Visual Artist
WHEN PAST BECOMES PRESENT
Dec
PAST #1: ARTYLI GALLERY AT NELSON MANDELA SQUARE, SANDTON
I completed my first diploma in 2001 when I was 21 years old. I just wanted to learn how to paint and work as an artist – that was my dream at the time. One day I walked down a street in CBD Jozi and came across an artist painting a large public artwork. I wanted to be able to do what she was doing. I offered to work for free if she would teach me what she knew. Instead – she offered me a job as a painter and for the following 10 years I learnt so much about paint, drawing, sketching, clients, public art and creative entrepreneurship. That woman was Karen Cullinan – the founder and owner of Artyli Gallery in Sandton. She was my first encounter with creative entrepreneurship and now she has grown her network, clientele and portfolio to include this exclusive gallery which is situated in an ideal location for business and visiting investors. A few months ago I got intouch with Karen again and went to see her new gallery. I cannot express how different it is as an artist to speak to a gallerist who is also an artist. The tone, the intimidation, the arrogance, the bullshit just does not exist. The conversation is sincere and a true understanding of what the process is to making art: technically and psychologically exists. Ofcourse all artists want to generate an income through their making; ofcourse the visual arts market is about generating income – I lecture this to visual arts students. I push the idea of entrepreneurship to creatives – BUT – there is something much deeper, fragile and difficult at play with visual arts which cannot be overlooked or dismissed.
So, connection #1 with my past: I am thrilled to be exhibiting with Artyli Gallery in their current group show titled Streams of Dreams:
As a stream joins itself to a larger river it increases in velocity and the currents move in a more powerful way, reshaping the environment. Metaphorically, as artists create from different ideas and dreams, they merge into a vibrant river of African talent. Stream of Dreams, showcases the talent and achievement of some of the artists that Artyli represents, it includes works by well-known South African artists such as Andrew Ntshabele, Bambo Sibiya, Mariapaola Mcgurk, Toni Anne Ballenden and Daniel Stompie Selibe. Each of these artists has a unique way of representing the world as they know it.
The group exhibition is on from 14 December – 28 February 2023. For more information check out their website – Welcome to Artyli Gallery – Buy Art Online – Artyli.com
PAST #2: SPRINGS ART GALLERY AND THE THAMI MNYELE ART AWARDS
When I studied art we learnt nothing about how the visual arts world works. NOTHING. I truly believed you were ‘discovered’ if you were good enough. I never approached commercial galleries in my first 10 years out of varsity – they approach you…don’t they? Except for one gallery. I am from Springs – a large ‘small’ town in the far east of Gauteng, well known for its art deco buildings and its high alcohol consumption per capita (Crazy high at one point!). There was very little art in this town when I was a kid but in my twenties Springs Art Gallery came alive for me when Thapo Sekoaila started working there. Thapo and I both studied visual arts at Wits Tech so I went and spoke to him. In 2008 I had my first solo exhibition at the gallery. It was mainly friends and family but also musicians from Springs who made the exhibition truly special. Thapo gave me the opportunity to learn. To learn what it takes to have an exhibition. To learn all the components of an exhibition and to show my body of work. It never crossed my mind that I should invite gallerists or lecturers. It never crossed my mind that I could use the solo exhibition as a platform to approach commercial galleries – so much that I could have learnt while studying!
Earlier this year I decided to submit works for the Thami Mnyele Art Awards. When dropping off the works Thapo smiled and gave me a hug: ‘I thought you said you would never enter an art competition.’ He was right I had said that so I laughed at my own inconsistencies. Thapo still works at Springs Art Gallery and has been a leading voice in the development of the Thami Mnyele Awards which has become nationally known and respected. It was with great laughter and warmth when I received the award for best art on paper. Thapo was not one of the judges but it was a special moment to reconnect with the gallery and the person that helped me with my first solo exhibition 14 years earlier.
PAST #3: BASA (BUSINESS AND ARTS SOUTH AFRICA) COMMISSIONED ARTIST 2022
In 2013 I was the curator of FADA (Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture) Gallery at The University of Johannesburg. I applied for a capacity building programme at BASA as I wanted to elevate the gallery and did not know how to. While attending the training (which went on for 8 months) I left my job as curator and started looking into opening my own company. BASA was critical for my learning and understanding of the creative economy in South Africa and of creative organisations and their sustainability. My relationship with BASA continued but always from a business owner perspective and not necessarily as a visual artist. When, earlier this year, I was contacted by CEO, Ashraf Johaardien, I assumed it would be about something relating to entrepreneurship, facilitation, etc. I would not, in a million years, have guests why he was contacting me and that I had been chosen as the commissioned artist for the BASA Awards 2022. This acknowledgment was huge to me! When, in 2020, I started really pushing my visual arts career, one of the most concerning components was shifting how people perceived me. Behind the scenes I have always been producing artworks, but publicly I had really been pushing other components of my career. This acknowledgement represented the merging of all elements of my career and the reality that I am a creative entrepreneur, lecturer, facilitator, researcher AND I am also a visual artist. A very special moment!!
In 2022 I was reminded that our lives are not linear. We all need to do what is right in the moment: for our learning, for generating income, for our current realities, and that does not necessarily mean our dreams are destroyed. It has been twenty one years since I started my career with all its twists and turns – and somehow, for the first time – all the loose threads seem to be coming together. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey so far and I can’t wait to learn which threads and ‘coincidences’ are still to come!
So much love to the arts & culture sector of South Africa – so large yet so small and so special!
Happy new year everyone and wishing you all a beautiful 2023!
