I am thrilled to finally get to read Mosa Mokuena’s dissertation for her MSc Finance (Economic Policy) done at the University of London. The study’s findings revealed that the sector is important economically and socially but is marred by a number of challenges that could be resolved through one intervention – that is intentionally clustering […]
Author Archives: Mariapaola McGurk
Johannesburg, one of Gauteng Province’s trio of cities alongside Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, stands as the economic powerhouse of South Africa, boasting the seventh-largest economy on the continent. Referred to as the “financial and technological nerve of Africa,” Gauteng Province is primed for growth according to the Gauteng 2030 report, pinpointing Agro-Processing, Creative and Cultural Industries, […]
Find the survey THROUGH YOUR LENS – HERE or https://form.jotform.com/240924246146051 Do you work within the Creative and Cultural Industries in the City of Johannesburg? You could be behind the scenes as a researcher, an educator, a project manager, a hub manager, a practitioner, an artist, a small business owner, a marketing guru, a sound engineer […]
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Aug
Opening Speech by Mariapaola McGurk Many years back I went to the theatre with my family. At the end of the production the audience gave a standing ovation, and the artistic director came and said some words. She expressed the challenges it had taken to get to that point and how audiences were not coming […]
Visual Artist
CUTTING IN SOUTH AFRICA: An article written for the Guild of American Papercutters: August 2022
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I have been a visual artist for 22 years now and specialising in papercutting for 12 years. My interest in this artform stems from a gift my parents received from my uncle when I was in my teens. It was a traditional paper cutting from Hong Kong of a landscape. I could not believe the […]
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Dec
Dec
2022 has come to an end and has been one of the most incredible and one of the most challenging years of my life. Through this year amazing connections with my past have resurged in relation to my visual arts career which has profoundly impacted my sense of purpose, place and intent. I am so […]
We are excited to announce that the Henley Resurgence project is happening again! In 2018 this project, in partnership with Henley Africa Business School, won the BASA (Business and Arts South Africa) Award. This time the project will work with visual artists Thabo Motseki, Molefe Thwala and Mariapaola McGurk to reimagine the pillars of Henley […]
There are rules… many rules within the visual arts world. Some are said aloud, but most are not said at all, and you are just meant to know. Doing commissions is one of those unsaid rules. It is implied that if you take yourself seriously as a contemporary visual artist you will not do commissions […]