Cape Town Guide for Art Lovers
- Danielle Dybiec
- Aug 12
- 5 min read
In April 2024 I had the privilege to be a hosted buyer at an African tourism conference in Cape Town, which included tours and events in some excellent museums. Combined with an epic South African safari, give yourself extra time in Cape Town to appreciate its art scene too.
7/15/2025 Virtuoso article by Tayla Blaire can be found here.
Don’t miss these museums, galleries, and private collections.
A colorful sprawl stretching between Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Town has always made a great subject for a landscape painting, but in recent years, South Africa’s Mother City has emerged as a major player on the global arts stage too. The eclectic, multidisciplinary scene is as diverse as South Africa itself, and, along with Johannesburg, has attracted both a homegrown and international roster of creatives.
“There’s a big focus on craftsmanship and less on production in Cape Town,” says Talita Swarts, a sculptor, painter, and South African art history expert who lives in the city. “The art has wonderful value, with a huge range that appeals to a large market.”
Cape Town has been a strong collector’s market since the early twentieth century, Swarts says, but the tide really turned in 2017, when the continent’s first contemporary art museum, the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), opened on the city’s Victoria & Albert Waterfront. Around the same time, prominent trade fair organizer Fiera Milano purchased and revitalized the Cape Town Art Fair. Held every February and now Africa’s largest art fair, the marquee event has helped give art enthusiasts yet another reason to call on the Cape.
From hotels that double as galleries to restaurants where creativity covers the tables and the walls, here’s what not to miss on the Cape Town beat.
Art House
A stay at Ellerman House – a 15-room retreat in a 1906 Edwardian mansion in the foothills of Lion’s Head – feels like a literal night at the museum. Owner Paul Harris keeps his 1,000-plus-piece private collection there, transforming hallways, common areas, and guest rooms into galleries full of local artworks spanning two centuries from the likes of Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef, William Kentridge, and Lionel Smit. “It’s the most representational private collection of South African art available to the public,” Swarts says.
Swarts leads private tours of Ellerman’s collection, along with art-themed jaunts throughout Cape Town, helping travelers understand the connection between South African art and the country’s complex political and cultural history. If there’s one piece not to miss at Ellerman, she says, it’s Thomas Bowler’s Wreck of the Barque Royal Albert in Table Bay, a nineteenth-century oil-on-canvas that’s been considered one of the country’s first political commentary paintings. It’s on display in a corridor called the Thomas Bowler Passage, accompanied by several other pieces from the landscape painter. Near the veranda, Prison Sentences is a poignant black granite installation by Willem Boshoff that represents Nelson Mandela’s incarceration on Robben Island, where the former South African president spent 18 years imprisoned. Its surface reflects the island, located across Bantry Bay, on a clear day. In between the bursts of art appreciation, Ellerman House helps travelers settle into South Africa with afternoon tea and sunset tastings in its wine library. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily, round-trip private airport transfers, and a South African chocolate and brandy tasting or a donation to the hotel’s nonprofit Click Foundation.
A Contemporary Centerpiece
The striking converted grain silo designed by architect Thomas Heatherwick on the V&A Waterfront is home to both Zeitz MOCAA and the 28-room Silo Hotel, making it easy to pair a visit to the city’s most famous museum with a stay at one of its sleekest properties. Zeitz MOCAA’s permanent collection spans more than 500 objects, complemented by temporary exhibitions from artists across Africa. “I’m looking forward to a new exhibition opening this month – Spring is Rebellious: The Art & Life of Albie Sachs,” Swarts says.
On the building’s top six floors, The Silo Hotel extends the art experience with its own collection of 400 contemporary African pieces. Downstairs, in a private gallery called The Vault, art concierge Michael Jacobs (he was a founding member of the Zeitz MOCAA team) and owner Liz Biden curate a purchasable collection by African artists twice a year. Biden, the hotelier behind South Africa’s Royal Portfolio Collection, is known for her bold and bright interior design, on display at The Silo in suites bedecked with crystal chandeliers, jewel-toned furniture, and personally selected artworks. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 hotel credit or a $100 donation to The Royal Portfolio Foundation.
Art for Good
The Spier Arts Trust, renowned for various initiatives aimed at supporting and empowering African artists, is named for its original patron, the 333-year-old Spier Wine Farm in the beloved Stellenbosch wine-making region, a 45-minute drive east of Cape Town. The bustling city outpost, tucked away in a heritage building in the city center, is home to the Creative Block career-development program, a project that provides mentorship for more than 260 South African artists. Travelers can visit Spier’s Hub studio space to spend time at Hammered Rocks Mosaic Studio and Qaqambile Bead Studio to chisel some ceramic shards themselves or watch artists string thousands of beads as they craft commissioned works.
Meals In Artsy Surroundings
Cape Town’s arts scene extends to some of its best restaurants. At fine-dining Fyn in the city center’s Speakers’ Corner retail hub, diners sit beneath designer Tristan du Plessis’ hanging installation inspired by a soroban, a Japanese abacus made with wooden beads reminiscent of South African jewelry. Chef Peter Tempelhoff’s nine-course tasting menu showcases contemporary Japanese-South African fusion, via dishes such as East Coast rock lobster, chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) and dashi leeks, and Atlantic Ridge kingklip with kapokbos (wild rosemary) tempura.
For a more casual affair, Swarts recommends Between Us, a relaxed restaurant on Bree Street owned by twin sisters Jesse and Jamie Friedberg. The walls of the cozy space are lined with the sisters’ personal collection of both older and more contemporary South African works. And in De Waterkant, Ground Art Caffe pairs its popular avocado poached eggs with rotating exhibitions that showcase local artists.
A Cultured Day Trip
A drive out to Stellenbosch is worth it for the region’s award-winning vineyards, restaurants, and art spaces. One not to miss: The Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden, a lush landscape dotted with more than 60 of the South African artist’s animal-form sculptures. “Lewis has made wildlife sculptures collectable,” Swarts says. “His loose and textured approach to modeling the clay reminds me of the bold, impasto brushstrokes made famous by the impressionist artists. It’s by far the most beautiful fynbos [a type of shrubland vegetation native to South Africa’s Eastern and Western Cape provinces] garden to see around Cape Town.”
Start planning inspired travel and read more about me and what I can do for you!
Nine Muses Travel designs journeys to inspire artists, arts lovers and the culturally curious.
Danielle Dybiec
Founder & President
WHY USE A TRAVEL ADVISOR?
Nine Muses Travel offers a premium experience with flights, guides, drivers, rental vehicles, and the best accommodations to maximize your time, with expert advice on how to get the most out of any destination. We can include amenities for you at the world's finest hotels, the BEST OF THE BEST!
Complimentary room upgrades at check-in, subject to availability
Complimentary daily breakfast
Early check-in / late check-out, subject to availability
Complimentary Wi-Fi
And more!
Nine Muses Travel works with exceptional suppliers who add unparalleled value:
Expert guides: artists, historians, naturalists, unique locals with insider tips & insights
Flexibility with your touring - See and do as much, or as little, as you prefer!
Custom-designed routings
Exclusive experiences
24/7 real-time support
Comprehensive travel protection plans
Comments