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GreatMoreNews KICK OFF 2012 |
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Kate (above) & Mishkaah |
THE TEAM
As many of you know, there have been some changes within the Greatmore Team. Kate Tarratt Cross passed the baton as Director of Greatmore Studios to Kadiatou (Chou-chou) Diallo. Kate now manages the Thupelo Workshops (the next one is taking place at the Bag Factory in Johannesburg between 6-17 February). We thank Kate for all that she has achieved at the Studios over the last two years and are happy that she remains a part of the Greatmore/ Thupelo family. After five years with Greatmore – from volunteer to Programme Coordinator, Mishkaah Roberts has decided to pursue her other passion in education as a teacher at nearby Mountain Road Primary. We wish her all the best for her new endeavour and welcome Pamella Dlungwana as the new Programme Coordinator at the Studios. Sane Mateta’s VANSA / Africalia internship at Greatmore Studios came to an end in November last year but because we were just not ready to let her go, Sane is now a full-term member of the team. |
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THE TRIP
Kadiatou’s new appointment started with two exciting networking opportunities. The first took her to London for the Triangle Network Conference that brought together, for the first time, all of its members. It was wonderful to put faces and real people behind names and emails. More importantly, much conversations were had about possible collaborations and future exchanges. Read more London was immediately followed by a 3-day jet-setting trip through Spain. Casa Africa, one of Greatmore’s funders, invited Kate and Kadiatou to meet very interesting potential project partners in Barcelona (Hangar), Madrid (La Casa Encendida,Media Lab and Matadero) and the island of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Casa Africa, CAAM – Centro Atlantico de Arte Moderno and La Regenta). After a presentation of the trip to the artists and staff at Greatmore, we are excited about the possibility to send Greatmore artists to Spain and welcome Spanish artists at the Studios soon. |
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Jorge Amaral working on the new office / library |
THE OFFICE The festive season brought a facelift for our office and library. Working through the holiday season we were able to repurpose old materials and fashioned tables, shelves and storage space. We thank all those who have donated materials and furniture in the past and helped to make this possible. And thank you Jorge for all your hard work.
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Justin Davy (far right) in Cairo |
THE LAB
The office is but a first leg of renovations still in progress. The computer lab is next in line for a much needed make over that will officially inaugurate our digital lab, made possible by the generous support of the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund. This will allow us to better accommodate artists working in digital media and offer training courses for those interested in venturing further in this field. Our training programme already started last year with a Photoshop workshop, facilitated by Indian multi-media artist Satadru Banduri. We received so many applications that Satadru decided to offer not one but two parallel courses. The success was reflected in the huge number of photoshopped thank you messages he received from the participants after the course. Well done Satadru and thank you to all who participated. Future mentoring will continue to focus (with some exceptions, of course) on digital media. The potential of creating more space to experiment with new media became apparent when Greatmore hosted a One Minute Workshop, part of a larger project that culminated in the One Minute Africa Awards in October 2011. Facilitator Kitty Dörje was confident she had a few winners in her group and committed all participants to submitting their final edits. Kitty’s faith was not misplaced as Justin Davy received a prize in the ‘spoken word/poetry’ category for his film ‘Train 3505’. Davy was invited to attend the award ceremony in Cairo, an experience he later shared with his fellow workshop participants at Greatmore. Justin’s film has since gone on to other festivals and Greatmore is proud of both his achievement and the dedication of facilitators and partners like Kitty. Congratulations folks!! |
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The artists at The Woodstock Community Learning Centre |
THE CONTINENT MEETS THE ISLAND Africa I Nosy Art Exhange
During the otherwise quiet month of December, we had company from Greatmore resident artist Conor Ralphs and fellow artist/ gallerist/ project manager Tahina Rakotoarivony from Madagascar. The two took to the next level a project they conceptualised when they met in Madagascar earlier in the year. The collaboration was part of an exchange programme initiated by The Africa | Nosy (island) Art Exchange (ANAE) whose main aim is to link and forge networks of cultural practitioners from mainland Africa and its surrounding islands. With just under a month to host art workshops with youth from Project Lungisela (a youth development programme of Mamelani in Salt River) and eventually transferring those sketches to the walls of the Woodstock Community Learning Centre across the road, Tahina and Conor achieved more than they had imagined. Fellow Greatmore resident artists, artists from the /A Word of Art residency progamme and street artists from the area pitched in and joined in painting thirteen arches. This outreach project was supported by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport and is the first of more to come. |
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Igshaan & Sane with the works |
THE FREEDOM TO CREATE
Greatmore hopes to see our network of partners and collaborators grow in 2012 as was the case when Durban based curator Carol Brown invited Greatmore, as one of six groups from across the country, to participate in the Oware/ Aware project, an initiative by Art Works for Change and the Freedom to Create. Facilitators Igshaan Adams and Janet Ranson worked with women from Philani (a women’s development project in Khayelitsha) over three days, workshopping and creating a duo of artworks on giant wooden bowls around the theme of ‘Women’s Empowerment’. The final products were exhibited at the Freedom to Create Prize Ceremony at Kirstenbosch Gardens and involved complimentary tickets to the concert by Senegalese legend Baba Maal. Thank you Carol and the Freedom to Create Team. |
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(from left) Peter Clarke & Lionel Davis at the Strata walkabout |
THE VISITS
Greatmore welcomes visitors for walkabouts to meet our artists, view our exhibitions and get a clear impression of why spaces like Greatmore Studios form an important part of a robust visual arts landscape. Last year we had, among other, the annual walkabout of the first year students from the Ruth Prowse School of Art; the Friends of the National Gallery came for a walkabout of the last visiting artists exhibition Strata; and Greatmore hosted delegates of the African Arts Institute as part of its Africa 101 series. To inquire about walkabouts at the Studios, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call +27-21-447 9699. |
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THE NEW VISITING ARTISTS
We kick-start the year by welcoming five new artists to the Studios. Hagar Cygler(Israel), Khaya Witbooi (South Africa), Neda Tavallaee (Iran), Precious Mhone(Malawi) and Thandile Zwelibanzi (South Africa) have arrived this week to start their 3-month residency at the Studios.
Meet and greet the artists on Thursday 19 January at 12:30 at Greatmore Studios for presentations by the artists and some snacks. |
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THE NEXT APPLICATION DEADLINE
Our next visiting artists residency will take place from May to July 2012. Apply now. Deadline: 27 January 2012 Click here for more details and to download the application form |
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THE WEEKLY DRAWING CHALLENGE
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OUR AUNTIE YVONNE
Congratulations from everyone at Greatmore to Auntie Yvonne for her 71stBirthday last Friday (6 of January). Thank you to all those who have responded to our previous message about her recent cancer diagnosis. We are very sad to report that the cancer has spread and is now terminal. Her husband Derrick will be taking care of Greatmore’s security now that Yvonne has retired. Although, we are very limited in terms of funding to give Yvonne a well-deserved retirement package, Greatmore would like to show our appreciation and give our support to her and the family as best as we can. For this we ask for your help.
Whatever you can afford, please make your contributions for Yvonne
Electronic Transfers can be made to: Account Holder: Greatmore Studios Bank: Standard Bank Branch: Mowbray Branch Code: 2113 SWIFT Code: SBZAZAJJ IBT Number 4909 Account Number: 07 115 139 7 Reference: Yvonne + YOUR NAME
Or you can drop off contributions in an envelope at our office: Greatmore Studios 47-49 Greatmore Street Woodstock 7925
Please make sure you sign your contribution, so we know whom to thank.
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