A Living Currency — SARB Museum Commission

A Living Currency, 2025

Acrylic on canvas, 370 × 850 cm Commissioned by the South African Reserve Bank

Esther Mahlangu is a cultural icon and custodian of Ndebele heritage, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in contemporary African art. Taught from the age of ten by her mother and grandmother, she has transformed the mural traditions of the Ndebele into a dynamic visual language that extends across canvas, architecture, and public space. She became the first woman and first African to paint a BMW Art Car. Her compositions are painted freehand, maintaining the bold geometry, symmetry, and vivid colour that define Ndebele design.

In this monumental artwork, Mahlangu brings together personal memory, inherited patterns, and everyday symbolism. Traditional motifs appear alongside references to home, land, and community. At its centre, cattle emerge as a powerful symbol of value. Long before coins or banknotes, cattle were a measure of wealth in Southern Africa — used for exchange, sustenance and growing, passing between families and across generations. By placing cattle within her signature Ndebele patterns, Mahlangu connects a visual language of identity with an economic language older than any stamped coin.

SARB Museum Launch — 19 June 2026

On 19 June 2026, President Cyril Ramaphosa officially launched the South African Reserve Bank Museum at the institution's newly renovated Head Office Campus in Pretoria (City of Tshwane), marking the SARB's 105th anniversary. Governor Lesetja Kganyago delivered the opening address.

As Governor Kganyago noted: "Central banks can seem distant, even mysterious. People often do not fully understand what we do or why it matters. That is why we decided that the SARB Museum should be about more than money."

The museum traces the country's economic heritage — from barter systems and early trade through colonialism and apartheid into democracy — exploring how ideas of money, value, trust and institution-building have evolved over time. It houses archaeological items dating back 75,000 years, a numismatic collection spanning over 300 years, and South Africa's first minting press from 1891, which still works. At the launch, President Ramaphosa minted a coin on the historic "Oom Paul" press.

Her Currency

The museum's art programme includes the exhibition Her Currency: Stories of Heritage, Identity, Memory and Power, bringing together permanent installations by three legendary South African artists — Esther Mahlangu, Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi and Mary Sibande — commissioned by the SARB. The exhibition foregrounds women's experiences and contributions within broader narratives of nationhood and economic life. Mary Sibande's monumental sculpture Monument to an Absence is installed in the museum gardens.

For the first time since the SARB's establishment, the public can access the institution's corporate art collection of more than 1,200 artworks through rotating exhibitions.

The Gift

Esther Mahlangu was unable to attend the launch. On her behalf, Betty Mahlangu presented a hand-painted Ndebele ceramic vessel to President Ramaphosa at the unveiling ceremony.

Cyril Ramaphosa receives a gift of Dr Esther Mahlangu's painted vessel from Betty Mahlangu on behalf of Esther Mahlangu.

Commemorative Coins

The launch coincided with Youth Month and a 2026 commemorative coin series centred on education. A new R2 circulation coin commemorates 50 years since the 1976 Youth Uprising. In August, the SARB will release a R2 coin celebrating the 125th anniversary of Charlotte Maxeke becoming the first black South African woman to graduate with a university degree. In December, a third R2 coin will mark 30 years since the Constitution was signed into law, alongside a R5 tribute coin depicting all three concepts.

The museum will first host bespoke events for staff and stakeholders before opening to the public.