a material uprising showcased how women artists are redefining the boundaries of art through innovative and unconventional use of materials. exploring their associative, cultural, spiritual, and vibrational qualities, the talks emphasized how materials become both medium and message, shaping aesthetics and audience interactions while pushing beyond traditional definitions of art.

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keynote speaker weiwei framed discussions around soft materials, highlighting their diverse possibilities and challenging restrictive terms like textiles. south african artists like kutlwano, hannelie, adelheid, and bev demonstrated how materials, often domestic or overlooked, are imbued with layers of cultural, historical, and ethical meaning. kutlwano delves into heritage and maternal lineage, transforming everyday items like plastic bags into textured artworks. hannelie works with large-scale and site-specific materials, exploring memory and environmental impact. adelheid engages with personal and ephemeral materials like lint and bone ash, revealing their fragility and connections to the human body. bev emphasizes reciprocal relationships with materials, reflecting on networks of care and transformation.

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the speakers demonstrated how tactile, improvisational processes value creation over the final product, suggesting that working with materials can be deeply transformative. materials carry both physicality and ephemerality, challenging the traditional authority of formal art objects while engaging with political resistance, cultural memory, and maternal experience. south african women artists are reclaiming domestic materials to create abstract, impactful statements about identity, conditions, and environmental critique, establishing a powerful dialogue between contemporary art and society.

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