JAG Revisits The Art Of The Struggle Era

WORKS of black South African artists taken to Germany from 1986 to 1989, to strengthen global consciousness about the evils of apartheid, form the core of an ongoing exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, located in the central business district of Africa’s most prosperous city. The show, entitled Alabouroflove, features many of the 600 works acquired by the Weltkulturen Museum in Frankfurt on Main through Hans Blum, a German diplomat then working in South Africa. Alabour oflove, had an earlier run in Frankfurt, Germany in 2015-2016. Mr Blum had lived in South Africa from the early 1960s until the late 1970s, “His involvement in the antiapartheid movement led him to recognise the power of contemporary South African art as a means of creating awareness about the political situation in the country”, according to the exhibition statement. “Blum was the right person for the job”. The collection on view at JAG, however, consists of new work that were not part of those Mr. Blum took to Germany. These include ten new works produced by relatively young artists who spent time with the collection at the Weltkulturen Museum. Among these artists are Gabi Ngcobo (who with Yvette Mutumba curated this show) and four

South African former students from the Wits School of Arts, Michelle Monareng, Matshelane Xhakaza, Chad Cordeiro and Nathaniel Sheppard. The first exhibition of the works that Mr. Blum took to Germany, took place in Frankfurt in 1989.

• Compiled by staff offestac Newsagency