In 2022, the Masiphumelele-raised, Los Angeles-based artist, Simphiwe Ndzube, briefly returned to Cape Town to prepare for Masemola Road, his solo exhibition at Stevenson in Woodstock. Ndzube needed a space to accommodate production, experimentation and play - just like his studio in LA’s flower district. He asked for high ceilings, natural light, proximity to the city centre and easy access for deliveries and pickups. The Tollgate Industrial Centre - an iconic art-deco building housing various craftspeople, manufacturers and artists - proved the answer.

 

By Ndzube’s admission, his studio practice is possible with the assistance of a strong studio team and it was one such team that helped him actualise Masemola Road, comprised of local artists - some he had known from childhood and others he had met along the way. Though his exhibition was temporary, he found it crucial that the studio remain ongoing, acting as a generative space for Qhamani Bangani, Chumisa Fihla Misa and Sechaba Nyenye to further their own creative agendas. Studio 304 foregrounds each artist’s work and the context in which it is made, while providing the practitioners with the means to engage with the broader Cape Town art community at the time of the Art Fair.