20 - 21 March 2026
Forging
Cultural
Legacy
Mangaung's New Literature Biennial
1. Respect and Inclusivity: Tshekisho is committed to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, age, race, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form.
2. Consent and Boundaries: All participants must respect personal boundaries. Ask for consent before photographing or recording individuals, and respect their right to refuse.
3. Safe Space: Tshekisho aims to create a safe space for expression and dialogue. Hate speech, intimidation, or any form of discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated and may result in removal from the event without refund.
4. Substance Use: The use of illegal substances is strictly prohibited at all Tshekisho events. Alcohol may only be consumed in designated areas by individuals of legal drinking age.
5. Accountability: If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of Tshekisho staff immediately. Staff can be identified by their red badges.
6. Enforcement: Participants asked to stop any harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately. If a participant engages in harassing behaviour, the organisers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the event with no refund.
7. Photography and Recording: By attending Tshekisho events, you acknowledge that you may be photographed or recorded. If you have concerns about being photographed, please inform our staff.
8. Accessibility: We are committed to making Tshekisho accessible to all. If you require accommodations, please contact us in advance at biennial@tshekisho.africa.
This Code of Conduct applies to all Tshekisho spaces, including venues, online platforms, and social events. We expect participants to follow these rules at all event venues and event-related social activities.
20 - 21 March 2026
Mangaung's New Literature Biennial
The Tshekisho Biennial is a new gathering for literature, prefigurative thought and the arts, held in Mangaung in honour of its namesake, Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje, an esteemed South African writer, intellectual and artist born in the Free State province—whose example can inspire a new generation of similar thinkers and writers, particularly Black youth with resonant artistic and intellectual missions.
The festival also adopts Plaatje's activist undertones, spotlighting a rigorous ensemble of projects who are prefiguring storytelling and collectivisation in post-apartheid South Africa. Tshekisho is the Northern Sotho word for trial. In that spirit, we aim to push boundaries, challenge thought and embody an engaged literary community.
The biennial is more than just a gathering; we are a critical movement, a vibrant intellectual forge where the future of African literary thought is hammered out.
To establish Mangaung as a critical hub for African literary discourse, honouring the Free State's rich history while actively shaping its future narrative.
A commitment to amplifying bold, experimental, and marginalised voices. Tshekisho is a space for challenging conventions.
Promoting rigorous, accessible intellectual discussion and action, through interactive and participatory dialogue.
Opening Remarks for the 2026 Biennial
The 2026 Tshekisho Biennial is not merely an event; it is a topographic intervention into the South African literary canon. Situated in Mangaung, the heartland of the Free State, we find ourselves at a critical juncture—both geographically and ideologically. Historically marginalised as a periphery to the cultural metropoles of Johannesburg and Cape Town, the Free State possesses a distinct, albeit often silenced, narrative gravity. By centring our biennial here, we are actively engaging in a process of decentring the colonial and neocolonial hegemony of knowledge production.
In the spirit of Sol Plaatje, whose intellectual legacy permeates this region, we posit that the "hinterland" is not a space of lack, but a space of latent radicality. It is here, away from the commercial pressures of the coastal cities, that a new vernacular of African thought can be forged—one that is rigorous, introspective, and unyieldingly authentic.
Our agenda for the upcoming days charts the contours of contemporary African consciousness. Day 1 opens with the haunting retrospection of "Matabeleland," followed by a distinguished lecture that reimagines the New African through the lens of Sol Plaatje. The evening brings the polyphonic voices of "We Say Our Names When We Pray" and the playful rigor of the African Lit Quiz. Day 2 unfolds as a living workshop: youth imagining creative economies, hands‑on zinemaking, the launch of the Postafricanism Journal, a deep meditation on Black publishing, and a closing concert that gathers the artistic community of Bloemfontein in celebration. Together, these events map a territory where literature, radical pedagogy, and collective joy intersect.
The voices gathered for this biennial—Kadandara, Masakure, Rabannye, the collectives of Xitsungu, Lit.Culture, and Youth Capital—operate in the gaps between discipline and genre, between the academy and the street. They are the vanguard of a "New Heartland," one that rejects the performative gloss of global literary trends in favour of a gritty, substantive engagement with the realities of the post-colony. As you navigate the programme, we invite you not just to observe, but to critique, to dissect, and to participate in the forging of this new legacy.
- The Tshekisho Curatorial Committee
Our featured writers, thinkers, and artists are at the cutting edge of contemporary African literature and arts.