The international jury of THE TOYOTA TSUSHO CFAO African Art Award has unveiled the five laureates of this inaugural edition dedicated to emerging contemporary artists from the African continent.
Meet the five talents who are redefining the continent’s art scene:
- Grand Prize (Grand Winner)
Moffat TAKADIWA (Zimbabwe): He studied for Diploma Fine Art in Harare Polytechnic College, Zimbabwe. He has exhibited internationally, including the 60th Venice Biennale (2024) and the São Paulo Biennale (2025). His work has also featured in notable institutional shows such as Galerie Édouard-Manet (France), Craft Contemporary (Los Angeles, USA) and the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (Harare).
- Distinguished Awards (joint second-place winners)
Gosette LUBONDO (DRC): She graduated in visual communication from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa in 2014. Her work has been exhibited at biennales and in group exhibitions such as the Kampala Biennale, the Lubumbashi Biennale, and at the Hirosaki Museum in Japan in 2024. In 2021, she was awarded the Maison Ruinart Prize, which is given annually to an emerging artist exhibiting at Paris Photo. In 2022, her work was presented at the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Her work is part of important collections such as the Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac, Kanal Centre Pompidou, Frac Nouvelle-Aquitaine (Bordeaux), the Saint Louis Museum (Missouri), and the Mast Foundation (Bologna).
Unathi MKONTO (South Africa): He pursued a Bachelor in Architecture at Nelson Mandela University. He was also a design fellow at Architecture for Humanity in Johannesburg. Residencies that he has participated in currently are TOLET at Zeitz Mocaa, AVOID at the A4 Arts Foundation, Stevenson Amsterdam gallery and Alma Martha, both in Cape Town, South Africa. Solo exhibitions include Flat (2018) at Blank Gallery in Cape Town; Juxtapositions at Stevenson gallery (2023), Enclosed Camp (2022) at Open 24 hours Gallery in Cape Town as well as Mkonto l Mazwana (2021) at Spaceby in Cape Town.
- Sponsor Awards (Special Jury Prizes)
Katlego C.L. TWALA (Botswana): She studied at the Swedish Academy of Realist Art and the Barcelona Academy of Art, grounding her practice in strong technical foundations. She received the New Emergence Art Prize in 2024. Her first art fair was the 2025 Latitudes Art Fair, where she presented a sold-out solo booth with the Banana Club Artist Fund. This was followed by a presentation at the FNB Art Joburg Art Fair with Everard Read Gallery.
Tizta BERHANU (Ethiopia): She graduated in 2013 from the Addis Ababa University, Alle School of Fine Arts and Design. Her latest solo exhibition, Agape, took place at Addis Fine Art, Addis Ababa in 2024. Her work has been exhibited in various group and solo shows in Nigeria, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States, including three solo exhibitions with Addis Fine Art: Heber in Addis Ababa (2021), The Armory Show in New York (2021), and Synthesis of Souls in London (2023).
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