Cape Town-based artist and cultural activist Jill Trappler will be in studio on The Business of Entertainment this Thursday, 11 September, just after 9pm. 

With a career spanning more than three decades, Trappler is celebrated not only for her paintings and solo exhibitions but also for her groundbreaking contributions to South Africa’s arts community.

Trappler has been at the heart of transformative creative initiatives since the 1980s. She co-founded Thupelo and Greatmore Studios, was a key member of the Bag Factory in Johannesburg, and has served on the boards of the AVA Gallery and the National Arts Council.

 Deeply committed to community upliftment, she established the Philani Weaving Project and Intle Cooperative in Khayelitsha and Philippi, while also nurturing creative healing through the Valkenberg Art Studio initiative.

Her projects are grounded in an ethos of collaboration and skill-sharing, creating spaces where art becomes a tool for empowerment, confidence building, and social cohesion. Known for her patience and ability to work across languages and generations, Trappler has helped cultivate employment opportunities and creative development throughout the Cape Peninsula.

As a painter, she explores texture, mark-making, and colour with a sensitivity informed by her background as a weaver and spinner. Her work, shown nationally and internationally, reflects her immersion in both South Africa’s complex social landscape and its natural environments.

From the Drakensberg mountains to Johannesburg’s cultural ferment of the 1970s, and Cape Town’s dynamic arts scene today, Trappler’s journey has shaped a practice rooted in interaction, education, and creative exchange.

Tune in to CapeTalk on Thursday, 11 September, just after 9pm to hear Jill Trappler in conversation on The Business of Entertainment.