South Africa: Iconic Esther Mahlangu BMW Art Car to Return Home After 32 Years

LubabaloD/Wikimedia
Esther Mahlangu doing Ndebele culture paintings.
13 November 2023
allAfrica.com
By Melody Chironda

The world-renowned Esther Mahlangu BMW Art Car, which has not been in South Africa since its local reveal in 1991, is expected to return to its home soil next year, reports IOL.

Mahlangu, an 87-year-old Ndebele artist, was the first woman to create artwork on a BMW Art Car, turning a 1991 BMW 525i into a unique and colourful work of art.  The car has been on permanent display at the BMW Museum in Munich, Germany, but has been showcased at events around the world, including Hong Kong, New York, Miami, Shanghai, and Italy.

In 2024, the car will return to South Africa for a public exhibition. It will then be displayed at the Iziko Museums in Cape Town for a year, before resuming its touring schedule with planned visits to the U.S. and the UK.

Mahlangu is well-known for her bold large-scale contemporary paintings that showcase her Ndebele heritage.

In 2016, she was commissioned by BMW to refine a BMW 7 Series. The vehicle was displayed at the Frieze Art Fair in London in 2016 and has since formed part of BMW Group South Africa's Heritage Collection.

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