September 3, 2004
By Lucille Davie
THE City of Johannesburg's recently established art bank will make up the visual arts component of the Arts Alive festival, to be exhibited at MuseuMAfricA from 2-7 September.
A range of 100 artworks have been purchased - paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, cloths, tapestries and sculptures - done by street children, emerging artists and established artists like Diane Victor, Richman Buthelezi, Nhlanhla Xaba and Johan Moolman.
Jo Ractliffe - Mandela bridge
The City will make the artworks available for leasing, and the first customers are the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), the Economic Development Unit (EDU) and the Finance Department, the first organisations to rent the works. The JDA and the EDU, together with the City's Arts, Culture & Heritage Services have sponsored the initial R350 000 to establish the art bank.
In the coming months the City will be purchasing more artworks, and these will be made available for lease to outside organisations. The revenue from the renting of the works - to interested corporates, hotels, retailers, hospitals or call centres - will be used to purchase further artworks. Along with the lease, the City will provide curator, maintenance and hanging services.
"The City of Johannesburg has initiated a new project intended to ensure that money is spent on artists who live and work in Johannesburg. This will ensure that the best quality art, by emerging and established artists, is acquired, properly installed and cared for," said Steven Sack, director of the Arts, Culture and Heritage Services. The artworks were selected from an original 3 000 submissions.
The overseeing agency for the collection is Artshare, a loose association formed by the coming together of the director of Gordart Gallery, Gordon Stroud, and the directors of Artazi, Mthunzi Ndimande and Nthabiseng Makhene. Gordart Gallery opened in Melville nine months ago, while Artazi is an art consultancy that markets art to emergent black companies and their executives.
Imbala Children's artworks
The artworks were acquired from the Bag Factory, Artists' Proof Studio, Artists under the Sun and from street children working with an organisation called Little Artists in Hillbrow.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
