Esther Mahlangu

On 19 March 2022 Mahlangu was a victim of house robbery where she was attacked and assaulted, her house was ransacked personal possessions were stolen including a gun and an undisclosed amount of money. The crime sparked outrage raising the alarm about the high crime rate in South African and manhunt was launched by the South African police to catch the perpetrator. The suspect was apprehended and put into custody until April 20, 2022 for a formal bail application. An accomplice was released on bail and had a court hearing on May 10.

Esther Mahlangu's 1991 BMW Artcar was on view at the British Museum as part of 'South Africa: the art of a nation', from 27 October 2016 - 27 February 2017. The new BMW Individual 7 series with unique internal wooden trims painted by her was exhibited at Frieze Art Fair in 2016 with an accompanying exhibition of work co-curated by BMW and 34FineArt. She recently completed a special edition premium Belvedere Vodka bottle design (50% of all profits to help fight HIV/AIDS in Africa). As an artist in residence, Mahlangu was commissioned in 2014 by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to create two large works of art.

Ndebele designs were also reproduced in 1997 on the tails of British Airways planes and more recently the same technique was used by the artist to paint on the new Fiat 500 on the occasion of the exhibition "Why Africa?" (2007, Turin).

Mahlangu first gained international attention in 1989 at a French art exposition titled Magiciens de la terre (Magicians of the World). Later in 1991, she was commissioned by BMW to create an art car, as other BMW Art Car creators had done before (including Andy Warhol, David Hockney and Frank Stella). The car, a BMW 525i, was the first "African Art Car" and was painted with typical Ndebele motifs. The car was later exhibited at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC in 1994. It was also exhibited at the British Museum, London in 2017.

Between 1980 and 1991 she was a resident at the Botshabelo Historical Village open-air museum, which presents and educates the visitors about the Ndebele culture.

Esther Mahlangu (born 11 November 1935) is a South African artist. She is known for her bold large-scale contemporary paintings that reference her Ndebele heritage. She is one of South Africa's best known artists.

Esther Nikwambi Mahlangu was born on 11 November 1935 in a farm located outside of Middelburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa, and belongs to the South Ndebele people. Mahlangu began painting at 10 years of age, and was taught the skill of mural painting by her mother and grandmother, following a tradition of the South Ndebele people for women and girls to paint the exterior of houses. It is in this cultural tradition where Mahlangu first began her artistic journey. She had eight younger siblings, which was made up of six boys and three girls (including her). She and her husband had three sons. Later on, she lost her husband and two out of her three sons. She was an employee at the Botshabelo Museum before becoming an artist.