Riason Naidoo : Art Collections Iziko
Caitlin Ross

Riason Naidoo is to be the new Director of Art Collections at Iziko, replacing Marilyn Martins who retired in August last year.
His portfolio includes responsibility for the art collections at Iziko South African National Gallery and the Old Town House. In his late thirties, his CV spans numerous countries and includes management of the South Africa/Mali project for the Presidency and the national Department of Arts & Culture (culminating in the ceremonial opening of the Ahmed Baba Library in Timbuktu in January this year), as well as curatorship of the photographic exhibition The Indian in Drum magazine in the 1950s.
Hailing from Chatsworth, Durban, Naidoo completed his Fine Arts degree at Wits in 1995, whereafter he joined the Durban Art Gallery as education officer for three years. He showed his paintings at a solo exhibition at the NSA Gallery in 1997, and while continuing to work in painting and new media also found the time to complete an MA in Fine Arts. After working as a lecturer in painting, drawing and art history at Wits, he curated various successful shows, and a book of photographs from the exhibition The Indian in Drum Magazine in the 1950s was published by Bell-Roberts Publishing late last year.
Contacted for comment, Naidoo said he was “uncomfortable” answering questions “at this point” as he felt it was “too early” to say anything about his new appointment.
He said he was only taking up office at the SANG in May and had not finished off at his current position on the South Africa/Mali project.
He said he had not yet seen the SANG budget or examined any figures so could not say in what direction he might take the gallery in the future, but would be happy to be interviewed at a later stage.