Mongezi Gum was born 1970 in Langa on the Cape Flats, where he also grew up. He completed a three year course in painting, drawing, sculpting and printmaking at the "Johannesburg Art Foundation" from 1992 to 1994 before returning to Cape Town to pursue a career as an artist.
Gum was granted the opportunity to work from "Greatmore Studios" in Woodstock in Cape Town. There his talent was nurtured and he began to believe that art should be a means of multicultural exchange, different cultures exposing their particular traditions through their art.
Gum has participated in four "Thupelo" Regional workshops and exhibitions from 1998 to 2001 in the annexure of the "South African National Gallery". He has also exhibited on several group shows in Cape Town, including an exhibition at "Art Space" in 1999. In 2000 he received an award for being the most promising upcoming young artist from "Truworths" Department Store. They also displayed his artworks on their calendar.
In 2001 Gum had one of his works printed onto carry bags produced by "Woolworth's" Department Store. This is a testimony to the fact that his artworks have a popular appeal; they are vivid, animated and hopeful.
In 2003 Gum participated in a two man exhibition with Lonwabo Kilani at the "Association for the Visual Arts Gallery", Cape Town. In 2004 Gum participated in the "Everard Read Galleries' " (South Africa's preeminent Art Gallery) "10 Years of Democracy Exhibit" with nine other promising artists from South Africa.
Gum's works are in private collections in South Africa, Germany, the United Kingdom, and in the United States.
About his art:
Gum claims art as a means of multicultural exchange. His subject matter thus portrays a combination of traditional African and contemporary township values, often depicting rural Xhosa people in customary attire alongside the urban inhabitants of the suburbs on the Cape Flats which constitute his daily surroundings and conditions.
Gum is also a passionately involved in his community. He is a builder and member of the "Ubunthu Youth Development" project in Langa where he works to reduce crime and educate youth. The melding of his community involvement and his artistic talent resulted in his success as a mural painter. He has worked on a variety of murals in his area, at taxi ranks, meeting places and at the Tavern in Langa.