Take a walk on the art side
01 June 2011
A collaborative partnership between key role players, the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) on behalf of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, the Directorate of the National Arts Festival and Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT) has resulted in a positive turn in the local arts industry.
“The fact that we have joined forces to not only support the established and emergent art scene, but to leverage it for the promotion of tourism indicates public and private sector are really starting to work in an integrated fashion,” said Mandlakazi Skefile, NMBT chief executive. “This is one of the major overall aims of government policy, and if it is used to support the arts industry all the better for our city.”
The enormous effort of the MBDA in revitalising the inner city, particularly with their public art programme, has contributed massively to this, added Skefile.
The MBDA has commissioned – through funding from the National Lottery Distribution Fund – 67 pieces of public art which will commemorate the 67 years of Nelson Mandela’s political life.
One of the strategic focus areas of the MBDA is the role of the creative industries in bringing new life to areas of urban decay. As part of this programme, five arts venues in the city have been identified for support as a pilot project, including Artec, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, the Athenaeum, Red Location museum and Ron Belling Gallery. There will be a total of eight fine art exhibitions, including Route 67 and Ceramics Southern Africa. This will form part of the National Arts Festival 2011 Programme. In turn, all venues will promote and support the marketing of the Arts Journey and the National Arts Festival.
“The inclusion on the National Arts Festival fringe programme was a major breakthrough for us,” said Arts Journey founder Anthony Harris. “The Arts Journey idea originated with the MBDA which wanted to feature the Route 67 public art pieces as part of a public arts journey.
“We decided it would be better to separate the Route 67 and incorporate it into a bigger picture of the Nelson Mandela Bay arts industry in totality. This year we will focus exclusively on the visual arts but this is a small part of what we would like it to be in the future. We want it to be a festival promoting all the arts – performing, visual, musical, multimedia – which is what we envisage for 2012.”
Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism was particularly pleased to be associated with such an initiative, which will enhance the experience of cultural tourists to Mandela Bay. The support programme has been made possible by a grant from the NLDTF to the MBDA.
The Arts Journey was created as an umbrella body of Arts Institutions in Nelson Mandela Bay which, for the National Arts Festival 2011, consists of:
- ROUTE 67 (67 public art works in and surrounding the Donkin Reserve). The Public Artworks and interventions, commissioned by the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA), on behalf of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality with the financial support of the National Lotto (NLDTF). A mammoth task of upgrading the Central area of Port Elizabeth focusing on the heritage site of the Donkin Reserve and surrounds has already been transformed and a number of works and interventions installed. The final completion of all the work will be in December 2011.
- The newly renovated ATHENAEUM Arts Building will focus on an exhibition “ART and Artists of the Eastern Cape” showcasing the work of leading professional artists and emerging Artists of the Eastern Cape – an accomplishment of notable proportions. There will also be a book launch of the same title, of the participating artists in honour of Tossie Theron, who has previously published two such books. The Eastern Cape Potters Association will be exhibiting work of established potters and ceramic artists from across the region, along with emerging clay potters, all highlighting the diversity of clay as a medium for artistic expression and utilitarian use. In keeping with the aims of the Association for the advancement of expertise, three Eastern Cape outreach programmes will be included in this exhibition.
- The Keiskamma Ceramics Project, located in Hamburg – a small coastal village situated between East London and Port Elizabeth, is a community project, it is assisted by the Keiskamma Canada Foundation and individual sponsors.
- Divue Kilea, (meaning Earth and Fire) in the small town of Aberdeen is a skills development project initiated by the Department of Economic Development and Enviromental Affairs. Here pottery skills are being taught to residents who will establish a co-operative outlet for the pottery produced, ultimately improving the lives of the people with a sustainable income.
- PE Schools Outreach Programme is the initiatives of students of NMMU Ceramic Department who are also members of Ceramics SA-EC. They spend their free time in schools of the Northern areas of Port Elizabeth where funding and facilities for art instructions are not available.
- artEC (former EPSAC) will host a curated exhibition titled “Finding Kaggen” – a selected exhibition of work exploring the “Thikoloshe”. As Nick Hauser, the Curator of the exhibition says “although Thikoloshe is currently most frequently represented as a surrogate for human misdemeanours, there is a pool of imagery that stretches from Rico and Stephen Francis’s Madam & Eve cartoons to bite marks on goat hide that demands our critical attention. I’d like the public to be able to view everything from Granny Gloria’s watercolour “tokolos” to Waddy Jones’s Evil Boy video and Churchill Madikida’s meditations. Come on William.” The exhibition is open to all artists in South Africa.
- NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN ART MUSEUM – Two Exhibitions at the Art Museum:
- SKIN Exhibition: The Friends of the Art Museum will host an inaugural exhibition titled “SKIN”. The selected, curated exhibition is open to all artists resident in Mandela Bay who are requested to respond to the theme “SKIN”. As Bretten-Ann Heath, Chair of the Friends and selection panel says “Extensive efforts have been made by the friends of the art museum to reach all areas of the metro in making this opportunity available to all. By getting under the ‘skin’ of the visual arts, the friends hope to showcase the best that the visual arts of the metro have to offer around a selected curated thematic exhibition”
- Emma Taggart (Exhibitions Curator at the Art Museum) will curate an exhibition “Weird and Wonderful” with works taken from the Art Museums permanent collection.
- RED LOCATION ART GALLERY. The first exhibition that will be held at this international award winning Red Location Cultural Precinct is the Earnest Cole photographic Exhibition.The exhibition will be a large selection of the works of a (then) young Black South African photojournalist, Ernest Cole.
- RON BELLING ART GALLERY will host an exhibition “NMMU CONTEMPORARY”. Staff, Alumni and senior students of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University School of Art will showcase their work. The School of Music, Art and Design at the NMMU incorporates the oldest school of visual arts in the country, established in 1882. Today, with its focus on cross disciplinarily and the acquisition of a critical balance between conceptual thinking, crafting and professional skills, the school produces highly successful, individualistic graduates in the fine arts, photography and design, many of whom are making their mark nationally, both in competitions and in their disciplinary and professional areas.
For more information visit:
www.artsjourney-nelsonmandelabay.co.za/2011-national-arts-festival.html
www.artsjourney-nelsonmandelabay.co.za
www.artsjourney-nelsonmandelabay.co.za/route-67-public-art-commissions.html
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