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August 2006
EDITOR'S
LETTER
-
In
Celebration of some of Greatmore’s phenomenal womenTAG
salutes the
contribution of women to the studios…(read
more)
NEW
& NEXT @ GREATMORE STUDIOS
-
Two
to watch. TAG
welcomes
two new arrivals, Petros Ghebrehiwot (Eritrea)
and Coster Mkoki (Zimbabwe)
…(read more)
-
Making
the connection:
Thupelo 2006 workshop kicks off this week at the Durban
Cultural and Documentation Centre in
partnership with African art center …(read
more)
-
Artists
participate in introductory line etching workshop…(read
more)
-
EXPERIENCE
IT
OPPORTUNITIES IN RESIDENCY, COMPETITIONS & EXHBITION OPPORTUNITIES
-
Thupelo
Cape
Town & Greatmore Studios (TAG) call
for applications for Koekenaap Workshops …(read
more)
-
Thupelo
Cape
Town & Greatmore Studios (TAG) call
for applications for Rorke’s Drift Workshops …(read
more)
-
Art
Moves Africa invites applications
for grants …(read
more)
-
SAART
invites artists to participate in exhibition …(read
more)
-
VEO
SPRING ART FAIR invites artists to participate …(read
more)
-
Multimediations
launches lab workshops …(read
more)
-
The
Art and Culture Trust calls for nominations for 2006 awards
…(read
more)
-
Bemis
Center for Contemporary Arts, USA, calls for applications …(read
more)
-
Third
Annual Threads Show,
USA
invites artists for international submissions …(read
more)
DIARISE
IT
-
Greatmore
artists’ open up their studios to the community …(read
more)
EDITOR’S
LETTER
In
Celebration of some of Greatmore’s phenomenal women
This
month TAG
salutes the positive contributions women have made to the fabric of Greatmore
studios and the community at large, as cultural activists, artists in
residence, administrators who provide the necessary support for the artists
and others whose significant roles are more varied and multiple.
To
Polly
Alakija Nigerian
artist.Izabel Angerer .Lisa Brice.
Olivier Browne. Ena Carstens. Lizette Chirime . Natalie Craig. Kate Tarratt
Cross, Director ofFondation Sant
D'A Jakmel (FOSAJ) in Haiti.
Anne marie Currar .Nadja Daehnke .Kadiatou Diallo .Monika Dillier . Kitty
Dorje.
Mareli Esterhuizen
.Celina Ferreira. Yvonne George,
security personnel.Anna Gering. Sonya
Geyer .Uta Goebel-Gross. Liza Grobler .Yvonne Harvey.Dr. Reem Hassan,Director
of Atelier of Alexandria International workshop.Lalitha
Jawahiri.
Helen
Johnson. Susi Juvan. Twinky Laubscher.Alex Mamacos. Gabi Ngcobo,
arts administrator,co-curator of Trans-Cape 2007.
Thandeka Njoli. Sony Rademeyer. Janet Ranson. Paula Riessig. Nina Robens.
Karen Sanders .Berni Searle,renowned contemporary South African
artist. Sophie
Peters, South African printmaker and painter.
Doreen Southwood, South African multi-media artist.
Jill Trappler, Thupelo trustee.
Nadine Werner. ‘Tiggy & Izzy’,
Keep
rising!!
“...You
are a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal
woman
That’s
you...”
-adapted
from Maya Angelou’s Phenomenal Woman.
Tambudzai
Sibanda
Editor
in Chief
p.s.
apologies to everyone for sending the July edition again late last
week, we experienced a little technical mishap!!
NEW
& NEXT @ GREATMORE STUDIOS
Two
to watch
Coster
Mkoki
Background:
Originating from neighbouring Zimbabwe,
Coster began his career in the arena of engineering at Anglo American,
but made an aesthetic shift, emerging as a metal sculptor. He has
sat under internationally renowned Zimbabwean metal sculptor Tapfuma Gutsa
where he saw his skills encouraged. Coster is a self taught artist and
his present visit marks his second residency to Greatmore Studios.
Why
we love his work:
“I
must be driven by madness!”Coster
chuckles. He is not afraid to try new things, evident in the painful task
of importing stones from Zimbabwe
for his current very personal work which touches on themes of HIV/AIDS
as understood from the angle of a woman. Is it not problematic for a man
to speak for a woman? Perhaps, but Coster highlights the need for his
art to make a difference and explore different ways of seeing and speaking.
Art
back at home:
Coster
comments on how in Zimbabwe
now, “...art
is not ‘art for arts sake’; the struggle for survival has penetrated people’s
work. With the scattering of our people all over the world I am worried
that our most sought after skill that of stone sculpture will be diluted
and lost!”
Coster
recently completed a residency at the Bag Factory, Johannesburg
where he skilfully expressed, his experiences with xenophobia in South
Africa.
Petros
Ghebrehiwot
Background.
Born in Eritrea
a small nation in the north-east of the continent, Petros has an undergraduate
degree in science. His strong bond to the arts led him after many obstacles
to pursue a Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Kwa Zulu Natal,
Pietermaritzburg building on a theme he called ‘Secrecy of Shelters’.Petros
has recently completed his first residency at the Bag Factory in Johannesburg,
(a sister organisation to Greatmore Studios) and is presently resident
at our studios.
Why
we love his work.
“I
use quiet colours in my work to depict historical places that have significance
to me...I am attracted to the silence as it draws me into the hidden parts
of our lives both good and bad...In my body of work for ‘Secrecy of Shelters’,
I explored how our past is strongly present in our future; we cannot avoid
our past-it lives with us...”
Petros
is a self taught graphic designer whose oeuvre includes a melody of ceramic,
sculpture and oil painting, drawings and mixed media. Petros is making
an inquiry into the social world of crowd theory and looking to visualise
this knowledge in his work. This is a vast shift from his earlier mature,
in-depth study of the individual.
“...art
is not just enjoyment, you can communicate very meaningful things through
it...it is important to go deeper.”
Art
back at home:
“In
Eritrea
presently things are challenging because of the war...however the art
scene is progressing very well...there is a lot of influence by the Byzantine
religious paintings.”
Watch
this space as these two men continue to make significant marks in stone
and canvas provoking questions and exploring possibilities.
Making
the connection: Thupelo 2006, Durban
Thupelo
=To learn by example
“It
is going to be an interactive and
rejuvenating place...we don’t want to see what you do well, we
want to see how new you are, how refreshing you are,
what initiative you have , how much you exchange new ideas...”
-Jill
Trappler (Thupelo Trustee),
Introduction to Thupelo 2005.
“The
concentration of so much energy and commitment into a short period of
time encourages risk taking and experimentation that might not happen
in the artist's own studio… The strong emphasis on process rather than
product means that the work made and exhibited at the workshop open days
is often not finished work.”
-Robert
Loder
The
Thupelo workshops have a history of over 20years, and this year’s first
Thupelo workshop will take place at
Durban
Cultural and Documentation Centre from the 21 August
to the 25 August
2006.A team of 18 Durban based artists will work closely with
5 Cape Town artists, three of whom are from Greatmore Studios,
Garth
Erasmus(
GMS/Thupelo trustee) and Madi Phala, Velile Soha( GMS/Thupelo trustee).An
exhibition of work in progress will open at the African Art Center in
Durban on Friday 25 August at 5.30. Phone Andre or Celina for details,
0214479699.
Artists
participate in etching workshop
On
Friday 11 August, 2006 silence pervaded the studios at Greatmore, as most
artists huddled up in a single studio to participate in an introductory
etching workshop .The beautiful phenomenon of etching is that despite
the use of one template, each print with its network of lines emerges
so unique! The workshop drew an art teacher outside Greatmore, and former
resident Nigerian artist Polly Alakidja, to have a go at etching on a
copper plate any figure of image of their choice. It is always encouraging
to know that the network is vibrant and strong. Here are a few comments
by some of the artists to the workshop:
“100%.I
have been challenged, it was a learning experience...” Xolelani,
Cape Town
“I
liked the process”
- Petros
Ghebrehiwot,
Eritrea
“It
was very different from my sculpture stuff”-Costar
Mkoki, Zimbabwe
Jill
Trappler (one of our directors at Greatmore studios) describes the process
being, “long, slow and
quiet, it gave me time to acknowledge the natural drawing skills that
many of the artists have developed,” Many artists came in and out
through out the day. Eleanor, the instructor boasted of the enthusiasm
she received from the class.
Velile
Soha’s work exhibiting in Chicago
Velile
Soha, committee member at Greatmore Studios along side artists, Sipho
Hlati and Ernestine White will have his work featured in an exhibition
entitled Cape Town:
Contemporary Prints in Chicago,
USA from
15 September to 7 October, 2006. The group show accompanies
a solo exhibition by Tracey Rose.
Visit http://www.polvo.org
for more details.
IN THE LOOP...BEYOND GREATMORE STUDIOS
Snippets of my diary. TAG editor arrives in Newtown, JHB
Mid- July saw Greatmore Studios send Tambudzai Sibanda, current TAG editor to Johannesburg in a marketing capacity to build bridges with significant funding organisations. Here are a few of the entries in her diary, the people she met and the conversations she had, to keep you in the mix!
“...One flight and a three hour car ride through Johannesburg’s wild traffic and we’ve arrived at an exuberant, vibrant city punctuated by great art interventions. Crossing Nelson Mandela Bridge, I am blown away-it's what I like to call the hope of a nation-Newton, Johannesburg welcomes me!”
“ I’m here to do a little research ,examining Greatmore’s current funding streams, hopefully strengthening them and also figuring out how to tap into other streams to sustain our projects back at home!...who better to ask for advice than CEO of BASA( Business & Arts SA) , Nicola Danby? This is my 1st stop.”
“2nd stop...Bag Factory. The studio front is nondescript but inside you’ll find some of the richest most colourful, creative minds in the business. A sister organisation to Greatmore...I quickly learn just how similar and different the two studios are! Nice to know that each studio has its own flavour, its own unique ethos and pool of artists! The artists in residence and the trustees are so humble and accessible; I was quickly whisked away...”
“Jo’burg is a city on wheels famed for its quickly delivered food, James French, administrator at Bag Factory and I tuck into BLT sandwiches in under 15minutes and are fueled up for the rest of the day...its 13.00hrs and the day is only just beginning!!”
“An editor has got to remain on the ball...so while checking my mail in the artists’ resource centre at the Bag Factory I am humbled to meet one of Bag Factory’s senior directors and well renowned artist David Koloane- wow truly a man with presence who exudes great humility!!”
“Yup, this is my day! Newly appointed co-director of Bag Factory and Rorke’s Drift alumnus, Sam Nhlengethwa invites me for tea and a quick tour of Newtown. On route I get an exclusive visit of his studio; evident on canvas is his strong love for printmaking, jazz which he marries skillfully with his interests in interior design...we talk about a medley of things...William Kendridge,Nadine Godimer, collecting work and the future of black curator ship in South Africa...”
“...the tour continues past Bassline, Newtown’s most prestigious club and I get to stand next to the Brenda Fassie Statue-the legend herself!!...we make a brief visit to The Artist Proof Studio, a community-based printmaking studio that stands as a powerful symbol of the resilience of a people-a tragic fire brought the place to ashes some years past ,tragically killing many of its artists. It has since been rebuilt and serves as a memorial to its founders and those artists who died. I catch a team of women packing up after what seemed like a successful workshop using felt. There is a fresh smell of ink floating in the air, and you know the printers are hard at work upstairs...”
“Whilst heading off to the artists’ residence we have a memorable car breakdown on the streets of Johannesburg!!... Pat Mautloa, co-director of Bag Factory faithfully comes to the rescue.”
“The evening ends with late-night tea with former coordinator at Kuona Trust, Patricia Kyungu, who is currently enrolled as a master’s student at WITS in art and culture. We start talking about curating, theses...Zzzzzzz”
TRANS-CAPE exhibition postponed until March, 2007
CAPE Africa Platform has taken a strategic decision, supported by the City of Cape Town and the Provincial government, to postpone the Trans-Cape exhibition due to kick off late next month. The exhibition and accompanying fringe exhibitions will take place from late March to early May, 2007.For more information please contact Deborah Weber at Cape Africa Platform on 021 4883064 or submit queries to Deborah@capeafrica.org
Woodstock, a community with a story
The positioning of Greatmore Studios in Woodstock, a juncture between the established city and a residential area, has always been very strategic. Woodstock boasts a rich, kaleidoscope of colours reflected in brightly painted houses .The area is unique in its vibrant collision of different races, religions, varied dishes and cultures that co-exist, merge and marry even during the challenging times of apartheid. Wayne Ripepi, current city improvement district officer recently conducted a very informative tour of Woodstock with two newly arrived artists to Greatmore Studios, Coster Mkoki
( Zimbabwe) and Petros Ghebrehiwot (Eritrea).Ripepi displays an enormous passion for the area, a place he and many other prominent government officials have called home for several decades . The area is rich in history revealed by a brief visit to the 200year old treaty tree that marks a treaty signed by the British and the French in 1806.
Woodstock is replete with disused, derelict buildings -any artist’s paradise! Plans are underway to preserve and restore old churches and the old fire station into culture centres to provide a space in which artists and cultural activists can reach out to the youth in the community with their skills. There is a strong emphasis on building healthy, active community interaction.
“We need to give the kids something tangible to do, to distract them from drugs, sex and crime. Art we believe is a medium of expression that could improve things lot here.”
-Wayne Ripepi
Artists the city over are also recognising the uniqueness of Woodstock and The Old Biscuit Factory has recently been reworked to serve as a studio spaces for artists.
A quick visit to the Woodstock library reveals a thin reading culture in the area, as very few children are encouraged to use their imagination these days. “The arts are still not prioritised at most government schools,” Ripepi commented, reiterating the need to encourage the upliftment of the arts in the area. The walls of Woodstock in many areas bear the scars of text, the scribbles of many frustrated youth clambering over each other with their ‘tags’ trying to communicate- everyone has a story to tell, established artists and writers need to rise up in courage and coach the youth about constructive ways of expression.
EXPERIENCE IT
OPPORTUNITIES IN RESIDENCY, COMPETITIONS & EXHBITION OPPORTUNITIES
Thupelo Cape Town & Greatmore Studios (TAG) call for applications for Koekenaap Workshops
Thupelo Cape Town & Greatmore Studios (TAG) in collaboration with the Wesland Art Association and the Department of Arts & Culture in the Matzikama district invite artists to apply for a regional workshop to be held at Koekenaap in the Matzikama district from October 9-19, 2006. The workshop will culminate in an open day exhibition of all work in progress on 19 October. Travel costs to and from Koekenaap and specialist art materials need to be covered by the artists, while the organisers will cover all other expenses. Anyone who is in a position to try to obtain funding for their participation as well as travel to and from Koekenaap, please state this clearly on your application. Deadline for applications is the 31 August, 2006.For further details and application forms please contact Celina on (021) 447 9699.
Thupelo Cape Town & Greatmore Studios (TAG) call for applications for Rorke’s Drift Workshops , KwaZulu Natal
Thupelo Cape Town and Greatmore Studios invite artists to apply for a dynamic memorable, rural workshop to he held in November 2006 at Rorke’s Drift (http://www.rorkesdrift.org.za) in KwaZulu Natal. The workshops will take place from 11 to 26 November 2006. An open day will take place at the end of the workshop on 25 November. Travel costs to and from Johannesburg and specialist art materials need to be covered by the artists. Thupelo will cover all other expenses. Anyone who is in a position to obtain funding for their participation as well as travel to and from Johannesburg, please state this clearly on your application. Applications should be accompanied with a curriculum vitae ,images
(photographs or slides) of recent artwork, a motivational letter , a letter of reference and a copy of ID or passport .All particulars can be sent to artmore@mweb.co.za or mailed to The Thupelo Cape Town Selection Committee,PO Box 250, Cnr. 47-49 Greatmore & St James Street, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7915.Deadline for applications is 30 September .For any queries contact André Barnard on (027) 021 447 9699.
Click here to download pdf version of application form
Art Moves Africa invites applications for grants
Art Moves Africa (AMA) is an independent non-profit association offering grants to artists, arts professionals and cultural operators living and working in Africa for festivals, biennales and residencies. The deadline for submission of applications for projects planned between13 October 2006 and 12 February 2007 is 1 September ,2006.For more information, visit visit the Young Arab Theatre Fund website at
www.yatfund.org (after choosing a language preference, click on the orange bar on the right to enter the section dedicated to Art Moves Africa).Contact The AMA office at ama@yatfund.org
SAART invites artists to participate in exhibition
In an exhibition where performance meets fine arts, SAART in collaboration with Artcape and Cape Town City Ballet invite artists to submit work portraying themes of ballet, dancing and musicals .The exhibition accepts mediums in graphics, oil, pastels and photography and will be held at Artscape from 22 October to 4 November, 2006. Deadline for applications is 30 September, 2006. Artists are asked to send images and a C.V. to mail@saart.com. For more details contact Sanet 082491 5461or visit www.saart.com
VEO SPRING ART FAIR invites artists to participate
VEO is hosting a Spring Art Fair 2006at the recently restored historical Josephine’s' Mill, Boundary Road Newlands in October from 27 October to 29 October, 2006.Artists wishing to receive information on how to participate please email glynis@veo.co.za
Multimediations launches lab workshops
Cape in collaboration with City Varsity is offering a free, open course on contemporary African art to learners in matric, undergraduate students, teachers, artists and practitioners across the city. Multimediations is held weekly on Saturdays from 10-3.30pm at the Cape Lab on 71 Buitengragt Street, Cape Town. 2006. Early this month creative lab workshops were launched that hope to equip students with practical skills in various disciplines, while providing platforms for new collaborative exhibition and performance work. Eelectives include Living Installations (collaborative guerrilla performance interventions in public spaces), Documentary Production (all you need to know, from preproduction research, motivations and ethics to filming editing, copywriting and distribution), Hear Art Radio Journalism (intensive radio journalism and audio documentary interaction) and Mobile Frequency (a multi-media audio/ visual exploration that uses cell phone technology). For further details on the course please contact Cindy Poole on 021 488 3060 or email her at cindy@capeafrica.org.
The Art and Culture Trust calls for nominations for 2006 awards
The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) in association with Nedbank and CLASSIC feel Magazine will host the Annual 2006 ACT awards that serves to recognise the outstanding contributions by individuals, organisations and agencies that support and develop artistic creativity in the nation. Nominations are open and members of the public are invited to submit nominations for awards that include, The ACT Administrator Award 2006 for an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the administration of arts and culture and The ACT Cultural Development Project Award 2006 for a project concerned with community development in arts and culture to name a few. Nomination forms are available at www.classicfell.co.za, www.nedbankart.co.zaand www.act.org.za
Bemis Centre for Contemporary Arts, USA, calls for applications
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, in Nebraska, USA, is calling for international artists to apply for a three month residency program .The upcoming residency is scheduled for July-December 2007. The deadline for submissions in 30 September, 2006.To download an application form please visit http://www.bemiscenter.org/residency/residency_app.html
Third Annual Threads Show, USA invites artists for international submissions
Hosted by Mosaic Productions, this third annual fashion show preview at Johanson Gallery, USA.Threads is a contest where fine art means design, to create art for the body that can later translated to the fashion industry. Artists are invited to submit challenging work that reflects any of the three themes below that can be worn on the body. All materials are permitted to be used in the making of the ‘garment’. Themes include environment-nature and ones surroundings, the future, what’s ahead of us. The deadline submission of entries is 1 October, 2006.please visit www.mosaicproductiongallery.com for more details, or email Billy Hunter or Jeanne Moore at mosaicproduction@hotmail.com.
Greatmore Studios invites the community to come and view visiting and resident artists’ showcase of their work in an exhibition called Movement from 22 September to 27 September, 2006.The Studios will remain open during the weekend, only from 10am to 3pm.Members of the public are invited to an exhibition opening at 5 pm on the 22 September and a special closing collaborative event with TransCAPE will be held on Wednesday the 27th of September from 17h00 to 19h00. For more details call the Studio office at (021) 447 9699
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