July 2026 update
A stronger church, a stronger community. Thank you for making this possible.
A mason lays the upper courses at golden hour. The window openings are already framed.
On a Sunday morning in May, wind tore the temporary covering from the church that Wiseman Ndlovu pastors in KwaZulu-Natal, and the structure came down during the service. Two members of the congregation lost their lives. One of them was the aunt Wiseman shares with fellow ceramicist Senzo Duma. Fifteen more were taken to hospital.
Wiseman is one of the artists this gallery has represented for years. He sculpts and paints every piece himself in the workshop beside his home, and the church rises on the same land. When we shared his story, collectors answered. His works found new homes across the country, and the gallery carried that support to the rebuild as a donation made in your name.
This month, word came back from the site.
A message from Wiseman
“Hi Ed thank you so much for the donation we managed to rebuild the wall for the church only left with the roofing and the floor thanks, Wiseman”
Wiseman Ndlovu, by message to Ed Pascoe, July 2026
The work
The congregation is doing the building themselves. These photographs came from the site in July, taken at the end of a working day.
The long wall, rebuilt in block and mortar. It replaces the structure that came down in May.
Watch the work
Filmed on site by the congregation, July 2026.
What comes next
The walls stand at full height. The trusses and roof sheeting go up next, and the floor is poured once the room is covered. Work continues through the southern winter, and we will share the finished church here when Wiseman opens its doors.
The artist
Through all of it, the kiln beside the church has stayed warm. Wiseman keeps sculpting the animals of the bush and the stories he preaches, each piece built by hand, painted by hand, and signed. His current work is in the gallery.
See Wiseman's workIn the gallery now
A stronger church, a stronger community. Thank you.
