AWAD is delighted to welcome new Associate Member Thandeka Tlou of 3152 Gallery to its UK chapter. Find out more about Thandeka’s art world journey below.
What is the name of your business, where are you located and when did you start?
3152 Gallery started in 2025 and continues to be in the early years of development. The Gallery currently functions as a virtual space, and I will be popping up at art fairs, pop ups and opportunities meaningful for artists being represented.
What is your professional background?
I hold an undergraduate degree in Criminology and Psychology, followed by a Master’s in Business Administration and a Master’s in Social Work. I trained and practice as a Social Work Practitioner, supporting vulnerable children and advocating for improved life outcomes. Alongside this, my MBA has played a key role in establishing and running 3152 Gallery. My work across both fields is connected by a commitment to justice and social change. This continues through the gallery, where I support emerging artists, whose practices engage with issues affecting communities locally and globally.
What inspired you to take the leap and start your own business?
Art has always been a quiet current flowing throughout my life. Creativity has been part of my identity since childhood. 3152 Gallery was inspired by my late maternal grandparent’s home which was the oasis of birthing creatives in my mother and her siblings. Whilst maneuvering my career, art became an escape and therapy for me, and I would always share with people my dreams to have a gallery and to open a café one day. In my moments of planning during 2024, I took a trip to 1-54 Art Fair and felt a deep calling to go for it.
What does your business offer, in terms of goods and services?
3152 Gallery works with contemporary Southern African artists and those in the diaspora through representations and collaborations. The gallery offers original artworks and prints by artists.
What excites you about having joined the Association of Women Art Dealers?
There is so much to learn and experience with art. Joining the Association of Women Art Dealers is an opportunity for me to learn particularly during the early stages of my career and beyond for I know that being a student never truly has an ending. I am looking forward to building connections with AWAD members who I can learn from and also relate to.
What brings you joy in your work?
Appreciating art is therapeutic to me. Art as therapy is where I found healing particularly during times of stress and pressure. I find deep pleasure in enabling a space where those who make their way to the 3152 whether virtually or through pop ups can also experience a sense of stillness and healing through observing art. I experience deep joy when I observe people watching, escaping and having an internal dialogue with the artists pieces. I can relate to this joy when I remember first bumping into art that convicted me during trips to galleries, museums and art fairs.
A just for fun question: If you were a work of art what would you be and why?
I’d be Saw My Shadow by Danielle McKinney. I love all of Danielle McKinney’s paintings, though this one in particular speaks to the core of my being. I love my own company and consider silence and alone time a luxury. In this painting, I become the protagonist—a woman whose back the audience can only see. She is clothed in a yellow dress, her arms spread out. She appears to me to be embracing her circumstances, whatever life is offering her; she is present, nonchalant, feminine, and self-loving.
Images courtesy of Thandeka Tlou and 3152 Gallery.
