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The Tshekisho Biennial is proudly supported by the National Arts Council of South Africa.
The
TSHEKISHO
Mandate
The Tshekisho Biennial is a new gathering for literature, prefigurative thought and the arts, held in Mangaung in honour of its namesake, Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje — an esteemed South African writer, intellectual and artist born in the Free State province — whose example can inspire a new generation of similar thinkers and writers, particularly Black youth with resonant artistic and intellectual missions.
The festival also adopts Plaatje's activist undertones, spotlighting a rigorous ensemble of projects who are prefiguring storytelling and collectivisation in post-apartheid South Africa. Tshekisho is the Sotho-Tswana word for trial. In that spirit, we aim to push boundaries, challenge thought and embody an engaged literary community.
The biennial is more than just a gathering; we are a critical movement, a vibrant intellectual forge where the future of African literary thought is hammered out.
OUR THREE PILLARS
1. FORGING LEGACY
To establish Mangaung as a critical hub for African literary discourse, honouring the Free State's rich history while actively shaping its future narrative.
2. RADICAL VOICES
A commitment to amplifying bold, experimental, and marginalised voices. Tshekisho is a space for challenging conventions.
3. CRITICAL ENGAGEMENT
Promoting rigorous, accessible intellectual discussion and action, through interactive and participatory dialogue.
Vanguard Voices
Writers, thinkers, artists at the cutting edge of contemporary African literature.
Programme 2026
The Cultural Topography
Opening Remarks for the 2026 Biennial
I. The Geopolitics of Imagination — The 2026 Tshekisho Biennial is not merely an event; it is a topographic intervention into the South African literary canon. Situated in Mangaung, the heartland of South Africa, we find ourselves at a critical juncture — both geographically and ideologically. Currently marginalised as a periphery to the cultural metropoles of Johannesburg and Cape Town, the Free State possesses a distinct, albeit often silenced, narrative gravity. By centring our biennial here, we are actively engaging in a process of decentring the colonial and neocolonial hegemony of knowledge production.
II. The Agenda as Cartography — Our agenda charts the contours of contemporary African consciousness: from the haunting retrospection of "Matabeleland," the distinguished lecture reimagining the New African, to the polyphonic voices of "We Say Our Names When We Pray" and the African Lit Quiz. Day 2 unfolds as a living workshop: youth imagining creative economies, zinemaking, writing for radical publications, Black publishing, and a closing concert. Together, these events map a territory where literature, radical pedagogy, and collective joy intersect.
III. Voices from the Interstice — The voices gathered for this biennial operate in the gaps between discipline and genre, between the academy and the street. They are the vanguard of a "New Heartland," one that rejects the performative gloss of global literary trends in favour of a gritty, substantive engagement with the realities of the post-colony.
— Tshi Malatji, Tshekisho Biennial Director