A Celebration of Creativity, Courage and Excellence
For the past four years, the Face of Art & Design Matric Exhibition has stood as a prestigious highlight on the Western Cape Visual Arts and Design calendar. This flagship initiative is a collaboration between the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and the Cape Town Creative Academy (CTCA), celebrating some of the most compelling creative work produced by South Africa’s emerging young artists and designers.
In January 2026, the exhibition returns to CTCA’s main campus in Silo 5, presenting 42 outstanding Matric projects drawn from Visual Arts and Design schools across the province. Created by the Grade 12 class of 2025, these works have been carefully selected for their originality, narrative depth and bold creative risk-taking.
This year marks the biggest Face of Art & Design Matric exhibition to date and directly reflects the Western Cape’s exceptional national performance in creative subjects in 2025. The exhibition stands as both a celebration of individual student achievement and a powerful indicator of the strength of creative education in the province.
Visual Arts
- Best-performing province in South Africa with an average mark of 69.3%
- 463 distinctions were achieved among 1,515 learners in the Western Cape, compared to 597 distinctions in the rest of the country combined
Design
- Best-performing province nationally with an average mark of 68.3%
- 261 distinctions achieved among 1,022 learners in the Western Cape
These results underscore the depth, quality and consistency of creative education in the Western Cape, and reinforce the importance of platforms such as Face of Art & Design in recognising, motivating and elevating emerging talent.
As part of CTCA’s commitment to supporting future creative practitioners, three CTCA bursaries will be awarded to exceptional Face of Art & Design finalists for the 2026 intake. These bursaries recognise not only technical proficiency, but also conceptual clarity, originality and long-term creative potential, and are intended to support students as they transition into formal creative education at CTCA.
A huge congratulations to the Matriculants of 2025, whose dedication, imagination and resilience are powerfully evident in this exhibition. We also extend our sincere appreciation to the teachers and educators who guided, challenged and supported these students throughout their creative journeys — your commitment plays a vital role in shaping the future of South Africa’s creative industries.
We invite educators, parents, industry professionals and the broader public to join us in celebrating this outstanding showcase of young talent. Come and experience the artistic journeys, ideas and voices of the next generation of South African artists and designers as they step confidently into their creative future.
