Hagar Cygler is an Israeli multimedia practitioner and one of five people recently awarded a place in the Greatmore Studios’ Visiting Artists programme, a project that brings artists from all over the world to South Africa for a three-month residency.

Providing them with a space to work in, accommodation and basic spending money, the programme allows each artist to focus on producing a body of work which is then exhibited at the end of their stay.

“By giving us these facilities and a budget, Greatmore lets us do what artists always dream of,” said Cygler, “making art all day long and not worrying about everyday things.”

Located on the corner of Woodstock’s busy Greatmore Street, the studio is a well-known building, plastered with paintings and sculptures, the remnants of the many artists who have passed through its doors. One of the oldest institutes of its kind in South Africa, it is part of the UK-based Triangle Arts Trust, an organisation that attempts to connect artists from across the globe through workshops and residencies.

Every year, the studio hosts four visiting artist programmes, putting out a call for local and international creatives working across a broad scope of media to apply for the residencies. This year’s first group are Israel’s Hagar Cygler, Precious Mhone from Malawi, Iranian Neda Tavallaee and locals Kaya Witbooi and Thandile Zwelibanzi.

Last week, the five artists gathered at Greatmore Studios to give a presentation of their previous work to the larger public. An open event, the talk also functions as a kind of meet-and-greet with the residents able to discuss their interests and backgrounds with local creatives.

The presentation is also meant to put the residents in contact with artists running outreach programmes in the area: in one of their first weekends in South Africa, the residents participated in arts activist Angus Whitty’s Plastic Beaches, an initiative that invites people to make sculptures from the plastic they find littering Cape Town’s beaches.

Discussing their reaction to South Africa so far, the three international residents explained that it already had an effect on their work.

“I had decided to keep working with the theme that I’ve been following for the last three years,” says Iranian painter Neda Tavallaee. “But now I’m really excited, as I can work without fear or censorship. I’m sure my work will really benefit from this change.”

Malawian artist Precious Mhone says: “My experience so far at Greatmore has been a really positive one. I appreciate the fact that the space allows for artists to come together and share ideas. People here are really friendly and passionate about the arts, which is always a great thing.”

Mhone, who studied photography in London, learnt about Greatmore after happening upon a post on the Visual Arts Network of South Africa Facebook page . She applied for a residency and then found herself in Cape Town.

In terms of her plans for the exhibition in March, she’s clear that she wants to continue playing with mixed media: “I would like to expand upon the work that I’ve already been doing, but relate it to Cape Town and the affect that it has on me.”

Cygler tracked her interest in mixing materials to her education: “I studied photography, where I learned to explore the medium via the image and the material. Now I work with found objects and photographs, most of them family photos, and I look for new ways to present them using different mediums, although the main medium I use is embroidery.”

The Israeli artist is interested in local ecological issues, saying that she’s planning on “exploring Cape Town and the South African culture, especially regarding its relations to nature and animals. And bringing my culture from home and combining them through my art”.

For more information about the Visiting Artists programme or how to apply for the next one, contact info@greatmoreart.org.

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