE

Bulelwa Kunene is a Swazi artist who received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Ringling College of Art and Design in 2021. Upon completing her studies, she attended a 5 week artist residency at Chautauqua School of Visual Art, New York where she had the opportunity to meet emerging and professional artists, critics, writers and curators which spurred her interests in museum and curatorial practices. Looking to gain further experience in the arts, Kunene worked at MTN Bushfire as the Head of Department for the Bring Your Fire Zone, curating murals and activations from 9 partner organizations. She also worked at Yebo! Art Gallery, where she had the opportunity to co-facilitate design and screen-print training workshops for women handcraft artisans working in rural areas. In 2023, Bulelwa joined the Zeitz MOCAA UWC Museum Fellowship Program. As a 2023 Zeitz MOCAA UWC Museum Fellow, Kunene has had the opportunity to complete a research essay at Honours level in UWC’s Department of Historical Studies. Stationed in the museum’s curatorial department, Kunene co-curated Zeitz MOCAA’s permanent collection exhibition titled SALA with the other four museum fellows and Senior Curator and Head of Curatorial Affairs, Storm Janse van Rensburg. Kunene is keen on develop-ing wider conversations between institutions and contemporary African art through her curatorial practice.