FRIDAY AT MELLY

Looking for something to do this Friday?

Explore our current exhibitions for free from 6 PM, and join us for a free lecture at Kunstinstituut Melly.

Free Event | 6:00 PM

CLiP Open Session #1: Who Am I Really Talking To? We All Know Your Chatbot Is Slowly Changing You

In this Collective Learning in Practice (CLiP) Open Session, we will explore with Mario Guzmán the following questions: When does a "what" become a "who"? How do chatbots make us feel like we are talking to a real human? And what does it mean for our culture, politics, and daily lives when we build emotional bonds with technology? In this talk, we will explore the story behind the talking machines we use every day.

Exhibitions

Every Friday, all current exhibitions at Kunstinstituut Melly are open from 6–9 PM, with free admission from 6 PM onwards.

This evening offers the opportunity to explore the exhibitions and presentations across the building:

You will find us in the best places

You will find us in the best places is a major survey exhibition of South African artist Moshekwa Langa. Featuring nearly 120 works from the past three decades, the exhibition occupies the entire building, making it the largest overview of Moshekwa’s work to be presented in the Netherlands, where he has lived for more than 25 years.

George Mahashe: Vuragelameshoga—Leḽago la vakhegulu

The space is safeguarded and encouraged by the old women (vakhegulu). These women are neither revered matriarchs nor bitter, proud upholders of patriarchy; rather, they are individuals concerned with maintaining balance and upending hierarchies. It is a place where decisions are made afresh. Rather than functioning as a rigid system, it is a fluid space connecting those ahead (ancestors), the living, and those yet to come.

A timeline

Compiled by Elijah Rhode and Thato Makatu, A timeline brings together articles, journal entries, receipts, exhibition invitations, catalogues, floor plans and other materials found while researching Moshekwa Langa’s life and artistic practice. Stitched together unchronologically, these moments invite visitors to explore the stories that exist beyond official records and archives.

TOOLSHED #3 – After Library III

For its third edition, TOOLSHED welcomes the After Library (2025-), a tiny, experimental library of clothes and books, blending collective reading with speculative design and the wear of clothing, initiated by Thulile Gamedze and here in collaboration with Tlotliso Skefu.