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Alan van Gysen is an award winning photographer, filmmaker and photo-journalist.

A BA Journalism (Hons) graduate of Rhodes University, Steve Pike, aka Spike, founded marine forecasting and ocean content website Wavescape.co.za in 1999, and co-founded the Wavescape Surf & Ocean Festival in 2004, one of the world’s oldest surf film festivals, and now an important advocate for marine conservation and sustainable coastal management. As a journalist, Spike had worked for newspapers and magazines in Cape Town, Johannesburg, East London, Hong Kong and Melbourne until a light went on and he combined his two passions words and waves. This culminated in two books, Surfing South Africa and the brilliantly titled Surfing in South Africa. As a surf forecaster, he consulted to numerous surfing contests, such as the Red Bull Big Wave Africa (10 years) and the Quiksilver Goodwave (five years). He gives audio visual talks on the science of waves and wave energy.

Fhatuwani Mukheli is a Johannesburg-based artist and the co-founder and director of I See a Different You: a collective of Soweto-born creatives using production and content creation to positively transform black representation in South Africa, and eliminate negative perceptions against Soweto and other townships. Recently shifting his focus from photography and filmmaking, Fhatuweni has found great success as a fine art creative, best known for his illustrative portraiture. He now sells his works to local and international markets and continues to revolutionise the South African creative space.

How to Say No to Oil and Gas (Activism) Nandipha Masango is Media Coordinator for The Green Connection, an important NPO holding the old and gas industry to account. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree in Environmental Management from the University of South Africa. Along with a Bachelor of Social Science in Environmental Management Degree, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Nandipha has been involved in youth focused eco-tourism, environmental education, enviropreneur and conservation programmes.

Amy-Leigh Braaf, a South African artist, explores self-discovery and the complexities of love through her art, drawing from the nation's biodiversity. Her pieces symbolize layered meanings while navigating her identity as a woman of mixed Cape Malay and Indonesian heritage. International exhibitions and residencies in Japan and Bali (2023) showcased her pieces on a global level. "Celestial Deities" redefines womanhood and heritage, while "Bye Bye Bokkie" explores into intricate soul bonds and loss. Her solo exhibition at Brutal gallery "Echoes of Ancestral Threads" marked a pivotal moment in her career, where she showcased her work back at home where it all started as an ode to those who came before - her ancestors. Braaf's journey encapsulates cultural heritage, self-discovery, and timeless connections, resonating as an ode to human existence, weaving stories of generations past and present into an evocative dance of life.

Lee-Ann Heath has a love for impasto oil paint, nature and connection. Using her surroundings as a point of departure, Heath draws on inspiration both natural and relational. Heath’s desire is to recreate, analyse and deconstruct sensation. When working with such thick paint, the challenge of finding the right balance between confident brush and palette knife strokes and moments of vulnerability becomes integral to Heath’s process, with the continuous rearrangements of colours and forms lifting and enhancing each other, layer upon layer. The work reflects an obsessive urge to find the right combination of colour, line and shape. As Heath explains: “I find the elements of surprise and unexpected accidental moments exciting, and when the accidental meets the intentional it often leads to the identity of the work coming unto its own.”

The Whales are Returning, but is there Space for us All? Born and raised in South Africa, Simon Elwen has been studying whales and dolphins in this area for over 20 years. In 2008 he started the Namibian Dolphin Project, and in 2014 Sea Search, based in Cape Town with Tess Gridley. His interests are broad and Elwen has worked on most marine mammals in the region to some extent but with a general focus on coastal dolphins and humpback whales. He is particularly interested in the behavioural adaptations that marine mammals make to different environmental conditions, especially the changes that have occurred in the marine realm from human impacts.

Anton Butler, a seasoned creative with 35 years of experience, discovered his passion for shaping surfboards at 17 in 1982. Mentored by iconic South African shapers, he founded Ferral surfboards 13 years ago, driven by a desire for creative autonomy. While briefly studying graphic design, Anton gravitated towards the art of resin tinting. This technique, blending colors directly into the resin during lamination, became his signature. Over the years, he mastered the process, achieving a delicate balance between spontaneity and control. Specializing in a random yet controlled approach, Anton's surfboards showcase a captivating marbling effect, solidifying his status as a visionary in the craft.

Brett Murray is one of South Africa’s most renowned artists, and has been called “The dark prince of South African pop (art)”. Working with steel, bronze and an assortment of media, Murray aims to critically entertain. This often includes pop-culture iconography that he skillfully manipulates through satire and subversion. He is remembered by Wavescape Artboard Project fans for his infamous surfboard featuring a naked Bart Simpson with an erection, and the words “I Love Africa!”. Murray’s work has been exhibited extensively in South Africa and abroad, and he was the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year for 2002. He is a full time artist and lives in Cape Town with his wife Sanell Aggenbach and their two sons.

Tré Packard is an internationally renowned public art curator and award-winning environmental photographer who marries art and activism to cultivate a new era in marine conservation. As a passionate conservationist, Tre' has travelled through Asia documenting some of the most remote locations bringing to light never before documented fisheries contributing to the destruction of ocean ecosystems, and the often illegal trade of threatened marine life. Tré is the founder and Executive Director of PangeaSeed Foundation and the creator of the Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans programme through which he has curated over 500 environmental, ocean-themed public artworks in 19 countries since 2014. In addition, Tré is a lifelong scuba diver and PADI Dive Ambassador.

Dbongz Mahlathi is a street artist from the West of Johannesburg. He started participating in street art in 2008 when he first came to the city to pursue his tertiary education. He fell in love with the freedom it afforded him, the colours, the huge canvases in a form of walls, the confidence it instilled in him, and the ability to spread conceptual messages to the masses. He continues to say, “It'd be great to be able to communicate through art what language can’t, to have the ability to interpret the years of pursuit into positively influential artworks that resonate with everyday lives, and to forever vibrate mundane spaces, to encourage ongoing optimism in young minds, to boost confidence and eradicate doubt and fear in human brains and inspire patience and persistence, and it is happening, one artwork at a time”.

We are not your Inspiration Porn (Surfing) Blind surfer Michele, who was diagnosed with deteriorating retinitis pigmentosa in 2005, is a purpose-led athlete and advocate for differently abled athletes through various media where she plies her trade as a public speaker, writer and influencer. A former national judo medallist, as the years took away more of her sight, Michele took to parasurfing, representing South Africa at the world championships in California in 2022. She is a keen advocate of surfing as therapy, and plans to compete at the Paralympics in 2028 for her 60th. She shares life's journey with a vibrant core of compatriots who see themselves worlds apart from how others see them.

Jero Revett, a young enthusiast, found joy in exploring rock pools around False Bay, diving all day to interact with various marine life. While fear initially drew him to octopuses, he soon mastered handling them, turning it into playtime. Today, his fascination endures, and Jero still disappears for hours, reliving his childhood underwater. Despite facing criticism for eating octopus, Jero takes immense pleasure in the skillful hunt, honed over years, and adheres to a sustainable approach, only taking what he needs and returning unused portions to the ocean. During a dive, a divine inspiration led him to consider alternative uses for octopus ink beyond culinary applications. Collaborating with Prof Inggs from Michaelis School of Fine Arts, Jero introduced the concept of creating prints using octopus ink. Invited to explore this idea at Michaelis, they experimented with screen prints but fell in love with Gyotaku, an ancient Japanese fisherman's technique of making ink prints on rice paper. Today, Jero crafts Gyotaku artworks from the fish he catches, utilizing ink from octopuses, chokkas, or cuttlefish. His work pays homage to the octopus, symbolizing satisfaction derived from the hunt, culinary exploration, and creative expression.

Amy-Lee Tak is a self-taught artist with five years' experience as a professional painter. Her work depicts unapologetic rest, comfort and freedom in ones own skin, mirroring her own aspirations for softness and self-love. Her distinct style can be characterised by her flat application style and playful use of rich, vibrant colours. Amy-Lee lives and works in Cape Town.``I'm in love with bright, bold colours that evoke a sense of joy and whimsy. The women portrayed in my work tend to be idealistic to the point of blissful ignorance, living in a smoosh-smash of colourful worlds free of demands and complexities.``

A Manifesto for Ocean Justice (Conservation) Cormac is the director of the Wild Law Institute, which advances and defends the rights of Nature. He is a leading environmental lawyer – one of the team that stopped Shell’s seismic survey – and a leader of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature. After his book Wild Law: A Manifesto for Earth Justice in 2002 he began to build the global movement that now campaigns for ocean rights and the recognition of Antarctica as an autonomous entity.

Kabelo Moraloki a visual artist was born in 1988 in Pretoria, Township called Mamelodi, his first encounter with art was in primary school till to date. Kabelo is now based and practices in Cape Town. Moraloki specializes in painting portraiture and abstract art made with acrylics on canvas, new and recycled brown paper. His work is characterized by bold and bright colours, intricate patterns and Tetris blocks and shapes. Moraloki touches on issues of socioeconomics, healing, happiness and harmony in society. He aims to spark conversations, question perceptions and encourage the viewers to engage critically through his work. Kabelo wants to heal society, see it happy and living in harmony. Kabelo has participated in a group exhibition at the Fame Week Africa 2023 and The Mother City group exhibition as part of the Emerging Artists Programme by the City of Cape Town.

Marti Lund is an artist based in Cape Town, South Africa. His work takes form in many media. Trained as a realistic oil painter, Lund also works in collage, murals, grafitti and surfboard art. His process starts in collage. Lund feels like this is the only way to correctly communicate the powerful combinations of cultural, social and environmental narratives that he wants his work to hold. Collage allows for rapid resolve of visuals, to create complex stories and to find humour in the strange juxtaposition of imagery. From collage, he translates the work onto canvases and walls, using a realistic style; be it in spray paint on wall, acrylic on surfboard or oil on canvas. Many of the visuals relate directly to his homeland, South Africa and are deeply personal, inspired by an awe of ethereal natural beauty, a will to celebrate diversity and a mind full of social critique.

Koebraa is a child of the ocean. Her love for the ocean was instilled by her dad. Today, she lives her dream as a marine biologist, with a background in Conservation Biology, teaching others about the sea, while researching marine bioinvasions. She examines the threat of marine alien and invasive species that settle or grow on artificial structures submerged in the marine environment. These include harbour and marina infrastructure as well as recreational vessels. She also looks at alien species within Marine Protected Areas and invertebrate communities on the walls of manmade tidal pools.

MJ Lourens was born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1973. He studied Fine Art Sculpture at the University of Pretoria from 1992 to 1996. His body of work includes paintings, sculptures and film, having exhibited in several prominent galleries around South Africa. MJ has also directed and produced films such as DIE RIT/THE DRIVE (2009), PROGNOSE/PROGNOSIS (2008) and PA/FATHER (2006), which was screened at the Commonwealth Film Festival and was in the official selection of the African International Film Festival, Tariva, Spain. MJ's films can be viewed at www.prefab.co.za. MJ lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa.

Amy Ayanda Lester is an artist and musician based in Cape Town, South Africa. Her paintings and prints draw inspiration from the local landscape, its flora and colours. Images of proteas, fynbos and the familiar silhouette of Table Mountain recur in both her illustrative work and her more impressionistic canvas pieces. In subject, she returns often to her great grandmother’s flower farm in Constantia from which the family was forcibly removed in the1960s under the Group Areas Act. Reflecting on her historical ties to the land, Amy explores themes of longing and belonging; her work a tender and intimate engagement with home. The places she paints are both real and imagined, a place to come back to – the body of a mother, a mountain, a field of flowers.

Death and the 100 foot wave (Adventure) Veteran kneeboarder and surf shop owner Gigs Cilliers, son of the 1980s cartoonist Lencil, is four times World Kneeboarding Champion. A larger than life character, Gigs is the consumate waterman. He is adept at running safety on PWC (Personal Water Craft), as well as towing various big wave surfers into giant waves. Gigs is well known in the international community as a commentator on the World Surf League Championship Tour.

MOTELSEVEN (b. 1987) is a Cape Town born artist who started painting graffiti at 16 and had her first solo exhibition at the age of 21. After a few successful gallery exhibitions the travel bug bit and for ten years she only did graffiti writing, outdoor murals and public art festivals, mainly in Europe and in the US. She’s a member of the notable graffiti crew 40HK and one of the first white women to paint graffiti in post-apartheid South Africa. Black South Africans were the first to embrace Hip Hop culture through political/conscious rap and dance before “non-political“ graffiti popularised in the late 1990’s. When she started painting in 2003 she chose the name Misty to highlight her female identity but she soon adopted the name MOTELSEVEN. Oftentimes feeling like a social “misfit”, graffiti subculture became the world in which she explored herself with indulgence and without explanation. The utilization of a gender-neutral tag like MOTELSEVEN allows graffiti writers and street artists to communicate a message and exercise their artistry without the stigma associated with their gender in everyday life. (From Routledge Handbook of Graffiti and Street Art by Jeffrey Ian Ross published in 2016).

Liberty Battson is a South African artist born in 1990 and currently lives in Benoni, Johannesburg. Battson obtained her BA(FA) with distinction for her work with automotive paint on canvas in 2013 from the University of Pretoria and ever since her work has being receiving both local and international attention. Using 2K automotive paint Battson produces an impressively smooth, high gloss finish. Her bright, often colourful style laced with data and meaning. Once vibrant coloured stripes and now more organic looking shapes; coded, calculated and composed waiting to be decoded, recognized and read. Battson is the 2014 Absa L’Atelier winner and along with her winning streak is a 2013 Sasol New Signatures Merit Award winner and holds a merit award for painting in the 2012 Thami Mnyele Fine Arts competition. Most recently Battson Participated in the 2022 Dak’Art Biannale and held her 6th solo exhibition at Everard Read Gallery. Yada-Yada Club opened in May 2022 at Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town.

Ocean puppetry: teaching through storytelling Justine, Logan and Wade are educators from the Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Education Centre, based in Kalk Bay. The Centre works with school groups to teach lessons about the wonder and importance of the ocean, our connection to it, and the future of this resource. Recently, we have been exploring storytelling as a tool, particularly through puppetry. Join us for a dive under the waves to meet the kelp princess and explore how our past can help us rethink our future connection with the ocean.

While qualified as an architect, One. never ventured into the practice of architecture. One. chose a different path for himself. Shapes and structures are deeply embedded in One.’s DNA, he see life as a complex layered structure we have to navigate through and make sense of, at least we can try. Employing the very same spray paint and markers synonymous with graffiti and tagging, One. seamlessly integrates urban culture and street life as strata within his paintings. Patterns converge, colors interplay, resulting in what he regards as Architectural Abstract.

Born in rural South Africa in 1985 He majored in photography graduating Cum Laude from Stellenbosch Academy of Graphic Design and Photography (2007), with a BA in Applied Design. Justin's works are held in various private and corporate collections around the world and His works have been exhibited in South Africa, Australia and Germany. Justin Southey's practice explores notions of landscapes and fantastical worlds that serve as metaphors for more unquantifiable emotional and spiritual spaces. Acting like ephemeral mirages, the artist's ambition is to explore and capture the intertwining and transcendent quality of the unseen. Capturing momentary feelings in a visual form, these investigations are both deeply personal and also often made in response to his immediate environment. With playful bold swathes of colour, texture and exuberant mark making, there is a push and pull the viewer experiences, directing the eye and stimulating the senses.

Stefan Smit is a South African fine artist known for his contemporary figurative oil paintings and mural work - creating fine art on a tremendous scale. Since being invited to exhibit at the ABSA L'atelier the demand for Smit's work has increased, allowing him to exhibit globally at shows like the LA Art Fair. Smit currently lives in Cape Town, South Africa and is represented in the United States. His work features in galleries, art fairs, brand collaborations, public spaces and various private collections around the globe. Throughout his career, he’s been drawn to the overarching theme of connection, inviting people to question what divides or unites us.

Marie-Louise Koen is a Cape Town based Artist and Interior Designer. Kick starting and self-launching her career as an Artist in 2017 her work has been well received both locally and internationally, exhibiting in several collaborative and solo exhibitions. Marie-Louise is a true creative getting her inspiration from her immediate environment with her subject matter gravitating from female form and portraiture through to her popular seascape works. Her most recent solo exhibition 'Dawn to Dusk', on show at Gallery Eleven, Spice Route Destination, is an ode to the beautiful Cape which continues to be the main source of inspiration for her work. This exhibition is her largest single collection to date and encompasses an array of oceanic and beach scenes of the Cape, capturing all the hours of sunlight throughout a summers day.

Sulette van der Merwe is a South African artist working in painting, print and video animation. Her paintings are an exploration of intuitive connections between representational images. The influence of pop art, surrealism and digital culture is evident in her work. She has a National Diploma in Fine Art from the Tshwane University of Technology .