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Zarah Cassim Brings Dreamlike Landscapes to The President Hotel

The South African artist takes the spotlight in the latest chapter of In Residence, bringing colour, memory and a little mystery to Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard

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The President Hotel Art Launch 2026

Cape Town has no shortage of landscapes worth lingering over. But the latest reason to slow down at The President Hotel comes courtesy of artist Zarah Cassim, whose paintings take familiar natural forms somewhere altogether more dreamlike.

On view from 1 September 2026 to 11 January 2027, In Residence: Zarah Cassim is the latest instalment of the hotel’s ongoing exhibition series with local non-profit organisation Art School Africa. Set within the everyday spaces of the Bantry Bay hotel, it brings contemporary South African art into the rhythm of a seaside stay.

Discover more Arts & Culture experiences on our Cape Town City Guide page.

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Landscapes With a Little Mystery

Working primarily in layers of oil paint, Cassim creates worlds where foliage, colour and light seem to slip in and out of focus. Soft blush tones give way to deeper, earthy passages, while natural shapes blur, dissolve and emerge again.

There’s something wonderfully recognisable about the idea: remembering a place through its atmosphere long after the finer details have faded. Cassim’s paintings explore that hazy territory, where memory and imagination influence what we think we see.

That intuitive approach runs through the selection, from the expansive The Dance I to smaller works including Sherbet, Berry and Bleed. Across oil on canvas, board and Fabriano paper, she explores the shifting relationship between natural forms and illusion.

Think landscapes that invite a second look, then leave room for your own interpretation.

“My painting and brushwork are instinctive and closely connected to my state of mind"

Meet the Artist Behind the Dreamscapes

Cassim completed an Honours in Fine Art at the University of Cape Town in 2014 and has since exhibited locally and internationally, including in Australia, Spain and France.

Her creative practice also extends to supporting other artists. In 2021, she co-founded Hotel Hernandez Art School, a peer-to-peer programme for emerging and established artists, and later curated its graduate exhibition at the Iziko South African National Gallery.

That connection between making art and creating opportunities for others feels particularly at home within In Residence.

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Art Finds a Place in the Everyday

Presented by The President Hotel and Art School Africa, the series brings Cape Town’s contemporary artistic voices into spaces where guests can encounter their work during an ordinary moment in the day.

For the artists, it creates opportunities to reach new audiences beyond the traditional gallery environment. For guests, it adds another way to connect with the city’s creative life.

With Cassim’s paintings, that encounter comes with an invitation to pause. A shape might feel familiar. A colour might stir a memory. The pleasure lies in taking a little time to see what emerges.

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Keep this one on your Cape Town cultural radar, especially if contemporary painting is your thing. Cassim’s exploration of memory, landscape and imagination brings a fresh creative reason to look towards Bantry Bay this season.

  • Exhibition: In Residence: Zarah Cassim
  • Venue: The President Hotel, Bantry Bay, Cape Town
  • Dates: 1 September 2026 to 11 January 2027
  • Enquiries: info@artschoolafrica.com

Contact Art School Africa to confirm viewing arrangements before visiting.

Explore more Arts & Culture stories on Hello Lifestyle.

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