Adelheid Frackiewicz (von Maltitz) was one of three Absa L’Atelier Ambassadors in 2021. The first part of this prestigious prize is a group exhibition and the second part is a solo exhibition. The collaborative exhibition titled ‘Refuge: An uncommon home’ was shown at the Absa Gallery in Johannesburg from November 2022 until the end of January 2023. The exhibition travelled in part to the Prince Vincent venue at the Absa Branch at the Klein Karoo Kunstefees in Oudtshoorn in March 2023. The next stop for the exhibition is the Institute Museum of Ghana in Accra in July 2023.

The criteria for selecting the Ambassador included technical execution, i.e. the artist’s expert handling of material and techniques; conceptual and thematic engagement, i.e. how they revealed honest and intellectual reasoning or rationale; the freshness of artistic vision within the context of the contemporary African art landscape, i.e. how the artist engaged with honest and fresh ways of seeing; as well as aesthetic appeal, which implies that the artist must have shown great consideration for visual quality and conceptual concerns, and whether the portfolio of artworks was a cohesive submission carrying the intended message or thematic idea. 

Frackiewicz is a lecturer, primarily in drawing and sculpture, and her research focuses on the transformative potential of dynamic threshold places, such as roadside shrines in South Africa. For her, making sculpture and installation art involves processes that allow her to constructively engage personal anxieties around death and loss. She is also proudly a member of the Free State Art Collection.

Find her on Instagram here.