ART BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA

Nurturing emerging South African artists

www.artbanksa.org

(from left) Johnny Harmse, Thato Motana (artist), Nonto Sheryl Msomi and Nathi Gumede of ArtbankSA, Optix Photography

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed society. Crowded exhibition openings are now a distant memory. Galleries and museums, the world over, were temporarily closed and international fairs were postponed or cancelled. It has been a huge shock for a sector that is mostly freelance in nature. Necessity has once again forced the arts to adapt to these times and to operate with limited face-to-face interactions. True to form, the cultural and creative industries have responded in innovative ways to meet these new challenges. Some business aspects have migrated to online sources and has had the positive result of increasing access to previously inaccessible art content from prestigious collections.

What will be critical for the health and sustainability of the sector is finding sustainable solutions, using what can be learned during the time of crisis to design appropriate responses and policies. While strategies are being formulated, artists, particularly emerging artists, are struggling to survive in a world where opportunities to generate an income have disappeared.

The Art Bank of South Africa (ArtbankSA) is a programme of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (under the Mzansi Golden Economy Strategy) and is hosted by the National Museum, Bloemfontein.

Tswela Pele: KZN Launch of the Art Bank of South Africa Exhibition at Durban Art Gallery, Photo Paulo Menezes

It is tasked with purchasing artworks from South African artists, particularly that of emerging artists to lease and sell the artworks to South African government departments, private companies and private individuals. Artists can submit up to five artworks for consideration by the nine member acquisitions committee of the ArtbankSA. In making their assessments they are guided by the collections policy of the ArtbankSA and their own judgement of good work. All submissions being reviewed are treated equally. When the submission window is open, application guidelines are made available on the ArtbankSA website. In 2020 the national lockdown had little impact on the selection process as the systems could very easily be adapted for virtual coordination. The ArtbankSA received over 340 entries and the committee selected over 120 artworks, the most it has selected in one year.

In addition to the annual acquisitions, and in response to the clarion call by President Ramaphosa for job creation with a focus on youth, women, and people with disability, the ArtbankSA with the support of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture

Vangatava: Limpopo Launch of the Art Bank of South Africa Exhibition at Polokwane Art Museum, Photo Optix Photography

launched a four-month employment stimulus programme. The programme has created over 150 employment opportunities through art commissioning and work placements. The created artworks will be considered for inclusion into the ArtbankSA’s Contemporary Visual Art Collection. The artworks featured in the collection explore a variety of themes since the ArtbankSA does not outline any themes for artists to respond to. They prefer to see what artists find interesting, are contemplating and discussing in their communities. What brings these works together is that they reflect us. They force us to face our identity as South Africans. Forcing us to interrogate what matters most to us, diverse as we are. This strategy has resulted in visitors to ArtbankSA exhibitions always finding something that speaks to them, which is in line with the programme’s mission to foster an appreciation for contemporary art, by making art accessible to the broader public. The public has an opportunity to view a selection of the works acquired in 2020 by visiting the Tiro ya diatla: New Acquisitions of the Art Bank of South Africa Exhibition opening at the Oliewenhuis Art Museum on 11 March 2021. The exhibition will run until 18 April 2021.

To lease or buy artwork or for more information about the ArtbankSA, visit the official website www.artbanksa.org or email info@artbanksa.org.

Facebook Page: Art Bank of South Africa Instagram Profile: @artbankSA Twitter Profile: @artbankS

DIVE DEEP & FLYING HIGH

A solo exhibition by Helen van Stolk 20 March - 14 April 2021

www.artintheyard.co.za

As the world around us changes at an ever increasingly rapid pace we look to the comforts of leisure, culture and the arts to provide us with a sense of escapism. We can look to these pursuits as a tool to achieve endurance in these tough times. Many artists and audience comment on the ability to be taken on inner journeys whilst contemplating a particular work. A moment of recognition of former times or feelings. A journey is started and can offer great upliftment, and this phenomena is not found more powerfully than in the work of Helen van Stolk.

The body of work encapsulates inspiration by some what opposing sources and expressed in uniquely opposite forms. Great masters like Renoir and Gauguin speak volumes in the work using references of colour and emotion juxtaposed with beautiful and delicate gestures that are motivated by tiny whispers of beauty discovered in life and nature. A pattern, an intention or a moment is expressed in van Stolk’s work with effortless easy and equilibrium. Her mark making is constantly changing to express time, space and speed. Her ability to build up the canvas in a variety of mediums is astonishing it almost feels as if she is sculpting the painting where thick stokes are in perfect balance with fine smooth contours.

The artist states “In this new series of abstract work, I escape into stories, I lean into curiosity and let intuitive nudges and signs lead to treasure.

Gauguin’s Garden, 100 x 100cm, Ink pencils, acrylic, oil & oil sticks on canvas

Above: Helen’s inspiration board in her studio. Left: A Beautiful Friendship, 200 x 165cm, Ink pencils, acrylic, oil & oil sticks on canvas

Artist voices from the past influence me, floating in and out, adding their commentary on my choice of colours and shapes. Then, the flutter of birds shows up, humouring me with their daring ingenious designs. “How can we not be featured?”, they say.

Diving into the luxuriousness of it all, I capture the generous and abundantly flamboyant inspirations nature offers me, setting me free to explore new horizons in this body of work.

Each painting has its own vibration, its own energy that elevates the human spirit. It is in diving deep, into my thoughts and emotions, that I am able to take my work to new heights. Stepping back from large works that capture a distant, almost aerial view, you are able to see the bigger picture before diving down deeper to view the layered nuances in each piece.

Reaching new depths of exploration to reach new heights, I work with an accepting knowledge that both polarities and everything in between are exactly where I am meant to be.”

Here and Now, 200 x 165cm, Ink pencils, acrylic, oil & oil sticks on canvas

van Stolk’s ability to conduct all these threads of life to produce harmonious compositions of great splendour is extraordinary and makes the work versatile, exciting and consuming. Her past success’s no doubt will be repeated, and we are so honoured to be hosting such talented work. This will be her fourth solo exhibition, her third with AITY Gallery.

The show is called Dive Deep & Fly High and opens on 20th March 2021, a special day for the artist as she will also be celebrating an important birthday. We welcome all to the opening although we will be monitoring numbers closely and adhering to strict Covid protocols. Our new space with the high ceilings and vast natural light will lend itself as a excellent stage for this work. We relocated the gallery to the top end of the village at the end of last year. We find ourselves in good keeping with notable other contemporary galleries and also superb new restaurants. We loved our old location in the heart of the village but are confident this change brings fresh positive energy and a new exciting chapter for the gallery. We aim to bring you more fascinating solo and group exhibitions and to start attending art fairs both locally, nationally and internationally once the impediments of the pandemic subside.

We look forward to welcoming you soon but if this is not possible we always make a digital catalogue available for all our shows.