July
2006
this month at
a glance
EDITOR’S
LETTER ...read
more
NEW
& NEXT @ GREATMORE STUDIOS
- The
Journey of 4 A review...read more
- Arrivals:
2 minutes with emerging curator and sculptor Smooth.
Despite funding constraints TAG
introduces a few new faces to Greatmore Studio and says farewell
to resident artists Polly Alakija and Tyrrell Thaysen...read
more
- Making
the connection:Thupelo
Cape Town
& Greatmore Studios (TAG) call
for applications for Koekenaap Workshops ...read
more
IN
THE LOOP...BEYOND GREATMORE STUDIOS
- Wonder
is back. Resident artist gives TAG
a brief update about his travels to Europe
...read more
EXPERIENCE
IT
OPPORTUNITIES IN RESIDENCY, COMPETITIONS & EXHBITION OPPORTUNITIES
- Batapata
invites artists to apply for International Residency in
Zimbabwe...read
more
- The
Red Gate invites artists to participate in an international exchange
in China...read
more
- CAPE
Africa Platform announces X-Cape...read more
- ‘Voyage
Ensemble’ exhibition invites South African artists to exhibit their
work ...read more
- Call
for entries for Southbank Architectural competition...read
more
- Artists
are invited to submit work for the Vuleka Art Competition...
read
more
- absolutearts.com is
calling for applications...read more
DIARISE
IT
VIEW
IT
- AMAC
hosts ‘Artists for Artists’ Benefit Concert and Art Auction...read
more
EDITOR’S
LETTER
Its
work as usual at Greatmore Studios and despite an exodus of several
resident and visiting artists, the momentum is strangely maintained!
The end of last month saw the converging of many friends and family
to Greatmore Studios sharing in a lovely evening to celebrate
and showcase the works of four visiting artists. The excitement of
opening their worked studios to the public, and allowing people to
tread into their sacred spaces also filtered to some of the resident
artists. Polly Alakija from Nigeria
and local artist, Tyrrel Thaysen are two resident artists who have
waved goodbye to the studios this month. We wish them the very best
of success. In an earlier interview, Polly spoke of Greatmore Studios
as a ‘venue that helps people to develop their creativity; a space
in which artists can work and showcase their pieces, it is definitely
valuable for everybody.’ So scroll down and DIARISE
the next visiting artists’ exhibition. Until then keep warm
and if you are in the area, feel free to visit our studios in Woodstock
to marinate in the sweet exchange of artists at work!
TAMBU LAVERNE SIBANDA
Editor in Chief
p.s.
Please support the Artists for Artist
Benefit Concert hosted by AMAC this weekend - we really have
a collective responsibility to each other as artists!
For
information about Greatmore Studios and how you can generously donate
to our projects, log on to www.greatmoreart.org
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NEW & NEXT @ GREATMORE
STUDIO
The
Journey of 4: A review
June
23rd saw the opening of The Journey of Four, a collaborative
exhibition hosted by
four visiting artists, Capetonian artist Xolelani Pat Matshikiza,
Avhashoni Mainganye from Limpopo Province, Yeul Byung Lee from Korea
and Gabriel Rueda Pacheco a Puerto Rican, resident in New York.
The
evening opened with a heartfelt welcome by charismatic resident artist
Madi Phala who spoke enthusiastically of “the journey just beginning...”
The group show drew a wide range of people, from young children to
a more mature audience. Madi spoke elaborately of the symphony of
working sounds that had become a part of the Greatmore environment;
the sounds of Zimbabwean, Caribbean,
Korean and South Africans at work in their own studios converged to
speak a similar language. Greatmore Studios was also privileged to
share in the celebration of Committee member and artist Lionel Davis’
birthday. With a backdrop of the sweet smell of cinnamon flavoured
red wine, freshly made butternut soup and the playful sounds of a
local jazz band the art spoke. Smooth, a Nigerian curator and one
of July’s freshest faces to Greatmore spoke of the exhibition showcasing
art from what he dubs ‘the silent territories’. The exhibition strongly
resonates with the history of Greatmore, he commented, being a place
that seeks to give the voiceless a platform to speak on their own
terms. Lee’s work was strong with canvases bearing the traces of animals,
and obscure figures. Xolelani boasting much energy of his youth, displayed
the most works that showed a range of different techniques. His mixed
media paintings revealed strong deployment of colour; as he worked
old garments into his paintings, celebrating what seems like a life
that was.
“It
has been a learning experience...I
am finally getting into a rhythm...”-Xolelani
Pat Matshikiza
The
exhibition was fluid and loose and the medium of each work was so
diverse, yet there was a definite thread that linked the humanity
of each artist. Caribbean artist,
Gabriel Rueda Pacheco, imported the wood for his sculptures from various
locations around the world making reference to the movement of people
that has birthed a Caribbean Diaspora. His use of old coke cans embedded
into his wooden sculptures seems to say something about the comodification
of identity in contemporary society .In keeping with the fluid and
loose nature of the exhibition, Gabriel insisted on fellow sculptor
Mambakwedza helping him do some last minute sawing on his sculptures.
Well
renowned Limpopo artist Avhashoni,
presented a series of collages and other watercolour pieces. Using
the landscape as a theme for his watercolour paintings, he fragments
reality, creating something new and rather strange. Reminiscent of
our personal journeys, it is quite remarkable that such unassuming
subject matter, as landscape painting, could resonate so broadly.
Is the artist suggesting that our lives are a myriad of colours and
shapes and that we can create from it what we want?
The
rather intimate exhibition also allowed members of the public free
access to the worked studios of some of the resident artists, like
Polly Alakija from Nigeria
whose portrayal of the daily workings of buxom women speaks strongly
of the rich lives of people in her homeland. Zimbabwean sculptor Mambakwedza,
unveiled two rather difficult sculptures, ‘Spiritual warfare’ and
‘Fighting the Spirit within’ rendered in wood. The movement and tension
captured in the writhing, wrestling figures is most extraordinary.
His superior talent in sculptor has naturally led him to be selected
as one of 70 artists exhibiting at Trans-Cape exhibition in September.
( http://www.capeafrica.org
). Congratulations
are in order for the exposure that it will afford him!
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Arrivals.
TAG
welcomes some new faces to Greatmore Studios, Coster Mkoki from Zimbabwe,
Petros Ghebrehiwot from Ethiopia
and Uguchukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi from Nigeria.
We are also happy to announce that artists Xolelani Pat Matshikiza
and Yeul Lee have extended their residencies until September. Greatmore
Studios as usual remains a cocktail of cultures and nations!
2minutes
with emerging curator and sculptor
Smooth
Meet
Ugochukwu-Smooth Nzewi, better known as Smooth, he possesses a beautiful
mind, and is not scared to take a few risks in the arts arena, if
it is a pedestal to learn from and move to the next level!
He
is currently pursuing a Post-Graduate Diploma in Museum and Heritage
Studies, in a Programme jointly administered by UCT, UWC and Robben
Island. Smooth
is making the most of his time in Cape
Town and has managed to squeeze in a short
residency at Greatmore Studios, finding his expression in sculpture,
pastel painting and installation. TAG
talked to him about his experiences in Cape
Town, Sessions eKapa and Thupelo.
TAG:
Can you tell us a little about your experiences in Cape
Town thus far?
SMOOTH:
Well, like the saying goes, “so far, so good.” I have been having
a good academic, educative and social time. But it is hard for one
not to be aware of the surrounding and the matrix of Cape
Town’s cultural dynamics. Cape
Town is still divided along old colour-coded
lines of the past. This I have experienced in the social and cultural
life of the city. It is so strongly felt in the air! I mean you still
have predominantly white clubs and black clubs! When I go to
art gallery openings, it is difficult not to ask, where are all the
blacks?
TAG:
You are black, Nigerian and an artist in Cape
Town. How have you found being on what most
would consider the ‘margins’ of society?
SMOOTH:
I do not think I am in that idea of “margins”. If you mean the perception
of the Nigerian in Cape Town, I am
not ignorant about the negative stereotyping of Nigerians here in
South Africa,
which also extends to other big cities of the world. It is a burden
most of us will have to bear. Nigerians are imagined as arrogant,
‘smart’ and drug dealers. But again, some people are also aware especially
in the art circles of the quality and depth of the Nigerian as a very
important figure in the discourse of internationalist art. In truth
though, I have not really experienced the legendary South African
xenophobia. Maybe, I have played safe so far, and kept my movement
within a reified crowd or perhaps my visits to Cape
Town have been rather cushioned in some sense.
TAG:
What led you to come to the city?
SMOOTH:
I wanted some time off to study in a new environment, I was offered
a scholarship, and Cape Town
called!
TAG:
This is not your first time to Cape
Town. You co-ordinated one of the mini-laboratories
during Sessions eKapa, 2005.What was you experience like?
SMOOTH:
I had the usual trepidation of not knowing how my ideas will be received
as well as how people will react to the mini-lab. The mini-lab project
‘Long walk from the centre to the periphery’ was conceptually strong,
but having applied for the project from Nigeria,
I was not on the ground which meant my understanding of the locality
and its immanent contestations and negotiations were slightly off
the mark. However, the project dealt with congruent issues that affect
artists practicing in Africa. It
really didn’t matter much if the environment was Cape
Town or Lagos or Nairobi.
The mini-lab explored ideas that will be given a greater platform
in the upcoming Trans-
Cape biennale,
which hopes to extend the subtext of periphery by bringing more fringe
artists into the spotlight.
The
mini-lab was positively critiqued and I must say that the level of
criticality in South Africa
art-wise in comparison to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa
is quite high. One of the criticism touched on the mini-lab exploring
an over-treaded path in the manner it addressed the binary of centre
and periphery. However, the mini-lab was intended to address those
issues that though over-glossed in some ways; still remain highly
relevant to the dynamics of art praxis in the continent and its relation
to the international art scene. In a way, it was intended to mediate
the dynamics of relations between Empire and silent territories, especially
Africa.
TAG:
You have ‘done some time’ in Kenya
at theKuona Trust and was
even involved in Thupelo in 2004.Tell us more.
SMOOTH:
It was great; I was in the Thupelo Workshop in 2004 and I got to meet
a lot of interesting artists from other parts of Africa and South
Africa. It was a very good opportunity
for me to feel the beat of art practice of other parts of Africa
and establish some new friendships. The experience at Thupelo was
worthwhile, I met Lionel and Wonder from Greatmore Studios, did a
collaborative installation with a Ugandan artist and had my first
Cape Town experience…bars, the night life, and all that.
Kuona
Trust Residency was in May last year and it was a residency programme
for public art projects. I was in residence with an American and Japanese.
It was also an opportunity for interaction with local artists, some
who I had already met in the past in some other programmes. I explored
the idea of built environment as a metaphor in engaging the ephemeral
nature of existence in Africa. It
was also a moment of soul searching for me as I tried to resolve through
my art, the riddle of dehumanisation by exploring the trope of material
culture of the past and its post-modern equivalent in a continent
still struggling with the process of modernising. I also experienced
Nairobi
and picked up a couple of Kiswahili words which I am so proud about.
TAG:
What are your expectations for your time at Greatmore?
SMOOTH:
I am hoping that I will have a very successful time, to produce some
challenging works and give my best, and as well as form some cordial
relationships with other artists. I just want to do art!
Ugochukwu-Smooth
Nzewi is also a writer and a cultural activist based in Nigeria.
An active participant in cultural development on the continent he
is a member of The Pan-African Circle of Artists, The Visual
Orchestra, The Art Republic and the Congress for Cultural Action in
West Africa.
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Making
the connection: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.
Similar workshops have taken place over the last 10 years, and encourage
artists to work together, experiment with their own technique and
also share and exchange ideas, experiences and disciplines with other
artists from different backgrounds. The energy cultivated at the workshops
often spills out to the community and this helps to uplift the visual
literacy of many previously disadvantaged people and move the art
from the mainstream to the peripheries.
“These
workshops try and contain the artists and the artists contain each
other...the process is fluid and when people settle down new things
begin to emerge...”- Jill Trappler
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.
For
further details and application forms please contact Celina on (021)
447 9699 at Greatmore Studios. Deadline for applications is the 31st
of August.
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IN
THE LOOP...BEYOND GREATMORE STUDIOS
Wonder
is back. Resident artist gives TAG
a brief update about his travels to Europe.
Resident
artist Wonder Marthinus returns to Greatmore Studios after spending
six months aboard, traveling and working between Switzerland,
the Netherlands,
Germany and southern
parts of France.
Wonder told TAG that he was
serving a 3 month residency in the southern part of Basel,
Switzerland in
preparation for a collaborative exhibition he participated in Germany.
Sponsored by Pro Helvetia,
Wonder boasts having traveled to numerous galleries in Switzerland
and he speaks of his travels having opened up his artistic network
internationally.
“I
got to meet up with Monica, Jo' and Anna who all have served residencies
at Greatmore. I had a base immediately on my entry to Switzerland
and that was great!”
Wonder
was well received by officials both in Switzerland
and in Germany
.He is due to address new visiting artists later this month with more
details of his art practice and his exchange in Switzerland.
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EXPERIENCE
IT
OPPORTUNITIES
IN RESIDENCY, COMPETITIONS & EXHIBITION OPPORTUNITIES
Batapata
invites artists to apply for International Residencyin
Zimbabwe
Batapata
in Zimbabwe,
a sister organisation to Greatmore Studios invites mature and independent
artists producing conceptual artworks to submit applications to be
considered for an international residency. The successful artist will
be required to teach and work with art students, conduct a workshop
with Zimbabwean artists and put up an exhibition of his/her work.
The
residency runs from 15 September
to 15 November 2006. Interested candidates are asked to send
6-10 images and cv. Images must be 72dpi and approx 40 pixels on the
smallest axis. The title, date and medium of each work are required.
Visit http://www.artshost.org/batapata/form.htm
for an application from. The deadline
for submission is 1 August 2006
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The
Red Gate invites artists to participate in an international exchange
in China
Red
Gate Residency Programs provide artists, curators, writers and academics
with an opportunity to live and work in China.
Red Gate has a number of fully self-contained apartments and studios
available which are ready to use. More information on this residency
can be obtained from their website which is http://www.redgategallery.com/residency.php
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CAPEAfrica
Platform announces X-CAPE
CAPE Africa Platform invites
artists and cultural practitioners from across Cape
Town and South Africa
to participate in X-CAPE, the artist-led initiative of the TRANS
CAPE exhibition.
X-CAPE which will perform as a fringe exhibition to TRANS
CAPE will run parallel with
the biennale beginning September 23 for 4 weeks in Cape
Town. X-CAPE welcomes participation from any
creative genre - from exhibitions, events and performances, to street
art and spoken word that coincide with the TRANS CAPE exhibition which
is expected to include leading curators, critics and journalists from
across the globe. All participating events will be included in the
TRANS CAPE Guide Book and exhibition signage will be supplied to all
participating venues. To participate in X-CAPE artists must complete
a registration form before the 30 July 2006. Registration forms are
available at the Cape Africa Platform Offices situated at 71
Buitengracht Street, Cape Town
or at
http://www.capeafrica.org .For
more information call Deborah Weber on (021) 488 3064.
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‘Voyage
Ensemble’ exhibition invites South African artists to exhibit their
work.
Scalabrini Centre of Cape
Town (SCCT) invites South African artists
to exhibit their work in an upcoming exhibition entitled ‘Voyage Ensemble’.
This initiative aims to address issues of xenophobia by fostering
relationships between refugee and local artists. The exhibition hopes
to showcase the individual works of 6 professional artists from Congo,
Burundi, Mozambique
and Angola
.Six South African artists are invited to also exhibit with this theme
in mind. A documentary reflecting the lives and work of the participants
will form part of the exhibition and be included on a CD in its brochure.
The exhibition runs parallel to exhibitions at
TRANS CAPE in September as an exhibition that reflects the
movement African people and their cultures ,examining
the political and social realities artists find themselves
in as a result of that Journey. For further details please visit the
Centre on 47 Commercial
Street, Cape Town.
Contact Miranda Madikane on 0833803572 for further enquires about
workshops that the Centre is hosting. For opportunities to participate
contact Sylvie Groschatau-Phillips (curator) on 072 624 54 93 or (021)
447 04 20
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Call
for entries for Southbank Architectural Competition
Africa
Centre Southbank has launched a competition entitled ‘Architecture,
Sustainability, and African Arts’. The competition calls on architects
and designers to define and apply new spatial approaches in order
to create a community that will serve as a model for sustainable living
elsewhere on the continent and beyond. Interested artists are asked
to visit http://www.southbank-competition.org or
contact Hannah le Roux/Daniel Irurah at info@southbank-competition.com for
further details. Submission deadline is 7 August 2006
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Artists
are invited to submit work for the Vuleka Art Competition
The
Art Association of Bellville in association with Sanlam will be hosting
an annual art competition for all artists over the age of 18 who have
not yet had a solo exhibition. The deadline for entries is 6 September,
2006.For further details please contact Maxie Oosthuizen on (021)
918 2301 or email on maxie.oosthuizen@capetown.gov.za or
info@artb.co.za.
Visit
http://www.artb.co.za/vulekaentry.rtf
for more info. The exhibition
of selected works will run from 13 September to 18 September.
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absolutearts.com is
calling for applications
The
internet arts website, absolutearts.com is
accepting applications for the Premiere Portfolio - an online sales/marketing
tool for artists around the world. The Premiere Portfolio aids an
elite group of artists in promoting their work via the Internet. Work
will be exposed to millions of visitors on the wwar.comand
absolutearts.comwebsites
and a newsletter. Entry fee is US$25 and yearly membership is US$75,
to promote artists work online. Interested artists can apply at: http://www.absolutearts.com/premiereportfolio/premiere_portfolio.html.
Requirements are 4 images, a bio and an artist statement. Artists
who are not selected receive a regular portfolio for 6 months. (US$18
at regular price).Deadline for entries is September 15, 2006 .For
further enquires contact Jodi Melfi at
callforentries@absolutearts.com
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DIARISE
IT
Visiting
artist collaborative exhibition, 22 September, 2006
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VIEW
IT
AMAC
hosts ‘Artists for Artists’ Benefit Concert and Art Auction
Sunday
16 July, 2006 at 5pm, marks ‘Artists
for Artists’ Benefit Concert and Art Auction hosted by the Arts and
Media Access Centre (AMAC) at the Artscape. Originally known as the
Community Arts Project (CAP), this NGO has been the training
ground and resource centre for many emerging and established black
artists since 1977. This initiative was birthed in a bid to solve
a current funding crisis that has left the centre uncertain of future
projects. Artists that will be featured include Oscar
Petersen (Joe Barber), the Word is Woman, Jazzart, Neo Muyanga (Blk
Sonshine), Lee-Ann van Rooi (Fishy Fêshuns), Hilton Schilder and Mac
Mackenzie. The Art Auction features work by Falko, Ian Pells, Chris
Webster, Vuyile Voyiya, Ilana Slomowitz, Donovan Ward, Kemang Wa-Lehulere
and Khaya Sineyile .The works are currently exhibited at the Artscape.
Tickets are R150 and can be booked through AMAC on 021 465 3660 or
benefitconcert@amac.org.za
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