Annual Report 2018-2019
www.artistproofstudio.co.za | 011 492 1278 admin@artistproofstudio.co.za
Compiled by Shannin Antonopoulo With contributions from Nathi Simelane, Reneilwe Mathibe, Kim Berman, Pene Meniere, Bridget Wiles-Dick, Nokuthula Ndlovu Design and Layout by Richard Ncube Front Image by: Raymond Fuyana
Section 1
Executive Summary Mission and Vision Organisational Values Keys to Success Background Location Strategic Objectives 2018/19 Organisational Structure 2018/19 Board of Directors Management Team Staff APS Organogram 2018/19
5 6 7 7 8 9 10 12 13 13 14 16
Section 2
Description of units & activities 2018/19 The Education Team in 2018/19 Education Activities & Highlights Marketing, Special Projects & Out-reach Pro-Shop & Artists Gallery & Sales Financial Report Way Forward Funders, Partners & Sponsors
17 19 22 24 39 41 56 59 60
about artist proof studio
44
Artist Proof Studio (APS) is an innovative and engaged community printmaking centre of excellence. The organisation focuses on all aspects of profesÂŹsional printmaking including creation and editioning in the Pro-shop, sales in the Gallery, training in Education, and community/partner engagement through Special Projects. Through its many activities, APS facilitates the transformation of passion into possibility, as well as the active commitment of talented individuals to shape a better future for themselves.
executive summary 2019 has been a remarkable year for Artist Proof Studio (APS) in many respects - a year of challenges, growth and change. Now in its 28th year, APS is known for its resilience and ability to adapt to change during times of adversity and instability while maintaining a clear vision for the future. This report explains how the APS team, that includes the board of directors, the staff, its artists and students, have all pulled together across units and positions to rise to challenges facing us this year and find creative ways through collaboration to not only overcome obstacles, but to excel. Our staff and student body has continued to grow while external grant funding has decreased significantly in the past two years. APS has had to reconsider its income strategy to avoid downsizing, retrenching staff and cutting student numbers. Income from grants was just over R1m in 2019 compared to R1.5m in 2017 and significantly more in the previous years. The cost of maintaining or supporting approximately 30 full and part-time staff members, 8 interns, approximately 90 students and the production and sale of work of over 120 alumni, associated and external artists has raised our operating budget from R4.7m in 2017 to R6.4m in 2018 and R7.5m in 2019. This expenditure speaks to our growth and impact in the sector. In the past two years, the art industry has seen a decrease in sales of artwork across the board which has resulted in a number of studios and galleries closing their doors. Our general art sales were down to R3.2m in 2019 from
almost R6m income from sales in 2018. In March 2019, APS was faced with a cash flow crisis. Through a fundraiser with William Kentridge and sales of our Kentridge assets, we managed to raise approximately R4m during 2019 which enabled APS to cover its costs and almost break-even. A revised business strategy to source alternative sources of revenue was supported by APS Board of Directors. APS has been encouraged to diversify ways of generating income through sales, special projects, commissions and publishing projects and broadening its reach to other provinces and internationally. Amongst a variety of activities detailed under Gallery and Special Projects APS has invested significantly into developing an online presence to facilitate further sales and reach a wider audience. It’s been two years since APS opened up a gallery site in Cape Town City Centre. Although the Cape Town art market is challenging to penetrate, APS has begun to establish new partnerships and brand recognition. To celebrate the opening of the William Kentridge retrospective exhibitions at Norvel Foundation and Zeitz Mocca in August, APS hosted a successful event at our Cape Town gallery space which boosted audiences and income from sales. A series of International exchanges and collaborations throughout 2019 have enhanced and strengthened connections between new and existing educational and artistic partnerships. Artists including Robbin Silverberg from Dobbin Mill in NYC; Liz Chalfin from Zea Mays Workshop in Mass, Edouard Duval-CarriÊ (Miami), Peter and Anne Scott (Boston) and Nathan Sensel (NYC) visited and shared their knowledge and expertise with APS staff. A number of APS staff and students also received awards and opportunities to travel, expand their knowledge and share new
insights and skills learned with the APS students and staff. Towards the end of 2018 Dudu More and Thandi Khumalo received a residency in Florence with Rosenclaire facilitated through the APS evening in Rome fundraiser at WAM with William Kentridge, and Luzuko Dayile was selected to visit the Muskat Studio in Boston in November 2019 to work with the lithoqueen Carolyne Muskat. An Ampersand Fellowship was granted to Kim Berman to go to NY in Feb 2019 and an insightful and enriching course on leadership hosted by Linda Nathan through the Perrone-Sizer Creative Leadership Institute was awarded to Shannin Antonopoulo in August. A significant growth area for APS in 2019 is in Special Projects. The team has worked hard to increase strategic partnerships with corporates and secure corporate artwork commissions in the form of murals and artwork installations. These projects have not only provided additional income but have become a significant job creation centre and professional skills training for students and artists with almost R500k paid out to students in 2019. Special Projects works very closely with all the units and through partnerships brings in projects and opportunities for APS. We attribute the anchor to our success and longevity to our partnerships that enable excellence through possibility. We are strengthened by a dedicated Board of Directors, corporate partners, friends and clients who share the vision of investing in the arts for a vibrant and hopeful future. We are thankful to our APS community for a remarkable 2019 that points us toward an exciting 2020.
55
section 1
introduction & background
66
our mission
our vision
The Mission of Artist Proof Studio is to provide an environment to develop citizens with a common set of values, expressed in the notion of Ubuntu, that have talent and passion to achieve artistic excellence. APS focuses on printmaking and its allied outreach programmes to build capacity of people to reach selfactualisation and make a difference in society.
The Vision for Artist Proof Studio is founded on a sense of shared humanity whereby people of talent and passion can reach for excellence in art making to achieve self-sustainability.
Artist Proof Studio embraces our own “Habits of Mind”: ISEE-U which were originally developed through workshops with our partners at the Boston Arts Academy (BAA) almost a decade ago. These have been integrated into our operating and educational values and ethos: Innovation We position Innovation as a key component in our development and evolving identity. Self-Awareness APS encourages its staff, artists, professionals, and students to reach their potential. Self-awareness is empowering and beneficial for APS in ensuring growth and diversity. Engagement APS strives to promote engagement of its students, professional artists, and all staff, as well as foster the relationship between the work of the studio and the broader community. Excellence By promoting “Excellence through Possibility,” we encourage artists to push the boundaries of printmaking to find their own vision, and inspiration through collaboration. Ubuntu For APS, Ubuntu is about creating a safe and supportive space for self-expression: a space that is respectful, empathetic, and nourishing for the well-being of the community.
KEYS TO SUCCESS APS constantly re-evaluates our processes and procedures to ensure our continual growth and responsiveness to our environment. Adapting innovative ideas against tried and tested structures as well as nurturing new and maintaining existing partnerships with individuals, industry and community has ensured our longevity and flourishing.
77
Background
88
Artist Proof Studio (APS) was founded by Kim Berman and the late Nhlanhla Xaba to reflect the spirit of a healthy democracy and the non-racial ideals expressed in the new constitution. In 2019 the organisation is in its 28th year of existence. APS is registered as a PBO (Public Benefit Organisation) since 2005, and a Section 21 (NGO) since 1993/4. Motivated by a need to become more selfsustainable and ensure growth despite a rapid decline in funding opportunities (particularly international funding) since 2012, APS invested energy into the development of new audiences, professional production of prints and increased sales opportunities. In 2015 APS became VAT registered and has since managed to balance Education, Training and Development with innovative income generation opportunities and strategies. We have also opened an outlet in Cape Town since Jeanne Mare du Bois move to Cape Town in 2018, which has started to define itself as a special project space hosting monthly events and exhibitions. For 28 years, APS has remained committed to the promotion of human rights, equality and re-dress. By providing quality arts education to talented and passionate art students and artists who (due to economic and educational inequality), would otherwise not have access to tertiary training. APS has graduated over 500 young artists over the past two and a half decades who have developed sufficient skills to be able to support themselves and their families and contribute actively to the creative industries and economy. APS has established itself as both a local and internationally recognized centre of printmaking excellence with many of our alumni reaching international status and our rising stars including, Bambo Sibiya, Mongezi Ngcaphayi, Lebohang Motaung and many others being a credit to our educational endeavors.
Location
where to find us Johannesburg: 3 Helen Joseph Street Newtown Johannesburg 2001 26.2053° S, 28.0311° E
Hours of operation Artist Proof Studio’s operating hours is from 9am to 5pm week days, Saturdays 10am – 3pm, and is closed on Sundays & Public holidays.
99
Cape Town: 98 Castle St Corner Buitengracht St Cape Town City Centre Cape Town 8001
Hours of operation Artist Proof Studio’s operating hours is from 9am to 5pm week days, Saturdays 10am – 3pm, and is closed on Sundays & Public holidays.
Strategic Objectives 2018/19 1 Transformation & redress APS has always focused on ensuring the availability of quality arts education to all with specific focus on those with little or no access to tertiary arts education. Quality arts education for professional practice remains at the core of our ethos. Since our inception in 1991, we have grown to become a benchmark training and resource centre for artists from surrounding townships, provinces and African countries. APS has developed many young talented artists who make a significant contribution to the industry and their communities. As access to art education in schools dwindles, our role as a quality arts education facility that bridges the gap between arts foundation education and professional training and mentorship has become vital to ensure access and growth of artists from disadvantaged positions into the mainstream arts industry. APS has an established a reputation as a feeder of excellent arts practitioners for the local and international artworld and creative industries in South Africa. Within the studio itself, mentorship and succession plans have been implemented across all units in line with our strategy of empowerment and transformation. Development and training of professional cultural practitioners and artists is further promoted through our fourth year graduate and Internship programme piloted in 2016 which continues to be supported by RMB/Chikhululu Investment Fund.
2 Sustainability as an Arts Organisation Since April 2015, APS has functioned as an organisation that fulfils its civic duties as a non-profit community centre focused on fully-subsidised education with outreach responsibilities and as a VAT registered entity responsible for generating income through production and the delivery of products and services for sale. Strategic partnerships with corporates, funders, alumni and artists as stakeholders are central to our financial sustainability. In 2018, we dedicated a significant investment of resources and energies in developing our online presence. As part of this strategy, we re-structured the business practice of APS and created professional storage facilities to manage and monitor stock, increase brand recognition and extend our reach beyond Johannesburg and South Africa. The strategic addition of two Directors to our Board in 2017/18; Susie Goodman, Managing Director of Strauss & Co. and Lauren Woolf Founder of MRS WOOLF, a strategic marketing consultancy focused on companies in the creative economy, has driven many new approaches and ideas for Branding, Marketing & Sales. Shaila Jivan, Director on our Board, former Risk manager at Deloitte and Director of Sambe Consulting, has assumed a vital role in leading a turn-around strategy for the financial viability of APS. With the resignation of former Finance Manager Mariska Klopper, Shaila has mentored a new Finance team into streamlining efficient process flows towards a healthy, productive and sustainable system.
3 Art to Promote Social Change and increase Social Cohesion APS artists are not only expected to achieve self-actualisation, but to also embody the idea of artists as active citizens and agents of change in society. Opportunities that encourage expansion and partnership are further integrated into our programmes and overseen by various business units to ensure maximum participation of youth and artists in extending their skills and knowledge for the benefit of others. Delivery of services or products that contribute towards social change, increase awareness and/or encourage social cohesion through partnership are supported and encouraged. The scope of projects include donation of artwork for sale/auction to raise funds to support and benefit causes that make a difference in communities and outreach projects that use printmaking /art as a mechanism to engage with social issues or empower communities.
In 2018, APS participated and supported a number of projects aimed at promoting social change and cohesion including: participation and contributions to raise funds for Lawyers against Abuse (LvA) which is an organisation based in Diepsloot that provides free legal and psychosocial support to victims of gender-based violence (GBV); Footprints for Sam, Paper Prayers workshops in Western Cape, various outreach initiatives supported by the Department of Arts and Culture, a Community Library Project and continued outreach activities supporting children’s after-school art projects in Soweto.
4 Artistic Innovation in the South African context We recognise that the key to APS’ success and continued contribution to the industry is through the quality education of artists who through training and exposure to collaboration and partnerships, develop the ability to innovate. Our educational and outreach components encourage us as an organisation to continually find innovative solutions for sustainability and strive for excellence. As a printmaking studio and arts organisation, our long-term solutions to training individuals and equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary to create artwork and sustain themselves through their work is what sets us apart from other more commercially orientated print studios that only focus on production. Through collaborative projects and exchanges, APS artists and students are exposed to new opportunities to apply their printmaking skills and knowledge to facilitate new ways of seeing things and link to research and innovation opportunities. Examples of this include the collaborative project with Visual Identities in Art and Design Research Centre (VIAD) at UJ who hosted Miami- based artist; Edouard Duval-CarriÊ (originally from Haiti) who conducted workshops with students and produced a collaborative body of work with students and the Pro-shop. Another New York based visiting artist and facilitator, Nathan Sensel, collaborated with APS students contributing to a comparative case study with a printmaking collective in Mexico as part of his Masters research through Wits University. The Special Projects Unit at APS has also innovated new solutions to encouraging corporates to access artwork through collaborative carved installations and painted panels. These activities generate both educational and financial opportunities and are expanded on in other sections of this report.
5 Youth Development and Job Creation APS has contributed significantly to developing leadership capacities for its members. In 2018 the management team embarked on a year-long series of workshops aimed at enhancing internal communications and realigning leadership capacities. Dudu More and Thandi Khumalo, two young APS female artists were sent on a two-week residency in Florence, in late 2018 to work with the infamous artists Rosenclaire (Rose and Claire) funded through the William Kentridge Evening in Rome. Alex Vosloo and Nathi Ndlandla from the pro-shop received the Ampersand Fellowship award for the 2018 through Jack Ginsberg and spent three weeks being inspired in New York in March 2019. All commissioned projects received from corporate clients in 2018/19 support students as participating artists and print apprentices, receiving valuable skills and a stipend. Furthermore, the studio is committed to offering employment opportunities to graduates of APS in addition to equipping them with the life skills necessary to take on many external and entrepreneurial positions through the fourth-year internship programme. These opportunities are expanded on in the report on Special Projects.
Organisational Structure 2018/2019 Our organisation is governed by a Board of Directors who mentor and guide the Management Team. Finance, Administration and Marketing support all operations at APS which is divided into Education and Outreach that relies primarily on funding and Sales and Production that generate income to support the studio as well as Education.
1212
The Managers report directly to the Executive Director, Prof. Kim Berman and the Board of Directors. APS has an active Board of Directors that mentor the management team and assist with strategic planning. Each Board member brings a specialised skill and experience to the APS. The Board of Directors meet quarterly and mentor the management team throughout the year.
Board of Directors Chairperson
Dr. Giovanni Mariano
Executive Director
Prof. Kim Berman
Board Director
Mr. Che Lue
Board Director
Mr. Ashen Jugoo
Board Director
Ms. Shaila Jivan
Board Director
Dr. Finzi Saidi
Board Director
Ms. Nozizwe Vundla
Board Director
Ms. Susie Goodman/2018
Board Director
Ms. Lauren Woolf/2018
Board Director
Ms. Kritanjali Nanackchand (2019
Management Team The Management team consists of four members that manage the functions and processes of APS staff duties and activities. The team works closely together with Studio Manager Shannin Antonopoulo to ensure that policies and procedures are updated and adhered to and that communications between units remains streamlined. Each area of activity is overseen and discussed in bi-monthly meetings with the Executive Director to support and oversee operations and delivery. Artist Proof Studio Management Team Kim Berman: Founding Director and Executive Director Shannin Antonopoulo - Studio Operations Manager Finance Manager - Mariska Klopper 2019/Bridget Wiles-Dick 2019 Marketing Manager - Mr. Nathi Simelane Education Manager - Ms. Reneilwe Mathibe Gallery Co-ordinator - Mrs. L. Zungu
13 13
APS Staff APS has 25 Full-Time staff members and 12-part time staff including interns (8) from January 2019. The demographics of staff body we had an equal number of male to female staff and 20% white and 80% black.
RACE
GENDER
RACE
White 16%
GENDER
Indian 3%
Female 50%
Male 50%
Black 81%
BLACK
1414
APS Staff
APS Staff
Female
Male
The graph above below shows that more than half of the staff employed at APS in January 2019 were APS alumni. For a period of 5 months we had an interim Finance manager; Naeem Cassimjeee whose contract ended in September 2019. APS is committed to training students and artists through workplace training to increase their skills and knowledge in various areas of the industry including budgeting, project management and communications. We have an internship year that qualified third year students can apply for that develops additional skills, knowledge and experience that is put back into the business of APS and enables interns as professionals to move into other organisations and apply these skills to their own practice as professional artists. Partner organisations that share/source staff include, University of Johannesburg and Phumani Paper Archive Mill and suppliers. 36% of our staff are procured through organisations and institutions that we have relationships with. Less than 10% of our staff come from external sources.
EMPLOYMENT
TRAINING
Part time 32%
Other 27%
Full Time 68%
Artists 73%
Of our staff body, 68% are full-time and 32% are part-time. In terms of training, over 73% of staff employed in various units including, pro-shop, gallery, education and special projects were trained as visual artists while 27% come from backgrounds in finance and administration.
15 15
APS Orgonogram 2018/2019
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dr. Giovanni Mariano (Chairperson), Prof. Kim Berman, Ms. S. Goodman, Mr. Ché Lue, Mr. Ashen Jugoo, Ms. Nozizwe Vundla, Dr. Finzi Saidi, Ms. Shaila Jivan, Ms Lauren Woolf, Ms. K. Nanackchand
ADVISORY BOARD
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION STUDIO MANAGER: Ms. S. Antonopoulo BUSINESS MANAGER: Mr.N.Cassimjee/Mrs B Wiles-Dick FINANCIAL CONTROLLER: MS T. Ndlovu PROCUREMENT & ADMINISTRATION CONTROLLER Ms. T. Dlodlo FINANCE ADMIN ASSISTANT & RECEPTIONIST: Ms. D. Rabolila BRANDING AND MARKETING
1616 EDUCATION AND
MARKETING MANAGER: Mr
OUTREACH EDUCATION & INTERNSHIP MANAGER Ms. R Mathibe
PRINT PUBLISHING AND
N. Simelane
SALES
DESIGNER: Mr. R. Ncube
PUBLISHING MASTER PRINTER & QUALITY
FIRST YEAR COORDINATOR: Mr. L Nkgweng
CONTROLLER
FIRST YEAR FACILITATORS: Mr. L. Nkgweng,
ARTISTS
Ms. T. Munungufhala
MASTER PAPERMAKER & EDITION PRINTER SCREENPRINT COORDINATOR:
SECOND YEAR COORDINATOR: Ms. H. Mielke
Mr.M.H.Molefe
SECOND YEAR FACILITATORS: Ms. H. Mielke, Ms. I.Pahl
ASISTANT PRINTER/S: Mr. B. Gaothaelwe & Ms. T. Kumalo, Mr B. Mankoe (co-ordinator)
THIRD YEAR COORDINATOR: Ms. I. Pahl
SALES
FOURTH YEAR COORDINATOR: Ms. R. Mathibe
GALLERY/SALES COORDINATOR
INTERNS AND STUDENTS SPECIAL PROJECTS/OUTREACH PROJECT COORDINATOR: Mr. B. Ngobeni & Ms. P. Mahapa
Ms. L. Zungu SALES ADMINISTRATOR Ms. L. Wierenga GALLERY SALES ADMINISTRATOR Ms. T. Munungufhala GALLERY STOCK CONTROLLER: Ms. Ms. S. Loubser
section 2 description of units & activities 2018/2019 APS has grown from its rudimentary beginnings at 57 Jeppe Street with 12 founding members to a thriving multifaceted organisation that accommodates over 200 members including staff, associated printmakers and students. Over the years we have retained core studio members who continue to ensure that APS preserves its core ethos, integrity and legacy while facilitating a process of succession and progress for others. Activities at the studio are multi-faceted and often symbiotic providing students, artists and clients with a dynamic and broader view of printmaking. In the past few years APS has worked hard to create an environment that is internally reciprocal with the view of offering stakeholders a holistic experience and product which is APS. APS comprises of four main areas of activity or units, each with goals that differentiate them.
17 17
1818 Lauren Woolf, Board Member and Student Patron with two artists she has sponsored over the years, Lindo Zwane and Dudu More
APS offers a three-year intense professional printmaking course with additional areas of study including; drawing, communications, visual literacy/critical studies and community outreach projects. The education unit is almost entirely dependent on funding and is central to the purpose and function of APS. In 2015, with the support of the Mary Slack Foundation and RMB, we initiated a formal fourth year/internship programme to further develop professional practice and business skills through seminars collaborative projects and artistic practice workshops. This programme supports the general operations of the studio and ensures ongoing mentorship and skills development across all the activities at APS. In 2018/19 we embarked on the rigorous process of reregistration of our NQF Level 4 Accreditation certification of our first year programme with a long term view to offer students opportunities for a diploma and post graduate specialisation credits in printmaking. Phase A was completed in 2018 and Phase B throughout 2019. Of our applicants, most do not have the financial
means to attend formal education at University or lack the necessary points to enter into tertiary institutions. For students wanting to study further, APS provides a bridge for these students. A Bursary Fund Programme (in addition to the patron programme) was established in 2018 with the intention of supporting a larger pool of students. Events targeted at increasing Bursary and Patron support were implemented with the invaluable support of Strauss and Co. through the Partnership and Possibilities events. Students awarded with a patron or bursary receive money to subsidize their transport to come additional days to class time, and a materials budget from which they are able to access printmaking and drawing supplies to generate artwork over and above what is supplied for classwork. The rest of the money goes towards fees. In some cases, the whole amount is offered to the student and paid out over a year towards living expenses if the student is not from Johannesburg and struggles with accommodation expenses.
The Education Team in 2018/19 Education Manager
Ms. Reneilwe Mathibe
First Year Coordinator
Mr. Lucas Nkweng (Printmaking)
First Year Facilitators
Mr. L. Nkgweng (Printmaking) Ms. T. Munungufhala (Visual Literacy) Mr L. Zwane (Drawing)
Second Year Facilitators
Ms. H. Mielke (Printmaking) Ms. I.Pahl (Drawing)
Third Year Coordinator
Ms. Ilse Pahl
Third Year Facilitator
Ms. Ilse Pahl
Fourth Year Coordinator
Ms. Reneilwe Mathibe
Fourth Year Facilitators
Ms. Rene Mathibe Ms. T. Munungufhala
The Education Unit had 98 students in total in January 2019. We accepted 27 students into the first year, 21 students were accepted into the Saturday class programme, 25 second year students (which is a high retention from first year), 17 students in third year and 8 interns.
19 19
The Demographics and Stats of the Education Programme at APS
First Year Second Year Third Year Saturday Fourth Year
2020
The Education Unit had 98 students in total in January 2019. We accepted 27 students into the first year, 21 students were accepted into the Saturday class programme, 25 second year students (which is a high retention from first year), 17 students in third year and 8 interns. Gender: APS student body is still predominantly male dominated 80% while the female constituency only makes up almost 20% of our overall student population. Race: From Jan 2019 the student body was 98% Black, 1% Coloured and 2% White. Languages: The predominant language spoken at home (first Language) is Zulu followed by Tsonga then Sotho, English and Tswana. Teachers need to be aware of this in the classroom as difficult concepts and techniques can be translated into the predominant first language to ensure understanding. We have one deaf student Raymond Fuyana, who has completed his 3 years of training and is currently a 4th year intern. With the help for his primary facilitator, Rene Mathibe, the students in his class have made great efforts to learn sign language to communicate with him. Age Groups: Ages vary within each group, some extending from as young as 17 to 37 years old. The average age in first and second year is 23 years old, 25 in third year and 26 in fourth year (intern) Location of Students to Artist Proof Studio: Most of APS students travel on average 30km a day to come to APS. The majority of students come from the South of Johannesburg as far as Vereeniging (57km one way) and Soweto (26 – 30km one way depending on location). 35% come in from the East Rand. Common locations include; Tembisa, Kempton Park and Katlehong. 13% of students travel from the North from areas including, Freedom Park and Midrand, one travels from Pretoria. 8% of students come in from West Rand and 8% from Johannesburg Central.
APS Student Location to APS 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
North
South
East
West
JHB Central
21 21 An average APS student lives with four people in a household that has an average household income of R5 500.00. In most cases students live with family members including grandparents who bring in two pension grants that assist with expenses. Out of the 97 students at Artist Proof Studio 11 were not able to pay their registration fee. 26 students across first, second and third year have been identified as needing bursary support. Additional columns and information was gathered from our volunteer Social worker on issues affecting overall performance and wellbeing. Criteria including, household income and people residing at the same location, performance and distance travelled were all considered in the selection. APS needs to raise almost R152 000.00p/a to accommodate needs over and above education, materials and training costs.
Education Activities and Highlights In 2018/19 we were fortunate to have a number of international exchange opportunities that facilitated exposure to new and innovative ways of printmaking, learning and engaging with new art practice including. Exchanges impact on all business units. A number of key exchanges took place that facilitated growth and relationship building.
2222
•Luzuko Dayile lithography printer in the pro-shop, went to Boston in November 2018 and spent time with Carolyne Mukcatt learning new lithography processes. This followed an intensive two week lithography workshop in July 2018 at APS. This exchange was facilitated by longtime friend of APS, Peter Scott from School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. •In January 2019, Liz Chalfin from Zea Mays Studio (Boston) came to APS to run a series of non-toxic printmaking workshops with proshop and education printmakers in ‘Green’ approaches to printmaking which has completely changed the way APS does etching. During her stay, Liz assisted Kim Berman on the Dada Picnic series of prints for William Kentridge using non-toxic coffee-lift etching with Acrylic Big Ground. •In March Edouard Duval-Carré, a Miami-based Haitian-American artist visited APS and facilitated a collaborative project with APS 4th Year students and the UJ 3rd Year students. Students were asked to interpret and make works that based on the decolonisation of South Africa. Edouard introduced the students to silicone mould-making and working
with resin. They created three-layered artworks using their prints, found objects and transparent resin. This collaboration inspired the students to see innovative ways of using printmaking.
interviews and familiarise themselves with the teacher. The outcome for the project was 16 beautifully drawn portraits of the teachers and their symbols of hope and inspiration.
•In June, Nathan Sensel, an educator
had over 30 prospective students who came to learn more about our education programme at the Annual APS Open Day. Thuli Lubisi and Raymond Fuyana did the educational print demonstrations on a few techniques covered in the curriculum.
at the Museum of Art in New York did a collaboration with the 4th year class for his Masters research project looking at pedagogical approaches in printmaking workshops in South Africa and Mexico. The goal for the project was to create a working collaborative environment for the creation of prints. Nathan shared the work he had been doing with Mexican artists and youth in using printmaking as tool to address social and political issues in Mexico. Students were tasked to investigate the idea of making artworks individually and collaboratively. The project enabled the group to think of themselves as active citizens and to create collaborative work which will be showcased in 2020 as part of Nathan’s Master’s presentation.
•The 2nd and 3rd year students
worked on teachers’ portrait project with Kimon Phitidis an author currently writing a book about South African public school teachers. He focused on the “can do” teachers who continue to inspire and bring light to the classroom despite our failing schooling system. The book is called ‘Where Light Shines Through,’ and will be published in 2020. Students were given interviews conducted by Kimon of 16 teachers from public schools around South Africa. Each had to read the transcripts from the
•In October, the Education Unit
•In April 2019, Peter Scott and his wife, Anne Lundberg spent two busy weeks with the education team and students focusing on building our visual literacy programme, developing new assessment strategies and ways of reviewing teaching practices. The first week focused on working with the students to forge better communication strategies, explore diversity and create new alliances within the group through printmaking. •Raymond Fuyana continues to share his skills and inspire the deaf and hearing community. He graduated in 2018 and was enrolled in the Fourth Year Progamme in 2019. Raymond visited the Ekurhuleni School for the Deaf in Katlehong and shared his artistic journey as deaf artist and his studies at APS with the learners. At the end of his presentation he facilitated a drawing session inspired by his art with the learners. https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=3yIe2iVCI6A Raymond has also been teaching a deaf boy from Cameroon South African Sign Language. Daniel is 16 years old and came to South Africa not knowing any sign language. Raymond has helped him develop his communication skills using drawing and printmaking to teach him different signs. •For the 2019 RMB Turbine Art Fair (RMB TAF), Strauss & Co. exhibited the acclaimed work of Douglas Portway and Louis Khehla Maqhubela as their featured artists. Artist Proof Studio collaborated with Strauss & Co. for a third consecutive year by getting APS students to create their own interpretations inspired historical SA artists. The 2nd year and 3rd year
students were asked to respond to Portway’s and Maqhubela’s work. The students responded to both artists unique styles that are rooted in abstract expressionism.
•Artist Proof Studio hosted a
screen-printing workshop on protest and activism for the Inner City Federation (ICF) in collaboration with Matthew Wilhelm-Solomon from the Department of Anthropology at Wits University and the Socio-Economics Rights Institute (SERI). The workshop, involved 17 participants and focused on using visual media and slogans to promote awareness around housing and gender rights in Johannesburg. The participants designed and screen printed their own protest flags. This process was facilitated by Heidi Mielke, Thuli Lubisi and Hlelo Molefe.
Last month she was also awarded The Project Space Co-create Collaborative Residency. APS is proud of the growing accomplishments of DuduBloom who continues to be a role model for other female artists in the industry and students in our education programme. •Lucas Nkgweng and Rene Mathibe were certified as SETA assessors, moderators and facilitators in line with our Phase B SETA Learnership requirements.
•The Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation
invited APS to be part of their 15th year anniversary celebrations where they opened an art exhibition on 21st of November at the Constitution Hill. The exhibition featured prints by APS alumni such as DuduBloom, Donald Makola, Thuli Lubisi, Mario Soares amongst work by other selected artists and designers. The exhibition focused on fostering an inclusive, empowered society and was held at the Women’s Jail, Constitution Hill. Special Guest was APS alumni Nelson Makamo.
•On the 25th November, APS
graduate DuduBloom (Dudu More) won the 2019 Cassirer Welz Award. The prestigious award take place annually hosted by Bag Factory Artists’ Studios in partnership with Strauss & Co. and Kalashnikov Gallery. DuduBloom is the only female artists to make it in the top four finalists.
23 23
2.2 Marketing, Special Projects & Outreach
Marketing Manager
Mr. Nathi Simelane
APS Graphic Designer
Mr. Richard Ncube
Marketing Committee:
Ms. T. Munungufhala (Gallery) Ms. R. Mathibe (Education) Mr. N. Ndlandla (Pro shop)
Special Projects Manager
Mr. Nathi Simelane
Special Projects & Outreach Coordinators
Mr B. Ngobeni & Ms. P. Mahape
members of different units who go to exhibitions and feed images and posts to the Marketing team
2424
Corporate and Community Partners including; RMB, Mastrantonio, Strauss and Co., Fasken, Legacy Hotels, Hollard Artinsure/Itoo, Trinity Session, Bidvest, Roast Republic, Cartier and Saville Row are a key partners of APS in 2018/19. These partners work with APS in different capacities to promote the brand and encourage further investment into APS. Our partnerships are founded on common goals, shared visions and a passion for the arts and community development and empowerment. Through corporate partnerships, APS is able to create jobs for students and contract artists to run print workshops and demonstrations, work on commissions including wood panel carvings, murals and gift portfolio prints for events, company functions and furbish corporate interiors with artwork. These opportunities offered through our corporate and community partners also enable us to target new markets and develop new audiences which often leads onto further sales and investment into emerging artists work and our education activities.
Special Projects Cartier x JAF 2018 Collaboration – September 2018 In 2017 Artist Proof Studio and Market Photo Workshop were approached by Cartier South Africa to invite students/ graduates to submit artwork for an art contest they launched at the FNB Joburg Art Fair (JAF). APS alumnus Lebohang Motaung was the winner of the contest. With the success of the first project, Cartier wanted to exclusively work with APS for JAF 2018. This collaboration extended beyond getting students/artists to create artwork in re-imagining their ‘Just Un Clou’ jewellery range. In 2018, APS was the core focus of their prestigious lounge. We worked with interior designer Jean du Rand to use artworks from 2017 as designs that were printed at APS and covered on the furniture. Alex Vosloo and Hlelo Molefe worked over-time to meet a demanding deadline of screenprinting 100 meters of fabric in 8 days. For the art contest, 9 artists and students were invited to each create and submit 2 artworks. All the submitted artworks were proudly showcased throughout the Cartier lounge and available for purchase.
The featured artists included: •Alex Vosloo – Collaborating Artist •Cromwell Ngobeni – Alumnus •David Madlabane – 3rd Year Student •DuduBloom More – 3rd Year Student •Gildo Soares – 4th Year Student •Khosi Kunene – 2nd Year Student •Lindo Zwane – Alumnus •Thandiwe Khumalo – Alumnus •Thuli Lubisi – 3rd year Student Many of the artworks sold-out on the first night of JAF 2018. The popularity of artworks was attributed to the featured artists being present at the lounge and performing live printmaking demonstrations. This allowed the audience to engage directly with the artists, and gain more insight in the art making process.
25 25
Roast Republic in Bryanston – February/March 2019 Roast Republic approached APS for a unique mural commission for their new coffee shop in Bryanston. Referred by Gordon Massie (partner through iToo Artinsure and student sponsor), Roast Republic wanted to create a space that is fresh and appealing to a young audience of professionals in the area - a space where the ‘art of coffee’ meets the ‘art of printmaking’.
2626
APS was challenged with creating a mural that would not only transform the coffee shop visually, but also include a metaphor of how the Roast Republic Bryanston brings people together. The mural was not the traditional artwork painted onto the wall, but needed to be painted on the floor. The team started with selecting Hlelo Molefe as a suitable artist because his new body of work met the brief for the project. The production of the Mural was completed by a team of 2nd and 3rd year students led by Ben Ngobeni and Precious Mahapa.
“Molefe’s artwork is suitable for the space as it reinforces the concept of meeting in a coffee shop. The hands coming together put emphasis on physical connection, in a world that is fast moving towards digital communication.”
Mural team painting the floor mural before shop fitter installs furniture and equipment
In addition to the mural our partnership with Roast Republic included a 6m wall dedicated to showcasing APS artists work. We have installed 10 framed artworks by graduates and collaborating artists. Customers interested in purchasing artworks are able to contact APS for the purchase of available editions.
Going forward, Special Projects is investigating implementing ‘activations’ and events in spaces where clients are invited and can have opportunities to engage with artists as well as see live printmaking demos. This will allow us to showcase the online shop as an alternative to purchasing artworks exhibited in the space.
27 27
Hollard 40th Anniversary Calendar – April/May 2019
From 2016-2018 Artist Proof Studio worked with iToo Artinsure and Hollard on a campaign where 9 large scale murals were painted throughout Hollard’s Parktown Campus. The campaign, championed by iToo Artinsure’s passion to make art more accessible was launched at the 10th anniversary celebration. In 2020, Hollard celebrates their 40th anniversary and included APS in a campaign that tells a story by looking back at their achievements over the years. As supporter of the arts, with their significant corporate art collections, Hollard has made art the centre of the campaign. With that brief, 16 APS students and students were invited to create, in their own style, artworks that visually communicated the values of the insurance company. The challenge put upon the artists was to create artworks in the branded colours of Hollard – purple, aqua, orange and gold.
Hollard digitally scanned the artworks created by the artists which were used in the 2020 calendar which consisted of diaries, tent and desk calendars as well as desk blotters. The partnership between Hollard and APS allowed us the opportunity to publish the artworks and sell a limited edition series of the prints that would be available for purchase to Holladites and special APS partners. Launch events planned for November and February 2020 gives APS the opportunity to generate income through sales of the prints sold at the events at Hollard.
The sales team was taking orders for the prints which will be ready for delivery in Feb 2020 before the main partner/public launch
APS looks forward to the main launch of the calendar project at Villa Arcadia in the year 2020. We are grateful for partnerships like Hollard which continue to support the development of young artists.
Hollard 40th Anniversary Calendar – April/May 2019
A
rtist Proof Studio was invited to submit a proposal for the newly renovated Bidvest Premier Lounge at OR Tambo Airport through long-time supporter Kevin Handlesman. The brief required artworks that would transform the space and fit into a specified aesthetic set by the interior designers. The artists selected for the project include Ramaruta Makoba and Tony Nkotsi, whose printed artworks were reinterpreted into large scale carved panels. To execute this commission a team of 2nd and 3rd year students were selected based on their skills, some also having experience from previous projects.
Tony Nkotsi panels installed in one of the Bidvest Premier Airport Lounges
The installed panels are exposed daily to local and international travellers using the premier lounge. Many of whom fit the ideal APS client profile of supporting the development of arts education through buying art.
Colour being applied to the panels on completion of carving
Detail of finished panels
Colour being applied to the panels on completion of carv
Bidvest Bank office Art – June/July 2019 After the successful completion of the Bidvest Premier Airport Lounge artworks, Artist Proof Studio received another art commission from Bidvest to create artworks for their newly built bank in Sandton. APS had to select artworks by alumni which reflected the values of Bidvest Bank and transform the spaces identified – the boardroom and cafeteria. The artworks selected are site specific to fit into the environment identified for them as well as reflect the ethos of Bidvest Bank. A carved Ramarutha Makoba and Thuli Lubisi panel was approved for production, giving 8 students in various level of study at APS the opportunity to learn a new skill and receive valuable training in other forms of art production and also generating income they use towards their subsistence, transport and art materials.
3232
Production process on Ramarutha panel – first being carved then painted
Team students involved in the production with the complete panels
Outreach Activities (Funded by Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) from September 2018 – March 2019)
Monty Mahobe at Mzimhlope Ark (Christopher Molete’s Ark) speaking to the children about who he is.
Outreach activities run through Special Projects. APS has a long history of working with community leaders and partnering with NPO’s and socially conscious organisations to provide support and workshops to children and the public in underserved communities. These initiatives are built into our senior education programme providing work-placement opportunities for students as artists and facilitators. These opportunities to broaden APS’s scope of arts training and encourage ways of ‘paying it forward’ through skills and knowledge transfer. APS has retained the ‘Artists in Arks’ programme for over 10 years which provides art classes to vulnerable children at the former Noah’s Ark site in Mzimhlope and the Abrahiem Kriel Centre in Soweto. This initiative is supported through funds raised from the ‘Bird and its Watcher’ print by William Kentridge. Two classes a week are facilitated by two APS alumni and artists providing arts facilitation to over 100 children a week. This is supported through funding or by the APS itself.
Abrahiem Kriel Childcare in Emdeni focuses on introducing children to a range of drawing mediums and materials. As most of the children at this site are young, themes were kept simple. These classes have been run by Ramarutha Makoba, a well-known APS artist and community facilitator. There are between 20 and 30 children who attend Ramarutha’s classes. The number fluctuates depending on the other programmes running in the afternoon at the centre. Christopher Molefe has been working at an Ark in Soweto, Mzimhlope for more than ten years as an arts facilitator. He has worked tirelessly with the children to use art as a way to uplift their space through murals and painting games on the concrete floors. From October 2018 Ramarutha and Christopher introduced the theme of ‘Tribute’ with an emphasis on portraiture. Many hours were spent looking at various heroes and heroines in the community. Winnie Madiziki Mandela emerged as a primary focus following her recent death. Monty Mahobe’s (an 84 year old
undiscovered artist’s work) was printed in the pro-shop during the course of 2018. In 2017, APS took the Monty Mahobe Project on as an outreach project and at their own expense, proofed his numerous plates, recruited a writer (Barbara Adair through our partner WITS Writing Centre) and hired a curator (Brenton Maart) to do the layout and manage the publication of a book so we could share and disseminate Monty’s incredible life story and art. Monty is a great story teller and shares stories through his work of his experiences of life in Sophia town and Soweto during the apartheid era. The book was launched at JAF in 2018 where he was available for signing and the book was later used to inspire a series of narratives and artwork by children in our outreach sites in Soweto and in Cape Town. The project that we envisioned was a way for us to pay tribute to his life which until 2018, very few knew about.
33 33
On the 13th October the Saturday class students started a team project around the work of Monty Mahobe. The 2018 Saturday Class is facilitated by Lucas Nkgweng and Mamorena Malakoane and focused primarily on skills development and printmaking. The Saturday class was divided into two groups: Group Monty: Vukile Nxuseka, Arnold Mabuya, Malefo Monthati, Sakhumzi Sikhakhane Group Mahobe: Bheki Sibiya, Malefetsana Tau, Sifiso Mvundla, Wayne Nkambule Monty’s works were used as a point of reference and inspiration for a linocut colour reduction group project. At the end of the process, the Special Project Team were invited to a Saturday class critique and they were so impressed with the carving and teamwork demonstrated from this project they recruited the Saturday class students for a large Legacy Hotel Carving project thereafter.
Abrahiem Kriel Centre
Goolam Saber a 2016 APS Graduate Katlehong Outreach Initiative, and previous Special Project coordinator October 2018 was hired in September 2018 to conduct a series of community facilitation workshops with APS students to prepare them for outreach work. He worked with 1st and 2nd year students. In September, Saber forged a partnership with Flurina Rothenburger a photographer (doing a lot of work in the Ivory Coast and with a community from Katlehong. Flurina conducted a collage workshop consisting of 6 collages in collaboration with the community and students from APS. These were photographed by Market Photo Lab students. The workshops included between 30 - 40 participants within the community of Katlehong, and 9 students from APS. This was followed by a design and screen printing workshop (11October 2018). The theme of Wealth and Success as understood by youth from the Katlehong community was explored through a process of collage. The collages were then be turned into posters with the intention of using these as designs for screen prints. The second workshop was a screen printing project. The participants printed shirts and bags using screen printing. The images were created by a local artist from Katlehong who lives in Johannesburg, APS students exercised what they have learned in class and were able to share the skills and ‘tricks of the trade’. The
bags and t-shirts were distributed to participants. Using excess wood from print shelves at APS, Goolam Saber designed a collapsible table that Flurina helped put together, this was a donation with the intent to assist Sechaba as a local artist better accommodate workshops and work in his house as studio.
3636
Paper Prayers Workshop at Little Artists in Hillbrow 14th February 2019 The fourth year students attended a workshop on the morning of the 14th February 2019 which included a planning session, training and preparation session at Artist Proof Studio conducted by Studio Manager Shannin Antonopoulo. On site, the APS team was met by over 20 children from various grades aged between 13 and 18 years of age this number grew as the afternoon progressed and space and facilities to make prints grew smaller which encouraged the team to be creative and work together to organize the children and ensure that everyone managed to make a print by the end of the session. Following the intervention (14th February 2019), each APS student submitted a reflective report in writing that explained what they had gained and what they had given through the experience. Selected comments and responses from various Fourth Year students have been noted below.
“Knowing that I pushed at least one child in the right direction (the direction of following their passion) and seeing myself in some of the children, and being glad I was possibly a light for them. Something I did not have when I was younger” – Dudu More “The kids looked at me and acknowledged me” – Raymond Fuyana “I have seen change in my confidence and public speaking, although it needs more growth” – Pule Ratsoma “We worked well as a team because everyone had a different role” – Alex Nkuna
37 37
January 2019, Nyanga Arts Development Center printmaking workshops, Western Cape Richard Kilpert, arts facilitator and printmaker agreed to run a series of developmental workshops to target talented youths in underserved communities in and around Cape Town. The workshops were planned in November but were initiated in January. Richard Kilpert met with local artist Velile Soha several times before implementation to design “taking responsibility� theme based on the fact that the first workshop happened on a voter registration weekend. Soha met with the participants and gave them feedback on their drawings, Kilpert then delivered linocut materials at Nyanga Arts Development Center As an introduction to printmaking, the participants did scraperboard and monotype prints before beginning on linocuts.
3838
APS Pro-Shop & Artists
“Collaboration comes about when people seek to create value together – a process exemplified in the social dynamic of the printmaking studio, in which artists and printmakers collectively produce or ‘co-create’ printed works of art. In the APS ‘Pro Shop’, this involves a creative dialogue, or dance, in which the professional printmaker brings skills and support to an artist’s vision. The dynamic collaboration reflected in this studio environment is extended through the expanded reach of the print multiple (or edition), which allows for a greater distribution of, and so access to, original works of art”. (Press Release for Artist Proof Studio: A Journey in Co-creation). Printmaking is an expensive visual arts output and as such, many emerging artists are unable to afford the production costs for an editions of prints needed to create portfolios and establish careers as printmakers. APS offers co-publishing contracts to graduated young artists to produce prints and these are then marketed and sold through our gallery. More established artists and those who have galleries as agents make use of the pro-shop to publish editions for exhibitions. All the printers in the pro-shop are graduates of APS who over the years have built a reputation for quality and excellence in their field. The pro-shop team consists of two master printers and four print technicians who work closely together with artists to create print editions for exhibition and sales. Relationships with artists are maintained by the pro-shop team.
The high quality of work, collaboration and excellence in printmaking has established APS pro-shop as one of the leading studios in the country. Of the 120 artists we represent through our gallery, about 40 print through our pro-shop space. APS publishes for a number of established artists represented by other galleries including William Kentridge, Mongezi Ncapayi, Phillemon Hlungwane, Chris Diedericks and Colbert Mashile. Overall we have over 120 artists associated with APS. Over 90 of these artists are studio alumni. APS uses platforms like the Turbine, Cape Town and Joburg art fairs to showcase and launch up and coming young artists work to the public. Young artists are encouraged and supported to have solo exhibitions following their graduate year at APS. The list of artists that have published in the Pro-shop 2018/9 include the following: APS Artists: Phillemon Hlungwane,
Mario Soares, Sifiso Temba, Luzuko Dayile, Sizwe Khoza, Themba Khumalo, Justice Matonsi, Cromwell Ngobeni, Thandi Khumalo, Bokang Mankoe, Nathi Ndlandla, Lehlohonolo Mashaba, Thokozani Madonsela, Ramarutha Makoba, Lindo Zwane, Lebogang Sithole, Phillip Mabote, Jan Tshikhuthula, Lebohang Motaung, Donald Makola, Sifiso Gumede and new rising stars including; Raymond Fuyana, Pule Ratsoma, Dudu More, Hlelo Molefe and Thuli Lubisi. Associated collaborating artists include András Börcötz Edoard Duwal-Carre Sue Pam Grant, Sue Martin, Chris Dieidericks, Johannes Phokela, Yda Walt, Norman Catherine, Landi Rubenheimer, Minnette Vari, Diane Victor and others. In total the Pro-shop has printed over 1400 prints in 2018/9.
39 39
4040
The Pro-shop Team 2018/19 Master Printer
Ms. P.Sikhosana
Master Printer & Papermaker
Mr. N. Ndlandla
Assistant Printers
Mr Luzuko Dayile (2018) Mr B. Mankoe Ms T. Khumalo Mr. C. Ngobeni Mr B. Gaotlhaelwe
Gallery & Sales The gallery’s role at APS is to work closely with the pro-shop in coordinating new releases and editions and marketing to facilitate opportunities to showcase, exhibit and sell the artwork made by APS alumni and associated artists. This is done through marketing and sales on site and new audiences are targeted through corporate partnership events, exhibitions with galleries and art fairs which directly involves the Special Projects unit. APS focuses on the development of new audiences and encourages new and firsttime buyers to invest in up and coming artists prints. The processes and techniques of making prints often appeals to a wide audience and education of printmaking and its discipline often motivates understanding of the process. Many of our exhibitions and stands at art fairs include demonstrations and talks where students print simple relief blocks and explain the processes involved in the creation of prints. The Art Fairs offer enormous opportunities to showcase new work and promote young artists. Corporate exhibition events with partners have also proven to be lucrative and mutually beneficial to the partner and APS. A highlight of our education programme and for our clients is the Third Year End exhibition that shows and sells the work of graduating artists. Sales generated from these main events have an impact for the artists as well as our strategy for self-sustainability. The Art Fairs bring in a large amount of revenue and exposure for our artists. In the last two years. We have extended our reach to include Pretoria, Cape Town, and Europe. In 2019 we have seen many changes in the market and buying capacity which has resulted in APS working harder to promote the brand and find new ways of reaching the market and promoting the brand.
41 41
Cape Town Gallery Pene Meneire was temporarily contracted to pickup the reigns of managing the Cape Town Space following Jeanne Mare Du-Bois’ departure in July 2019. Pene has since August ensured that the space is managed, activated and organised until March 2020, at which time the lease will be up for review. Pene guides and work with Aviwe Plaatjie (the young artist) currently working in the studio space at APS. To maintain, nurture and develop consignee relationships, forge new collaborations, networks and individual partnerships going forward. Pene and Aviwe spent the first few weeks cleaning up the space - sprucing up boards, painting, de-cluttering work, reworking local contacts, sponsors and data base.
4242
Pene selected graduate and alumni artwork for a planned exhibition EXPLORE in Cape Town while in Johannesburg in September to assist at the Joburg Art Fair. Following this she had various meetings with consignees to re-establish contact and work towards future collaborations including Kalk Bay Modern, Youngblood and AVA in Cape Town. Following these meetings it has been confirmed that APS will feature a graduate student show in the first week of December at Youngblood to be held on First Thursday 5th December. This space generates 1500 foot traffic and is great exposure for APS. AVA Gallery is also excited at the prospect of curating, collaborating and working together in the future. Pene also met with Johnathan Commerford from Hard Ground Press and was excited to learn that he is open to facilitate workshops under the APS badge. He has both a letter press and a lino press that are mobile and can be used for short / long term workshops. Youngblood has offered a space to facilitate these workshops.
11 October 2018, Partnership & Possibilities, Fasken Fasken has been a long-time partner of APS providing continual in-kind support, legal and HR advice to the organisation. In late 2018 they hosted a relaxing evening of drinks, canapĂŠs and art for their clients at Fasken, Johannesburg. The evening provided a platform for up-and-coming artists to showcase and sell their artwork. A highlight of the evening was the print demonstrations offered by interns and APS students. Previously Bell Dewar and Hall, then Fasken Martineau, now Fasken, have an extensive collection of APS artwork, much of which has grown in value since the once supported student artists who they collected have grown to become prolific South African artists. Fasken also supported APS with their stand at Turbine Art Fair in 2019.
43 43
9-11 November 2018, AKAA ( Also Known as Africa), Paris Artist Proof Studio was invited to exhibit for the first time at this year’s annual AKAA (Also Known As Africa Art and South African Artists alongside new up-and coming printmaking talent. Represented by Nathi Simelane and Jeanne Mare duBois who curated a selection of works by William Kentridge, Sizwe Khoza, Mongezi Ncaphayi, Bevan de Wet and Lebohang Motaung as well as paper pulp works by Landi Raubenheimer. Artist Proof Studio shared the Art Lab platform at the AKAA fair with some projects aimed at enriching the visitor’s experience of art and design. Although the costs were high, it was important for APS to make its mark on an international platform.
4444
9 November, SA Tourism/Lilizela Awards 2018/19 APS was privileged to have been offered an opportunity to select, frame and deliver 60 artworks by up-and coming artists as prizes for the Annual Lilizella Awards 2018. This prestigious event celebrates the best in Tourism around the country. To know that our artists work resides in various spaces visited by tourists around the country is a great achievement.
Cape Town Art Fair Lydia Zungu and Jeanne Mare du Bois represented APS at the CTAF in February 2019. Unframed artworks were mounted directly onto the walls at this year’s show. APS featured Cromwell Ngobeni, Sizwe Khoza, Themba Khumalo, Ramarutha Makoba, Justice Mathonsi, Thokozani Madonsela, Beven De Wet and other artists. The featured work on the stand was a diptych of Dada Picnic by William Kentridge in which the making of the work was written up in the Creative Feel magazine. The work was well received with many complements for a striking stand.
45 45 TV personality and art enthusiast Maps Maponyane doing an interview with Investec, highlighting APS as one of the galleries to visit for top emerging artist
Dada Picnic (Double), Etching, 48 x 95.5cm, 2019
CAPE TOWN ART FAIR 2018/19 350000 300000 250000 200000 150000 100000 50000 0 Total
APS Artists 2018
William Kentridge
2019
4646
APS booth at Cape Town Art Fair
Co-curated by Pamela Allara, Associate Professor Emerita, Brandeis University and Joseph D. Ketner II, Director Emerson Urban Arts. The exhibition was made possible, in part, by a Cultural Investment Portfolio Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. William Kentridge collaborated to produce eight monumental prints based on Triumphs and Laments that were on show together for the first time at the Emerson Urban Arts: Media Art Gallery. As a group, the prints brought the contemporary ramifications of the frieze’s historical figures to the fore, with themes of migration and displacement dominant. APS sent four of these magnificent pieces to be showcased at Emerson College. This was followed by an extraordinary article written by Pamela Allara in de Arte publication in September. Sadly Joe Ketner passed away on September 16th 2018.
14th February 2019, Triumphs and Laments Exhibition, Emerson, Boston
47 47
30 April, Augusta Savage Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst The exhibition curated by Liz Chalfin ran from 30 April to 9 May 2019. It was a very successful showing and about 30 people attended the talk Liz gave about her experience at Artist Proof Studio, the work was retained after this exhibition and Liz managed to sell almost all of what she took by August 2019.
21 May, Artist Proof Studio: A Journey in Cocreation: 28 years of exploring democracy through printmaking, FADA
To mark 28 years of collaborative projects and relationships, Artist Proof Studio had a retrospective exhibition of prints at the UJ Gallery Faculty of Art Design and Architecture (FADA) and co-hosted by Visual Identities in Art and Design (VIAD) where Kim Berman works as a Professor in the Visual Art Department. This was a milestone event, highlighting an ongoing partnership that has extended for as long as Kim Berman has been a lecturer with this faculty and Co-founder of Artist Proof Studio. The exhibition highlighted the range of collaborative printmaking projects and relationships forged between artists and the pro-shop. It also emphasized the enormous talent and professional abilities of the pro-shop team.
Turbine Art Fair (TAF) is a fantastic platform for people interested in art, new buyers and collectors to be exposed to and purchase artworks by emerging and established local artists all priced below 50k. This year the stand was bright and accommodated new work by Sizwe Khoza, Pule Ratsoma, Mario Soares and Raymond Fuyana. Unlike previous years where the fair was literally around the corner from the studio, the venue was moved to Illovo which invited a new crowd and presented a different format to that seen and experienced before. TAF provides APS with enormous opportunity to meet new people, share our passion for printmaking and involve our senior students as professional printmakers to participate in the Strauss and Co. collaboration. Dudu More, an exceptional 2018 APS graduate was selected to participate in this year’s Fresh Produce initiative which included a mentorship programme and exhibition of work at TAF.
12 – 15 July: Turbine Art Fair, Illovo
49 49
17 August : Kim Berman in conversation with William Kentridge, FADA Gallery, University of Johannesburg
5050
For the closing of the exhibition Artist Proof Studio: A Journey in Co-creation, Artist Proof Studio (APS) and Visual Identities in Art and Design (VIAD) at the University of Johannesburg’s Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture hosted a conversation and reception for William Kentridge, in celebration of 24 years of collaboration between William Kentridge and Artist Proof Studio. His partnership has supported the flourishing and facilitation of hundreds of young printmakers to have a career through understanding the possibility of excellence. Artist Proof Studio in support of
our Education Endowment fund. Limited editions of 20 prints each, were available exclusively at the evening event. Each artwork, printed on special Phumani hand-made sisal paper was sold at the event. The purchase of a print funded the cost of a full bursary for a student at APS. This was a unique opportunity to invest in the exciting talent of the future and to acquire a very beautiful, unique etching by William Kentridge.
The prints, “Tree” and “Leaf” relate the newest Opera ‘Waiting for the Sibyl’ scheduled to be performed at the Rome Opera House in September 2019. The sibyls were oracles in Ancient Greece. The earliest sibyls were able to prophesise through divine inspiration. In this new creation by William Kentridge, the sybil writes the answers onto a leaf and leaves them in a pile at the entrance of a cave. When the wind blows the leaves into the air, you will not know if it is your fate you pick up, or someone else’s.
51 51
22 August, William Kentridge Event, Cape Town
5252
Pene Meniere set up and ran a successful Kentridge preview exhibition which coincided with both the Norval and Zeitz Kentridge retrospectives. Written mailers and co-ordinated social media posts were sent via our APS designer in Johannesburg and Pene. The ground floor of the exhibition included works by current students and alumni. Sponsorships included; wine, food, lighting and flowers. Kim Berman gave an opening talk about the making of Refugees, which resulted in a sale of this extraordinary iconic work. The event was well attended and a great partnership between Belinda Soboil (floral artist) resulted in a lot of positive feedback and good sales. The show proved to allow for good responsive team work between Cape Town and the APS JHB team.
September, Art Joburg Fair ‘Reaching for the Stars’: creating a legacy through printmaking was the theme of the APS stand at Art Joburg which aimed to highlight the extraordinary legacy of printmaking talent over the past two decades. It shines light on work by the stars and the current rising stars and was supported by the new generation of aspiring stars. This exhibition celebrated mentorship from APS alumni Philemon Hlungwane, Nelson Makamo, Bambo Sibiya, Themba Khumalo and others to the next generation of associated artists including Sizwe Khoza, Lindo Zwane, Lebohang Motaung, Cromwell Ngobeni and Thandiwe Khumalo. Selected student artists Vonani Hlungwane, Hlavutelo Ngobeni Alex Nkuna from Philemon Hlungwani’s home
in Giyani; Stephen Langa, a first -year students referred to APS and mentored by alumni Nelson Makamo and Reward Maleyana, a third year student sponsored and mentored by Sizwe Khoza had works which were showcased alongside the work of their mentors. This exhibition was featured in Classic Feel magazine.
53 53
Latitude A fringe art Fair curated by Lucy MacGarry ran parallel to Art Joburg. Artist Proof Studio used this opportunity to launch an On-line Store. It was well received, and made a refreshing complement to the impressive showcasing at Art Joburg. RMB generoulsy offered us the use of their touch screen facility for the fair which gave our clients easy access to our online store.
5454
October: Rise or Fall? (An Unknown tomorrow), Association of Arts: APS Annual Exhibition, Pretoria Arts Association
The 2019 annual Pretoria/APS exhibition at the Pretoria Arts Association reinforced APS’s position against femiside and xenophobia and all acts of violence and discrimination in the context of country wide protests against femiside and acts of violence towards foreigners in South Africa. Prints by associated APS African artists including Mario Soares, Sizwe Khoza, Gildo Soares (Mozambique), Joel Mpah Dooh (Cameroon), Mandlenkosi Mavengere, Hlelo Molefe (Zimbabwe) and Raymond Fuyana (Zimbabwe) alongside South African artists including Lindo Zwane, David Madlabane, Thandi Khumalo, Cromwell Ngobeni, Bokang Mankoe, Themba Khumalo and many more supporting this view will be exhibited. A section of the exhibition is dedicated to APS female artists as a collective and will include works by Lebohang Motaung, Cristel van der Merwe, Ilse Pahl, Heidi Mielke, Renielwe Mathibe, Thandiwe Khumalo, Precious Mahapa and Dudu More. This exhibition was opened on Friday 4 October 2019 at by Kim Berman. Public printmaking demonstrations showcasing various printmaking techniques was held at the gallery on Saturday 19 October 2019 from 11h00 to 13h00, artists included in the exhibition were invited to do the demonstrations and engage with the public.
55 55
FINANCIAL REPORT Bridget Wiles-Dick was contracted in 2018 to assist and prepare APS for their Annual Financial Audit following the departure of Mariska Klopper in November 2018. Board Director, Shaila Jivan worked closely with the Finance Team in 2019 and served to improve systems flows and controls to enhance financial operations, accountability and monthly reporting to the Board of Directors. The annual financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards required by the Companies Act of South Africa. APS received an unqualified audit report from Douglas and Velcich CA (SA) for the tenth consecutive year.
5656
In 2019, the main source of income came through sales; 44% from Kentridge sales and 34% from APS artist sales. 11% of income was brought in through Grants and Donations while 6% was from interest earned from investments. Contract Income which is Special Projects brought in 5% of income.
Income /Expenses
R8 000 000,00 R6 000 000,00 R4 000 000,00
Expenses
R2 000 000,00 R-
Income 2019
2018 Income
2017 Expenses
From 2018 to 2019, there was an increase in income of 18% from 6.4 million (2018) to 7.5 million (2019). An amount of R1.3 m was paid out to artists in 2018 financial year. 2019, APS’s expenses were greater than our income.
57 57
APS experienced a decrease in sales in 2018 from 2017 of 12.4%. Despite a challenging economic climate in 2019, we managed to recover in sales with an increase of 1.7 million rand (28.4%) from 2018.
GROSS SALES/INCOME Sales/Gross
Gross Profit
R5 668 509,00
R4 197 242,00 R6 317 087,00
R8 114 378,00
Gross Profit Sales/Gross 2018
5858
2019
There is a 1.4 million rand increase in income from 2018 to 2019. In 2018, the studio made 6.3 million rand in gross sales that indicates a 4.1 million rand increase. In 2019 sales to the value of 8.1m (including the William Kentridge fundraisers) which after costs of sales and direct expenses resulted in an income of 5,6m, generating almost 80% of our operating costs.
Way Forward APS has focused its attention on fundraising and the strengthening of strategic partnerships for the future to ensure sustainability and longevity. The new strategy plan has further set targets for APS turning 30 years old in 2021. A significant long-term change envisaged is a move to a new venue. Like many cultural organisations in Newtown, the degradation of the area and lack of structural and financial support to the former thriving cultural hub has taken a significant toll on the attempts to maintain the growth of audiences and public access. APS needs to find a new home to continue to facilitate growth and access for our continued contribution to job creation and training going forward. Another significant change in 2019 is accreditation for our first-year education programme which will allow us to begin the process of applying for a Higher Education Qualification Certification (HEQC) which will enable us to generate income from students wanting to earn credits and specialize in printmaking studio practice. Given our many achievements this year including awards received by APS Alumni, projects successfully completed and partnerships that have been mutually beneficial and rewarding, despite the many challenges we have faced, we are proud to say that we have performed well, learned many lessons and are ready for 2020. The APS management team extends our appreciation to all stakeholders. We owe our successes and achievements to our partners and supporters, clients, strategic leadership of the Directors on the Board, dedicated staff and passionate students.
59 59
Funders and Programme Partners
6060
Education Programme Sponsors - Charles & Esther Lee Kimerling -APS Board Members Foundation (Boston) -Artevita/Mastrantonio - Department of Arts and Culture -Cartier (South Africa) - Diana and Richard Shore (Boston) -City Lodge Newtown - Debbie & David Raisel (Boston) -Creative Feel: Lore Watterson - Hudeco Industries -Fasken -First Rand Foundation -Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) Judy Quinn (Boston) -Hogan Lovells (South Africa) -Tshikhululu Social Investments -Hollard Insurance -Lauren and Gary Woolf: AWL Properties -iToo ArtInsure - Museum School of Fine Arts -Jack Ginsburg and the Ampersand - Pamela Allara (Boston) Foundation -Purple Dot: Nzali Jordan -Kevin Handelsman and Bidvest Foundation Peter and Annie Scott (Boston) - Legacy Hotels -RMB: Carolynne Waterhouse - Roast Republic -Sheila and Bernard Levinson -SADF/Boston Friends -University of Johannesburg Visual Arts -Saville Row Department -Strauss & Co. - VIAD - Trinity Session -Little Artists -William Kentridge -iToo Artinsure -Gordon Massie
Cape Town -Paul Sainsbury at Venturescapes - Nick Pentz at Groote Post -Buitenverwagchting: Lars Maack -Hilda’s Kitchen: Debbie McLaughlin -Kate Williamson -Ou Muel, Stanford -Stonehouse Cheese Farm -Tsogo Sun
APS wishes to extend a special thank you to William Kentridge and Carolynne Waterhouse for their extraordinary support of income generation and sales for 2019
6262