What began as a playful prompt — “what if rabbits thought?” — has grown into a national creative drive that turns curiosity into bursaries. The Thinking Fund, founded by entrepreneur and thinker Nicola Tyler, invited 22 artists to anthropomorphise rabbits as thinking beings. The result: 23 unique Thinking Rabbit sculptures that will be exhibited across the Western Cape before landing in Johannesburg for a final show and an online auction to raise funds for young creatives.
A project that marries mischief with meaning
Rabbits, often underestimated, become more than charming subjects here: they are metaphors for curiosity, resilience and memory — qualities the Thinking Fund wants to cultivate in South Africa’s next generation of creative leaders. Each artist transformed a blank rabbit sculpture into a one-of-a-kind work, which was professionally photographed, exhibited and set aside for sale. “We’ve challenged 22 artists to think deeply about how to portray this much-loved yet misunderstood creature,” says Tyler. “The whole idea is to have fun with this concept and, by doing so, raise funds to sponsor young minds and future leaders in developing creative skills.”
A rolling exhibition — Cape Town to Johannesburg
Ten of the completed Thinking Rabbits are on show at Noordhoek Artpoint, Cape Town, from 24 November to 4 December 2025. The remaining 13 will be part of the Boston Open Studios in Bellville on 6 December 2025, presented alongside that collective’s annual open-studios event. After those Western Cape showings the full collection will be carefully crated and transported — “so the rabbits are not traumatised” — to Johannesburg’s 223 Jan Smuts Creative Hub, where Candice Berman Gallery will host the final exhibition and launch the online auction.
Art as investment, education and empowerment
The Thinking Rabbits will go under the virtual hammer on 13 December 2025. Proceeds will fund bursaries for study in the creative arts and support programmes that teach creative and critical thinking skills to young people across South Africa — an explicit aim of the Thinking Fund and its partners. Project manager Anke Ferreira emphasises the ripple effect: “Even a little creativity in young people benefits society as a whole. Through supporting this auction, patrons are not just collecting remarkable artworks but investing in the future of South African youth.”
Partners that multiply impact
The project is deliberately collaborative. The Thinking Fund’s partners bring skills and scale that ensure proceeds reach bursary recipients and programmes efficiently:
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The Thinking Academy — powering thinking skills for the next generation.
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The Thinking Company — creating safe spaces for quality conversations.
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Candice Berman Gallery — hosting the Johannesburg exhibition and online auction.
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Noordhoek Artpoint — presenting the Cape Town preview.
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Eden Sky Productions — responsible for impactful event and video content.
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Rebul Crating Solutions — providing lightweight, recyclable crates for safe transport.
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The Courier Guy — national logistics.
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Zip Print (Fish Hoek) — production and finishing support.
A creative call-to-arms
Now in its third year, the Thinking Rabbits project blends spectacle with social purpose. It asks collectors to buy art — and asks communities to back learning. “We believe that access to creativity and thinking skills should be a foundation for shaping future leaders,” says Annehette Troost of Boston Open Studios. For patrons, artists and young people alike, the project is an invitation: to collect, to give, and to help cultivate the next wave of South African creative talent.
