5 minute read
RISING VOICES
An exhibition of artworks by API award recipients
“Supporting emerging artists is more than an investment in their talent: it is an investment in the future of Africa’s creative sector which has the potential to play a significant role in development. By promoting the artistic voices of tomorrow, we are also empowering them to shape Africa’s narrative and international perceptions of our continent.” (Dr Yaya Moussa, founder of Africa Prime)
This group exhibition brings together the work of Elisia Nghidishange, Lynette Diergaardt, Lynette Musukubili, Kambezunda Ngavee and Vitjitua Ndjiharine. In 2022, these five artists participated in a competitive application process and were each awarded a grant from Africa Prime Initiative (API), the philanthropic arm of US-based video streaming platform Africa Prime. According to all the artists, these grants have enabled them to purchase new equipment and to expand and develop their professional practice. The exhibition consists of sculptures in welded metal and stone, weavings in plastic and natural fibres, lino printmaking and digital art, addressing various themes and subject matters.
Since graduating from College of the Arts in 2017, Elisia Nghidishange has worked as a full-time artist, creating lino prints and mixed-media sculptures from plaster, recycled cloth, welded metal, paper mache and other mediums. Nghidishange’s work delves into the paradoxical relationship between tradition and contemporaneity, as well as the experiences of being a woman. As a result of receiving the grant, Nghidishange was able to create a new body of work for a solo exhibition titled Ehafo (joy) in September 2022. For this group exhibition, she will be presenting sculptures and prints from Ehafo as well as new works that were produced after her solo exhibition.
Lynette Diergaardt, a fibre artist practising in various fibre art forms, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Fashion and Textile Studies in 2009 and later completed a Master of Fine Arts in 2015. Diergaardt looks at concepts such as mind, body and soul as well as the psychological impact of the environment on our beings and how it influences our behaviour. When thinking back on the opportunity, Diergaardt shares the following:
“With this grant, I have been able to import a weaving loom and can now introduce Namibian fibre artists and fellow crafters to a new body of work by making more refined types of hand-made textiles and fibre art. This grant is a tremendous gift and will not only help my artistic career to flourish, but has helped me regain a part of my training that has been lost to me for six years. I’ve always hoped to train future fibre artists on looms like this and this opportunity has now made this possible.”
Diergaardt will exhibit woven artworks that deal with the conflicting emotions of phobias and the growing desire to overcome them.
Lynette Musukubili, a visual arts graduate from the University of Namibia, creates works made from cutting, crocheting and heating plastic shopping bags and store-bought trash bags. Her work deals with subject matter relating to gender-based violence and her own lived experiences and identity. Musukubili was able to purchase equipment with money from the grant and staged a solo exhibition at The Project Room titled Bukalo Stories in April this year. For this group exhibition, Musukubili will exhibit woven plastic tapestries alongside sculptural works in the same medium, combined with beads from a traditional Mashamba skirt. Her works speak about the relationship between duty and the desire to “just be”. Through these artworks she seeks a middle ground.
Vitjitua Ndjiharine is a multidisciplinary artist who collaborates and works closely with other artists and cultural workers to uncover and subsequently challenge and change the narrative of our history. These historical narratives all stem from questions she has about her own identity and background. Ndjiharine was able to use the money from the grant to travel and conduct research and for this exhibition she will be presenting a 3D rendering of an archival object from the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich. This work, which is in video format, is based on prior research on objects that belonged to her family that were taken to Europe in the mid to late 1880s.
In celebration of the artists’ works and the generous support of the Africa Prime Initiative, this exhibition will be on show at the Franco Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC) from 11 to 21 August, with an official opening event on 10 August at 18:00. All are welcome to attend, and entrance is free. The project is administered and curated by StArt Art Gallery.
Candice Mouton
Opening: 10 August, 18:00
Venue: FNCC, 118 Robert Mugabe Avenue, Windhoek, Namibia
Duration: 11 August - 21 August
Times: Monday - Thursday 08:00 - 17:00, Friday 08:00 - 13:00
