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 Wednesday 10 : A Meeting of action at JAG on the current state of art and freedom of speech, Today @ 3 pm, JAG, Jhb. (10 Mar 10)
On Sunday, 07 March 2010 the Thami Mnyeli and Medu retrospective catalogue was launched at the Johannesburg Art Gallery. In response to a panel discussion with regard to the role of the artist in the Struggle, concerns were raised about the current state of art in South Africa. Recent discussions in the media have brought to the fore issues of freedom of speech as well as the meaning of art in nation building. At this meeting several members of the art community mobilized to take action in the name of our democracy.A meeting for action at JAG will take place on Wednesday, 10 March 2010 @ 3pm. [more...] |
 Future Generation Art Prize (09 Mar 10)
A new high profile art prize is taking entries from all over the world for any artists under the age of 35. The prize is founded by billionaire Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk, and offers a huge $100 000 prize, as well as a group exhibition for the shortlisted artists at the PinchukArtCentre in Kiev, one of the largest and most active new contemporary art institutions in Eastern Europe; and, probably the most exciting, mentorship by Andreas Gursky, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and Takashi Murakami. [more...] |
 Tuesday 09 : A Meeting of action at JAG on the current state of art and freedom of speech, Tomorrow 10 March, JAG, Jhb. (09 Mar 10)
On Sunday, 07 March 2010 the Thami Mnyeli and Medu retrospective catalogue was launched at the Johannesburg Art Gallery. In response to a panel discussion with regard to the role of the artist in the Struggle, concerns were raised about the current state of art in South Africa. Recent discussions in the media have brought to the fore issues of freedom of speech as well as the meaning of art in nation building. At this meeting several members of the art community mobilized to take action in the name of our democracy.A meeting for action at JAG will take place on Wednesday, 10 March 2010 @ 3pm. [more...] |
 Arts and Culture Minister responds to her critics (08 Mar 10)
Linda Stupart: The Minister of Arts and culture responded to criticisms of her walkout of a major exhibition, Innovative Women with a press release yesterday, which, while it claims that the minister "rejects homphobia", clearly indicates a complete ignorance of art practice, feminist and post colonial discourses and, in statements reminiscent of Giulianis famed silencing of the arts in New York in the 90s, indicates a hugely disturbing trend towards censorship in the arts in South Africa. And here we thought mismanagement of funding and budget cuts were the DAC's major problems. [more...] |
 Press Release:Festival of choices: The Absa KKNK turns 16 (08 Mar 10)
“It is a privilege for Absa to be a part of the KKNK, which can be regarded as one of the success stories of the past sixteen years of democracy. We are extremely proud that South Africa’s most popular festival is celebrating its 16th birthday and that we are involved as title sponsor for the fifth year.” These are the words of Happy Ntshingila, Absa Executive Director: Group Marketing and Communication. [more...] |
 Friday 05: Opening @ 9 am on Saturday 06 March, Here & there, an exhibition featuring works by various artists at Carol Lee Fine Art: Upstairs@Bamboo, Johannesburg (05 Mar 10)
Here & there” featuring works by Guy du Toit, Diek Grobler, Jaco Benade, Cobus Haupt, Liekie Fouche, Kobus Walker, Angela Banks, Lori Schappe-Youens, Phillipa Allen, Louis Olivier, Kagiso Pat Mautloa, and Eugenie Marais. Exhibition ends 14 March.< [more...] |
 New Project for Athiptara Ruga (05 Mar 10)
Athi-Patra Ruga presented the premiere performance of his new Ilulwane Project at traditional cool-kid hangout, EVOL (which is ‘love’ spelled backwards) last Monday night, demonstrating his trademark flair for elaborate costume, intense physical performance, violence, pathos and the absurd and carnivalesque. [more...] |
 Thursday 04: William Kentridge Opera opens at the New York Metropolitan (04 Mar 10)
Tomorrow night, March 5, William Kentridge's production of The Nose, a little known avant-garde Shostakovich opera, will be opening at the Metropolitan in New York to much international anticipation and a close to sold-out audience; making him the first South African to direct an opera in this premiere performance space. See the interview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiApgeMKvDo [more...] |
 Recomended: Gallery opening tonight: Swallow my Pride, Blank Projects (03 Mar 10)
An exhibition of 'queer art', curated by Margaret Stone, Dale Washkansky, Lizza Littlewort and William Martin, is opening at blank projects tonight. It's been a while since we've seen a focussed curated show in Cape Town (barring, of course, mega shows like Dada South) and this first-time curatorial endeavour for Stone, Littlewort, Martin and Washkanksy looks set to turn some heads in the gay and straight communities. [more...] |
 Opening tonight @ 6pm " swallow my pride" at Blank Projects (03 Mar 10)
“Swallow my pride” a group exhibition featuring works by Zanele Muholi, Andrew Putter, Pierre Fouché and Werner Ungerer, Ernst Van der Wal, Lizza Littlewort, Robert Hamblin, James Taylor, Julie Donald, Kai Lossgott, Jody Paulsen , Igshaan Adams, Genevieve Louwe and Johke Steenkamp, William Martin, Lindsay Nel, Andrea Brand, and others.Exhibition curated by Margaret Stone, Dale Washkansky, Lizza Littlewort and William Martin.Ends 20 March. [more...] |
 Alex Dodd Column: March (02 Mar 10)
When I heard that Peter Eastman was exhibiting at Co-op, Whatiftheworld¡¯s sleek new Joburg satellite, I was quick to diarise the date of his Thursday evening opening soiree in Braamfontein. Although my appreciation of his work has always been something of a staccato affair, punctuated by the blur of distance between Joburg¡¯s 26¢ª10 South and Cape Town¡¯s 33¢ª55 South, I¡¯ve often been struck by his fleet and streety, clean cut graphic approach to creative production. [more...] |
 Jo-Mare Rabe Column: Blue Chip (01 Mar 10)
ROI. I am almost completely convinced that most of you would know what those three letters stand for, but until a few days ago, I did not. "What's the expected ROI?", I was asked by a board member at a meeting I attended to discuss a potential branding and marketing project I have become involved in. I could not answer her question. [more...] |
 Wooster Collective in Cape Town to Meet Artists this Friday Night (01 Mar 10)
Marc and Sarah of the Wooster Collective are in Cape Town this weekend, after presenting at Design Indaba yesterday. The Wooster Collective is one of the most important and longstanding art blogs around, and certainly the most important resource for street art in the world, launching the now well-known culture of street art (as opposed to traditional graffiti) and many of its major proponents like Banksy and Swoon, into the public imagination. [more...] |
 JOBURG ART FAIR COMING UP (01 Mar 10)
With Spier Contemporary opening in a few weeks, Joburg Art Fair at the end of March and even the colour colloquium in Grahamstown, South Africa's gallerists, artists, critics and theorists are gearing up for a busy March! [more...] |
 Peter Machen: Durban Column: March 10: (26 Feb 10)
The tale of Andries Botha's latest elephants, stone-and-gabion creatures trying against the odds to emerge from the soil of eThekwini, reminded me of another eThekwini narrative, one that was sadly never visually documented, but which lives on in the minds of many Durbanites. Durban – both the municipal City and the bulk of its residents – has never looked too kindly on graffiti or embraced street art with much fervour. [more...] |
 Editor's choice: IOL: 'Visionary rebel with a cause', artist dies aged 60 (26 Feb 10)
By Jason Warner After a short battle with cancer, one of South Africa's respected artists, described as a "visionary rebel with a cause", has died. Barbara Jackson, 60, life partner of world-famous "functional art" creator Carrol Boyes, died at the home she shared with Boyes and their daughters Kim Jackson-Meltzer, 34 and Martine Jackson-Clotz, 31, on Saturday morning. [more...] |
 Show Review: Our contemporary African symbolist (26 Feb 10)
Exhibition: Ndikhumbule Ngqinmbi at the AVA Gallery until March 5. Review: Melvyn Minnaar In his famous Symbolist Manifesto of 1886, Jean Moréas declared art’s war on “plain meanings, declamations, false sentimentality and matter-of-fact description”. It’s pretty much what we experience in this second exhibition by this rising star. All that, plus a dense, intriguing African mysticism. [more...] |
 Show Review: An ancient medium redeployed (26 Feb 10)
Exhibition: Gina Heyer at the I Art gallery until February 25. Review: Melvyn Minnaar In her painting Fragment (oil on board, 2008-2009), a curious electric blue light glimmers ghostly on the wall to the right in the picture’s high geometric construction. It shimmers like neon ectoplasm and seems to pull one’s eye backwards and forwards from the ‘ordinariness’ of the image: a corner on a stairwell landing. [more...] |
 Swelco Cape sale results: Some good prices at Swelco auction (25 Feb 10)
By Michael Coulson While the sell-through rate by number at the first art auction of the year may have disappointed auction house Stephan Welz & Co, and four of the top estimate lots went unsold, the lots that did sell fetched good prices. While the overall gross (including buyer’s premium) of about R8.6m trailed the low estimate of R10.5m, the average price realised of R46 140 (admittedly, including buyer’s premium) topped the average pre-sale low estimate of about R45 140. [more...] |
 Botha's Elephants' Fate Still Undecided (25 Feb 10)
By Peter Machen: The fate of the elephants constructed by sculptor Andries Botha and his team of workers on a freeway island in Durban remains unknown at the time of writing, although clouded with rumour. It has now been widely reported that Botha's team was told to cease construction several weeks ago after a man in a black SUV stopped on the freeway, where the sculptures were being built from stone and steel gabions, and ordered that the work be halted - apparently because the elephants are a symbol of the IFP and Durban is an ANC city. That man was identified by the workers as John Mchunu, regional chairperson of the ANC, although Mchunu has reportedly denied this. [more...] |
 Stauart Birds: Two fingers show at Youngblackman Gallery, Cape Town (25 Feb 10)
With a remarkable sense of timing, provocative artist Stuart Bird opened Two Fingers at YOUNGBLACKMAN last night. Bird is well known for criticising Zuma's policies in the past, with his Zuma Biscuits, which comprised of giant Zoo Biscuits imprinted with images of a skirt, shower, machine gun and Zulu shield causing much controversy in 2007/8. Though it may not be his original intention, Bird's latest work once again could be seen to take a satirical look at our president. [more...] |
 Next Big Thing: Strauss Cape Town auction preview (25 Feb 10)
By Michael Coulson Not surprisingly, Strauss & Co's first auction of 2010 can't match up to its no-strings-left-unpulled debut last year, but a gross low estimate of just over R26m is respectable enough and the catalogue includes some interesting features. Notably, there are a score of works from the collection of the late Edith Dodo, and no fewer than 30 works, all apparently from one private collector, by William Timlin. If estimates are realised, new auction records could be set for several artists. [more...] |
 Barbara Jackson 1949 - 2010 (24 Feb 10)
A truly great human being, and art icon of South African Craft and Ceramics passed away quietly last week in Cape Town. Barbara Jackson died after a short illness and was buried over the weekend. Barbara Jackson was more than just an art icon in South African art, she both placed new benchmarks in the promotion of South African Craft, and as an artist, pushed the borders of Ceramics, as well as it’s perception in creating new use of forms, materials and colour.< [more...] |
 GIPCA: Cape Town: Great Texts / Big Questions public lecture series resumes (23 Feb 10)
World-acclaimed artist William Kentridge is one of the speakers participating in the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) 2010 Great Texts / Big Questions lecture series.Philosopher and political commentator Daniel Herwitz will kick off the series on 4 March when he will discuss ‘Talk Show Democracy: Stars, Celebrities and American Politics. Professor Herwitz, Director of the Institute for the Humanities at the University of Michigan, USA is currently Mellon Visiting Research Fellow at UCT. [more...] |
 NAC Funding cut drastically cuts 2010 funding ability (22 Feb 10)
The Department of Arts and Culture has cut the National Arts Council budget in half for the 2010/2011 financial year, leaving only R 14 million in the NAC budget. Furthermore, the NAC has calculated that this will leave only R 2 million across all provinces and all 7 disciplines (including film, theater, music and visual arts). The NAC will thus only be having one funding call this year, and, as anyone who has organised a large-scale project, event or exhibition will attest, R 2 million is close on what one large-scale cultural project requires, an amount now intended to serve all proposals across the country. [more...] |
 Business Art: Bonhams New York Africa Sale (19 Feb 10)
By Michael Coulson. Those seeking enlightenment on the state of the market in SA art won’t find Bonhams’ next African modern & contemporary art sale, in New York on March 10, of much use. More than half the 137 lots – 73, to be precise – emanate from Nigeria, and while SA is next most represented, with 24, most are hardly worth a second glance and would barely qualify for the evening sale of any of the major local auction houses.< [more...] |
 Bonhams: New York Sale (19 Feb 10)
Bonhams will be hosting the first commercial auction of Contemporary African Art to be held in America on Wednesday 10 March 2010 in Madison Avenue, New York. Entitled ‘Africa Now: Contemporary African Art’, the sale will include an array of post-war and contemporary art from Africa, and is rumoured to set a new standard of prices paid for art from the African Continent. [more...] |
 Nadja Daehnke leaves SA National Gallery for UCT Michaelis Gallery / GIPCA (19 Feb 10)
Nadja Daehnke worked her last day at the Iziko South African National gallery last Thursday, and has now taken up her position as curator of the Michaelis Gallery on Hiddingh campus. With the Michaelis Gallery much in need of real curatorial attention and management for some time, this new GIPCA post was hotly contested amongst the South African art world, with Daehnke joyfully coming out on top. [more...] |
 SA National Gallery Closes for 6 weeks for rehanging (19 Feb 10)
The South African National Gallery will be closed for six weeks from the 1st March for both a refurbishment and rehang in preparation fr the World Cup. Instead of hosting yet another soccer themed exhibit, Riason Naaido has chosen to rehang the entire gallery so that it will be filled with South African art, a bold and exciting move for a gallery positioning itself to represent the country to both locals and tourists. [more...] |
 Red card over wait for soccer art cash (18 Feb 10)
Patrick Burnett: With four months to go until the 2010 World Cup kicks off, hopes for an arts and culture programme to accompany the event are waning, with millions promised by the Department of Arts and Culture yet to materialise. [more...] |
 'Prodigal Son' Kendell Geers returns to SA (18 Feb 10)
Kendell Geers is in Cape Town to deliver a paper at the Dada South? Symposium on Thursday (entitled Much ado about nothing, the secret history of Fuck). Speaking at a surprisingly low-key, though very packed, lunchtime lecture at the Michaelis School of Fine Art today, Geers drew attention to his Fifa Art Poster, a decidedly innocuous image made by covering a soccer ball in ink and bouncing it around on white paper. [more...] |
 Show: DANCING JESUS!!, Greenmarket Square, Cape Town (16 Feb 10)
14H30 ON WEDNESDAY 17th, THURSDAY 18th & FRIDAY 19th FEBRUARY AT GREEN MARKET SQUARE ON THE STEPS OF THE MICHAELIS GALLERY. When I was at Art school in London I was friendly with the Bishop Lancelot Fleming. In his view Christianity’s emphasis on the crucifixion and suffering of humanity is misplaced. He felt there should be a much greater emphasis on the resurrection, and on the symbolic rebirth of Christ within all of us. It is this that has inspired my sculptures of the Dancing Jesus, and the performance I’m presenting at Infecting The City. [more...] |
 Recomended Exhiition: Swallow My Pride, Blank Projects, Cape Town (12 Feb 10)
A group exhibition curated by Margaret Stone, Dale Washkansky, Lizza Littlewort and William Martin.Burn down the disco Hang the blessed deejay. Because the music that they constantly play IT SAYS NOTHING TO ME ABOUT MY LIFE.' (The Smiths: Panic) Like Morrissey's outburst against the irrelevance of the mainstream disco scene to his lived experience of gay London in the '80s, Swallow My Pride is a visceral response to the commercialisation of gay culture in Cape Town. [more...] |
 Forget Spier, rather become a local hero in the Hermanus Art Scene (11 Feb 10)
With all that huge R 1 000 000 ++ budget and hype, just who can remember anything from last Spier Contemporary show, besides Andrew Putter, and the food and wine running out early far to early and load, sweaty art hooligans taking over the awards podium. Now a new local art (with a fraction of budget) competition with R 50 000 in Prizes was announced this week, in Hermanus [more...] |
 Press Release: PPC announces Concrete Sculptor Workshops (10 Feb 10)
Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) has announced its 2010 workshop schedule for artists who intend entering this year’s PPC Cement Young Concrete Sculptor Awards competition. Now in its 19th year, the competition continues to produce exceptional works of art through the unique medium of concrete, which, as the entrants prove every year, can meet even the most intricate demands of artistic expression. [more...] |
 A wave of optimism at the London sales [ 08 Feb ] (09 Feb 10)
Christie’s and Sotheby’s have won their gamble. The Impressionist & Modern Art sales on 2 and 3 February in London generated one global all-segment record and 29 results above £1m out of 87 lots offered. Christie's managed to sell 87.5% of its lots for £61m (est. £48m-69m) plus the £8.5m from its special session devoted to surrealist art. Source: Art MarketInsight , Art Price. Read more here [more...] |
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