Curated by MC Roodt

Nothing Lasts, Except This returns for its third iteration as part of the International Institute for the Arts (IIA) at the University of the Free State’s Arts & Health Programme. Bringing together South African and international artists, the exhibition explores the complex relationships between health, care, power and survival.

Among the participating artists are Lehlohonolo Nale, Teboho Mokhothu, Dineo Ponde, Robert A. Hamblin, Steven Bosch, Richardt Strydom, Lloyd Arthur Flanegan, Frederick Weston, Andrew Zealy and Jessica Webster, alongside further artists whose practices extend the exhibition’s conversation.

The exhibition considers the systems and structures that shape how care is imagined, delivered and experienced. It reflects on the consequences of healthcare systems under strain, including the withdrawal of foreign aid, the erosion of critical infrastructure and the inequalities that determine who receives care and who is left without it. This third iteration broadens the conversation to include personal reflections on the less visible dynamics within health communities, particularly the ways influence, access, relationships and soft power shape experiences of care.