Eight young artists will bare their creative souls when they take visitors on an art walkabout at the Bird Street Art Gallery in Central on Saturday morning.
The Nelson Mandela University visual art department in the faculty of humanities is hosting a free walkabout for the MAVA Group Exhibition, which showcases the creative work of eight recent candidates from the visual arts programme.
The artists are Kader Abdulla, Ansu Feiertag, Micaela Human, Drew Minter, Wandile Msipa, Pearl Shale, Erin Smith and Zama Spellman.
School of visual and performing arts director Prof Pieter Binsbergen said they were part of the largest group of master’s graduates in the university’s history.
“There are eight from visual art and four in music, not to mention nine more in the honours programme in visual art,” he said.
I am thrilled by this, it is truly a remarkable achievement.”
All eight draw on their own lived experiences and this is reflected in their work on show.
Binsbergen gave a brief glimpse into the diversity which visitors will see at the gallery.
Through a series of vivid paintings, Msipa explores the relationships of black South Africans who live in townships.
Smith focuses on the global environmental crisis, exploring how to create artworks while minimising the harm caused to the planet.
Spellman has created a powerful collection of ceramic “books”, imprinting each piece with stinging words which express SA’s racial trauma.
Human’s work investigates being queer in heteronormative society, with the accompanying sense of belonging, or “unbelonging”.
Minter visually explores the phenomenon of bisexual identity, and how this can lead to feeling invisible, or ignored.
Freiertag also reflects on trauma, digging into her own family history to create drawings and installations which reflect on the connections that have shaped her world view.
Abdulla uses a multimedia installation to explore how art, memory and identity meet, drawing inspiration from his family’s forced removal from their home during the apartheid era.
Shale’s collection of garments show how traditional shweshwe fabric and its designs can evolve for a contemporary world in constant flux.
Binsbergen highlighted the importance of a community of practice for young artists, saying it contributed to the high standard of master’s work on show.
“A community of practice afforded our students various platforms to interact with one another, feel a sense of ‘Yes, what I am doing is important work’ but mostly feeling a sense of belonging and purpose.
“They reference the very core of our existence and echo messages outward into a world which is grappling with very challenging and complex issues on a social, political, environmental and personal platform globally.”
The walkabout starts at 10.30am at the gallery at 20 Bird Street.
The MAVA Group Exhibition is open from Monday to Friday, from 9am to 4pm, until April 4.
The Herald
Young NMU artists taking visitors on walkabout at exhibition of their work
Image: BASIL BRADY
Eight young artists will bare their creative souls when they take visitors on an art walkabout at the Bird Street Art Gallery in Central on Saturday morning.
The Nelson Mandela University visual art department in the faculty of humanities is hosting a free walkabout for the MAVA Group Exhibition, which showcases the creative work of eight recent candidates from the visual arts programme.
The artists are Kader Abdulla, Ansu Feiertag, Micaela Human, Drew Minter, Wandile Msipa, Pearl Shale, Erin Smith and Zama Spellman.
School of visual and performing arts director Prof Pieter Binsbergen said they were part of the largest group of master’s graduates in the university’s history.
“There are eight from visual art and four in music, not to mention nine more in the honours programme in visual art,” he said.
I am thrilled by this, it is truly a remarkable achievement.”
All eight draw on their own lived experiences and this is reflected in their work on show.
Binsbergen gave a brief glimpse into the diversity which visitors will see at the gallery.
Through a series of vivid paintings, Msipa explores the relationships of black South Africans who live in townships.
Smith focuses on the global environmental crisis, exploring how to create artworks while minimising the harm caused to the planet.
Spellman has created a powerful collection of ceramic “books”, imprinting each piece with stinging words which express SA’s racial trauma.
Human’s work investigates being queer in heteronormative society, with the accompanying sense of belonging, or “unbelonging”.
Minter visually explores the phenomenon of bisexual identity, and how this can lead to feeling invisible, or ignored.
Freiertag also reflects on trauma, digging into her own family history to create drawings and installations which reflect on the connections that have shaped her world view.
Abdulla uses a multimedia installation to explore how art, memory and identity meet, drawing inspiration from his family’s forced removal from their home during the apartheid era.
Shale’s collection of garments show how traditional shweshwe fabric and its designs can evolve for a contemporary world in constant flux.
Binsbergen highlighted the importance of a community of practice for young artists, saying it contributed to the high standard of master’s work on show.
“A community of practice afforded our students various platforms to interact with one another, feel a sense of ‘Yes, what I am doing is important work’ but mostly feeling a sense of belonging and purpose.
“They reference the very core of our existence and echo messages outward into a world which is grappling with very challenging and complex issues on a social, political, environmental and personal platform globally.”
The walkabout starts at 10.30am at the gallery at 20 Bird Street.
The MAVA Group Exhibition is open from Monday to Friday, from 9am to 4pm, until April 4.
The Herald
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