UJ Arts & Culture, a division of the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (FADA), will put student creativity centre stage this October with the 2026 UJ Arts Academy Showcase, bringing together four days of theatre, dance, ballet, poetry and photography created and performed by University of Johannesburg students.
Running from 13 to 16 October, the annual Showcase is the culmination of a year of participation in the UJ Arts Academy, UJ Arts & Culture’s extracurricular arts programme for UJ students. Across the Drama Studio and Bunting Theatre, students will share work developed through the Academy during 2026, including the Through My Lens photography exhibition, poetry slams, original theatre works, ballet and dance.
More than an annual performance programme, the Showcase reflects the role UJ Arts & Culture plays in the broader student experience: creating spaces beyond the classroom where students can participate, experiment, collaborate, build confidence, find their creative voices and develop a stronger sense of belonging.
The UJ Arts Academy contributes to the University’s 2035 strategic direction by supporting a holistic student experience that extends beyond formal teaching and learning. Through creative participation, students are given opportunities for personal growth, connection, collaboration and development, while contributing to a vibrant and inclusive university community.
In this way, UJ Arts & Culture translates institutional ambition into lived student experience. The Academy creates accessible opportunities for students from across the University to engage with the arts, develop new capabilities and form meaningful connections with peers outside their academic disciplines.
In doing so, the UJ Arts Academy advances UJ’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by using the arts to enrich learning beyond the classroom, broaden opportunities for meaningful participation, and create spaces where students can connect, collaborate and develop a sense of belonging. This work contributes particularly to Quality Education (SDG 4), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10) and Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11).
“A university experience is about so much more than what happens in a lecture hall. Students need spaces where they can meet each other, try something new, find their creative voice and feel that they are part of a community. The Arts Academy gives them that opportunity. The Showcase is important because we get to see what happens when students are given the space to create, take risks and grow. That is an important part of student life and of the UJ experience we want to build.”— Pieter Jacobs, Head of UJ Arts & Culture
Four days of student creativity
The 2026 programme moves across a range of forms and ideas, from photography that asks audiences to look differently at everyday life, to spoken word exploring identity and finding one’s voice, improvised theatre, original dramatic works, ballet inspired by Romeo and Juliet, and dance exploring history, resilience and cultural expression.
The programme concludes on 16 October with the Poetry Slam Final and When I Meet Myself, a poetry showcase centred on self-reflection, identity, vulnerability, healing and growth.
Event details
Dates: 13–16 October 2026
Venues: Drama Studio and Bunting Theatre, UJ Bunting Road Campus
Programme: Drama | Dance | Ballet | Poetry | Photography
Free Tickets: Free exhibitions and selected events
Paid Tickets: For performances are only R30
Come and experience what UJ students have created.
UJ Arts & Culture — creating opportunities for students to participate, create, connect and belong.
UJ Arts Academy Showcase 2026: Full Programme
13–16 October 2026 | Drama Studio and Bunting Theatre
13 October 2026
Through My Lens | Photography Club
16:30–17:50 | Drama Studio | Free | Capacity: 100
Theme: Seeing What Others Don’t
Through My Lens is a photographic exploration of the world as seen through the eyes of the UJ Arts Academy Photography Club. The exhibition invites audiences to look beyond the obvious and discover the stories hidden within everyday moments, people, places, objects, movement, and emotion. Each photograph represents a personal interpretation of the world, capturing moments that may otherwise pass unnoticed.
The theme Seeing What Others Don’t challenges photographers to look deeper, finding beauty, meaning, tension, identity, memory, and emotion in unexpected places. The exhibition celebrates photography as a form of storytelling, allowing images to communicate what words sometimes cannot.
Rather than simply documenting what is in front of the camera, Through My Lens asks: What do you see when you choose to look differently? The exhibition celebrates individuality, observation, creativity, and the power of perspective.
Unspoken: Words That Refuse to Stay Silent | Poetry Slam
17:00–17:50 | Drama Studio | Free | Capacity: 100
Theme: Finding Voice
Unspoken: Words That Refuse to Stay Silent is an energetic and intimate poetry experience that gives young voices a platform to speak, question, challenge, celebrate, and reflect.
The slam explores the things we often carry but struggle to say: love, identity, heartbreak, belonging, social realities, dreams, relationships, vulnerability, and the experiences that shape who we become. Through original poetry and powerful spoken-word performances, poets transform personal stories and observations into moments of connection with the audience.
The theme Finding Voice speaks to the courage it takes to express what is often left unspoken. Each poet brings a unique perspective, creating a collective tapestry of experiences that reminds us that our stories matter and that there is power in being heard.
THE HOOPIE GAMES | An Evening of Theatre Sports
18:00–19:00 | Bunting Theatre | R30 | Capacity: 180
Theme: An Evening of Theatre Sports
Get ready for a night of fast-paced games, unexpected challenges and completely unscripted theatre!
The Hoopie Games brings the UJ Arts Academy Drama class to the stage for an evening of Theatre Sports, where performers compete in a series of improvised theatrical games, creating scenes, characters and stories on the spot. There is no script, no set formula and very little time to think!
With the audience helping to shape the action, teams will be challenged to think quickly, work together and turn the unexpected into comedy, drama and theatrical chaos. Come cheer for your favourite team, throw them a challenge and see what happens when anything can happen.
Close Enough | Drama
19:00–20:00 | Bunting Theatre | R30 | Capacity: 180
Theme: Connection and Distance
Close Enough explores the tension between our longing for connection and the distance we create through family dynamics, social media, personal boundaries, and the spaces we occupy.
Close Enough combines movement, ensemble work, visual storytelling, and monologues to tell the story of people searching for connection in a world that often settles for ‘close enough.’ Through the language of the body, the production reveals the moments we witness but rarely acknowledge: the hesitation before a hug, the silence around the dinner table, the endless scrolling, and the invisible walls we build to protect ourselves. The monologues give voice to the thoughts left unspoken, exposing the fears, hopes, and longing that live beneath the surface.
Close Enough invites audiences to reflect on the relationships in their own lives, asking a simple but confronting question: When did we become satisfied with being close enough instead of truly connected?
14 October 2026
Photography Club Exhibition and Poetry Slam
16:30–18:00 | Drama Studio | Free | Capacity: 100
The source programme does not provide a separate blurb for this combined session.
The Choice | Drama
18:00–18:45 | Bunting Theatre
Theme: Every choice shapes our future — and we are never as alone in making them as we think.
When a citywide blackout leaves twenty-five strangers stranded at a bus stop, a mysterious old woman asks a question that changes everything: ‘If today was the day that changed your life forever… what would you choose?’
As the darkness unfolds, the audience is taken into the lives of ordinary people facing life-altering decisions, each unaware that their choices are deeply connected to those around them. Through powerful ensemble storytelling, movement, and music, The Choice explores love, betrayal, faith, friendship, and resilience, revealing that no choice is ever made in isolation.
The production ultimately reminds us that life is not defined by the choices we regret, but by the choices we make from this moment forward.
False Euphoria | Drama
19:00–20:00 | Bunting Theatre | R30 | Capacity: 180
Theme: Love, possession and the journey of healing
False Euphoria explores the fragile line between love and possession, the illusion of perfection, and the messy, non-linear journey of healing, asking what happens when private pain becomes public chaos.
In a therapy room where private pain is supposed to stay hidden, a couple’s toxic love unravels, until a waiting room full of fractured families invades the session, unleashing chaos. An alcoholic father hiding an unspeakable sin. A brother watching his sister drown in addiction. Four siblings fighting over a dead parent’s inheritance. A successful businessman who locked his disabled son away. As voices collide in a symphony of pain, a therapist on the verge of her own breaking point must find the strength to remind them all: healing isn’t a destination. It’s a journey. And sometimes, even false euphoria is a step toward something real.
15 October 2026
Photography Club Exhibition and Poetry Slam
16:30–18:00 | Drama Studio | Free | Capacity: 100
The source programme does not provide a separate blurb for this combined session.
Ash & Honey | Ballet
18:10–18:40 | Bunting Theatre | R30 | Capacity: 180
Theme: An exploration of themes from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
This showcase is an array of original works centred on the arc of love: celebration, devotion, and loss. Drawing from the timeless tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, we invite you on a journey that mirrors the original story while speaking in a new voice. Romance ignites, joy erupts, and grief unfolds, all through the language of ballet.
Home away from Home | Dance
19:00–20:00 | Bunting Theatre | R30 | Capacity: 180
Theme: African American Slavery
This production explores the experiences of African people who were enslaved during the transatlantic slave trade and the lasting impact of their resilience on music, dance, and culture. Despite enduring forced labour and unimaginable hardship, enslaved communities used song, dance, and worship as powerful forms of expression, healing, resistance, and hope.
The performance traces how these traditions evolved over time, highlighting their profound influence on contemporary music, dance, and freedom of artistic expression.
16 October 2026
Poetry Slam Final | Poetry
17:30–18:30 | Bunting Theatre | R30 | Capacity: 180
The source programme does not provide a separate blurb for the Poetry Slam Final.
When I Meet Myself | Poetry Showcase
18:45–20:00 | Bunting Theatre | R30 | Capacity: 180
Theme: Finding Myself Within
When I Meet Myself is a poetic exploration of self-reflection, identity, memory, and the quiet journey of becoming. Featuring original works developed throughout the 2026 UJ Arts Academy Poetry Programme, the showcase celebrates moments of self-discovery, vulnerability, healing, and growth, inviting audiences to reflect on the ever-evolving nature of the self.