A tall woman with greying hair, gentle eyes and a comfortable dress, I approached Annelie Venter at the walkabout to her exhibition at the Bellville Arts Association gallery. Annelie’s exhibition “Pause” contains almost 100 small works in oil and acrylic. After years of painting mostly nature scenes, this solo is the first more clearly autobiographical.
Stephen Watson was a South African academic, poet and writer who passed away in 2011. His prose and poetry were primarily inspired by the city of Cape Town, but it was in the Cederberg that he found what he calls la querencia, a Spanish word referring “to a place on...
A few months ago Franli invited me for a tea-and-art-kuier at her home studio in Bloubergstrand. Franli has inhabited many parts of South Africa, being a native of the Free State, she's lived in KZN, Gauteng, and now the Cape. She’s no longer tied to the agricultural...
Ydi Coetsee Carstens reflects on the meaning and value of albums. In a world of endless feeds and infinite scrolling, albums provide a wholesome limitation for artist and listener. Albums remind us that endings are normal, that melancholy and sadness, endings and new beginnings, cycles of productivity and periods of rest constitute the pattern of human life.
Siedell believes that “art works are not merely objects but products of institutional intention and belief, made under certain conditions and intended to be viewed in specific contexts.” If we as artists are to imagine a better synergy artistic practice and religious practice, we need to do the hard work of understanding these beliefs and intentions.
Since the 1980s when The Gift (Lewis Hyde) was first published, more and more alternatives to the traditional market-system have presented themselves – patronage, crowd-funding and community-funded work in non-profit organisations. Or perhaps these subtle gift exchanges have always been part of certain aspects of our lives. Most of the important things in our lives (like parents, mentors, friendship, insight), cannot be monetised (‘I am x amount of Rands worth per hour’). Nonetheless, the bottom-line question for many of the artists in our community remains the same – how do I pay the bills.
Inspired by organizations like CIVA, artway.eu, Morphe Arts and The Rabbit Room, South African artists have realised the need for a place where artists can think deeply and come together and dialogue about faith.
Seeking for ‘mentors in hope’ in the troubling times in South Africa and abroad made me reflect on some of the ways Chagall seems to brave despair.
Hoping to offer a Christian perspective on the growing discourse within African Contemporary art, the ‘Unleavened’ exhibition was imagined as a place of restoration but also of provocation. The theme Leaven provided a metaphor “through which to view the work of young artists as they explore the presence and impact of culture, gender, politics and religion in their lives today”.
Begbie’s fundamental statement in this book is “that human creativity is supremely about sharing through the Spirit in the creative purpose of the Father as he draws all things to himself through his Son”.