Why is Thato Toeba winning the 2025 FNB Art Prize so Important?
Written by Anastatia Nkhuna
It’s Art fair season again in Johannesburg and FNB Art Joburg just dropped the news: the 2025 FNB Art Prize goes to none other than Thato Toeba and I am still snapping my fingers in approval.
As the recipient of the 15th FNB Art Prize, Toeba joins previous winners Gresham Tapiwa Nyaude, Lindokuhle Sobekwa, Dada Khanyisa, Wycliffe Mundopa, Lady Skollie, Bronwyn Katz, Haroon Gunn-Salie, Peju Alatise, Nolan Oswald Dennis, Turiya Magadlela, Portia Zvavahera, Nelisiwe Xaba, Mocke J van Veuren, Kudzanai Chiurai, and Cedric Nunn.
Toeba’s work is a quiet reminder that art isn’t just something we look at. It’s something that can shift how we see the world, and ourselves, entirely. Through collage and assemblage, they weave photos, textures, and materials into layered stories that live at the intersection of identity, power, and history. Nothing here moves in a straight line; their images carry multiple meanings at once, pulling you in, slowing you down, and asking you to lean closer, think deeper.
Their practice wrestles with how Black life is framed, misframed, and reframed. By pairing the familiar with the unexpected, Toeba creates visuals that feel intimate yet political, tender yet unflinching.
Look closely and you’ll catch moments of struggle sitting right beside gestures of care, a reminder that our stories hold all of it, all at once.
Born in 1990 in Maseru (and still based there), Thato isn’t just an artist; they’re also a lawyer and social sciences researcher. Their work, rooted in mixed-media photomontage and assemblage, has been making waves for its precision, depth, and storytelling.
They earned their LLM at Humboldt University in Berlin back in 2015 and are just wrapping up a two-year residency at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, one of the most respected artist programs globally.
In 2023, they had their first solo show, Phate lia Lekana, at Stevenson Johannesburg through the gallery’s STAGE initiative for emerging, unrepresented artists. Their portfolio also includes exhibitions like Today I Wish to Talk to Your Dreams (Cape Town, 2023), Where Do I Begin (Cape Town, 2022), and Propelling Otherness (Maseru, 2021).
From Maseru to Amsterdam, Thato Toeba’s trajectory is proof that vision + discipline + storytelling will always cut through the noise. And now? The FNB Art Prize just put a gold stamp on it.
“This means a lot to me. When I started five years ago, I felt very insecure about whether I am an artist or not. This is a very affirming answer to that,” says Toeba. “Coming from Lesotho where we are still trying to build an art ecosystem; I think this is such an important and powerful affirmation of what we are doing. For my practice it is such a momentous mark of an end to my beginnings.” – Thato Toeba
As Africa’s longest-running contemporary art fair, FNB Art Joburg has been holding it down for 18 years, keeping the continent’s cultural fire burning and evolving. One of the ways they do this? The annual FNB Art Prize is a big, career-shifting moment for any artist who walks away to grow with it.
“What makes Toeba’s practice stand out today is how intentional it is. In a time when quick visuals and surface-level messages are everywhere, their work takes another route,” says FNB Art Joburg’s Managing Director, Mandla Sibeko.
This year’s jury consisted of Kim Kandan (fair manager, FNB Art Joburg), Kenneth Montague (collector, doctor, and director of the WEDGE Collection in Canada), and Janine Gaëlle Dieudji (curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art) who had some big praise for Toeba. Their verdict?
FNB’s Chief Marketing Officer, Faye Mfikwe, summed it up: “We congratulate Thato Toeba on winning the coveted 2025 FNB Art Prize. Since inception in 2008, FNB’s involvement as a sponsor of FNB Art Joburg. We believe that art leads change by playing a crucial role in cultural expression, innovation, borderless connection, shared prosperity, and economic growth. And, in alignment with our Grassroots to Greatness sponsorship strategy, awarding the FNB Art Prize remains a way for us to showcase our commitment to supporting and growing the creative economy across the continent.”
As the winner of the 2025 Prize, Thato Toeba will receive a cash prize as well as a solo exhibition at Johannesburg Art Gallery where the largest art collection, on the continent, resides, in 2026.
FNB Art Joburg returns for the 18th consecutive year
Africa’s leading and longest running contemporary art fair opens on Friday , 5 September 2025 until Sunday 7 September. Get your tickets now.
FNB Art Joburg = Innovation on lock.
Every section is a new way to see, feel, and think about African contemporary art.
gallery HUB – Heavy hitters only. BKhz, Goodman Gallery, Stevenson + more bringing the best from Africa & beyond.
gallery LAB – The test kitchen. New ideas + bold business models from fresh players like 16/16, Modzi Arts & The Space Ethiopia.
MAX – Big, bold, too-large-for-a-booth installations.
ETC – Books, prints, zines & more for the culture lovers.
ORG – Remixing how we connect with art institutions like Zeitz MOCAA & DIKAN Centre.
AUX – Talks, screenings & lectures that get the art world talking.
GIF – Film + photography in the spotlight.
Because at FNB Art Joburg, art isn’t just about seeing, it’s about shifting culture and opening doors for economic growth across communities.
