July 31, 2003
By Tshepiso Mogotsi
FINE Arts students Lester Adams and Reshma Chiba share first place in this year's Martienssen Prize Exhibition, an annual event to showcase the top arts talent at the University of the Witwatersrand.
The winners were announced at the opening of the exhibition last week, which saw the launch of a new gallery space at 17 University Corner, Jorissen Street, Braamfontein.
The art works can be viewed until Friday 15 August on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 10am and 4pm.
"The Martienssen Prize Exhibition, named after the founding professor of Fine Arts at Wits University, has been an important event on the university's art calendar and on the Johannesburg art scene," said Wits University fine arts professor Karel Nel.
Senior Fine Arts students submitted an independent mid-year work for adjudication by a selected panel of judges. This year's panel included art consultant Warren Siebritz; Bettina Schultz of David Krut Art Publishers; Melissa Gober of Goodman Gallery; and David Brodie, a curator at Johannesburg Art Gallery.
A selection of the submissions and winning works are now on display at the new gallery, which is part of the new initiatives in the inner city to create a cultural axis linking Braamfontein to the Newtown cultural precinct.
