Where Ancestors Speak in Sound — Nyami-Nyami at 44 Stanley
On 26 June, Johannesburg will play host to a sound-and-sculpture experience that cuts across myth, memory, and modernity. Brought to life by The Zebra Collective — the powerful creative duo of Masimba Hwati and Michael Gould — Nyami-Nyami is not just an installation, it’s a ritual. It’s a calling. A disruption. A reawakening of something ancient.
Taking place at 44 Stanley, this multi-sensory installation blends sculpture, sound performance, ancestral knowledge and new-age tech to tell a story that’s both local and planetary. Presented by the University of Johannesburg’s Artists In Residence Programme, in collaboration with VIAD, The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember, and 44 Stanley, this moment feels less like an exhibition and more like a summoning.
At the centre of it all: Nyami Nyami, the mythical river spirit of the Tonga people. Half fish, half snake, fully divine. A protector. A force. A symbol of resistance during the brutal colonial construction of the Kariba Dam — which displaced tens of thousands, altered ecosystems, and silenced the river’s song. But not forever.
This installation doesn’t just remember Nyami Nyami — it reclaims them. The Zebra Collective uses everything from sculptural forms to mechanically rigged guitars to reimagine the past and reconnect it to now. Ancient Shona stargazing traditions meet contemporary sonic alchemy. It’s not nostalgia — it’s ancestral technology.
The opening night on Thursday, 26 June at 18:00 will feature a live performance by the artists, bringing the entire work to life in real time. Then on Saturday, 28 June at 11:00, they’ll return for an intimate walkabout through the space — sharing insight into the process, the power, and the intention behind the work, followed by another live performance.
Entrance is free. Drinks are on hand. Ushers will guide the way.
RSVP here: forms.gle/wEtvS8fPL8ch2Lo69
Originally staged in Berlin, and most recently at the University of Michigan, Nyami-Nyami now lands in Joburg — still powerful, still relevant, still asking the hard questions: What do we owe to the river? To memory? To the spirits we stopped listening to?
Come through. The ancestors are already waiting.