SOIL & WATER is a large-scale artistic research project and exhibition.
The project was developed jointly by Associate Professor Basak Senova from the University of Applied Arts Vienna and Professor
Johan Thom from the University of Pretoria in collaboration with the NIROX Foundation.
SOIL & WATER is a large-scale
artistic research project and exhibition that unfolds within the ancient ancestral land of the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in South Africa. Developed collaboratively by Prof. Johan Thom of the University of Pretoria, Assoc. Prof.
Dr Basak Senova of the University of Applied Arts Vienna, in collaboration with the NIROX Foundation. The project brings together
international artists whose practices engage with the fragile and interdependent relationship between soil and water, the
two fundamental substances that sustain all life on Earth.
SOIL & WATER is conceived as a modular
platform; it opens with the extensive exhibition in November 2025, unfolds through April 2026, featuring exhibitions, residencies,
dialogues, performances, concerts, community engagement, and a forthcoming publication.
The participating
artists, working from South Africa, Austria, India, Turkey, Ukraine, France, Germany, Sweden, Ethiopia, and beyond, anchor
the project in lived realities while extending it into shared imaginaries.
Duration
01. November 2025 - 12. April 2026
NIROX
Sculpture Park, Cradle of Humankind, Südafrika