Explore gift of art on offer in the Bay
Feast your eyes on original works
ALTHOUGH a few Port Elizabeth galleries take a break over the summer holidays, there are still several places for visitors to view original art – indoors and outdoors. ý Public art includes the informal sculpture garden on the Donkin Reserve in Central with several iconic pieces by Bay artists.
These include the Voting Line by Anthony Harris and Konrad Geel, a life-size laser-cut steel figure of the late president Nelson Mandela and a line of voters queuing to vote in the first democratic elections.
Other visitor favourites include the mosaics, Anton Momberg’s stately Untitled, a statue of a woman offering visitors a chair and Fish-Bird ,a graceful shape which is both bird and fish depending on where you are standing.
In walking distance, the Athenaeum in Central also hosts artworks, inside and out, including a vibrant beadwork display. Inquiries: (041) 585-1041.
If the infamous Windy City is up to its tricks, however, then head indoors to one of the following galleries:
ý Galerie Noko at 109 to 111 Russell Road opened its New Now Next! exhibition to the public on Wednesday.
New Now Next! aims to give up-and-coming artists an opportunity to showcase their work. Artists aged between 18 and 34 were asked to submit three to six original contemporary artworks that have not been exhibited before. Gallery hours are 10am to 6pm on weekdays and 10am to 4pm on weekends. Inquiries: Usen Obot, 073-088-5883 or Robyn Larkin, (041) 582-2090.
ý The GFI Art Gallery at 30 Park Drive is running Routes vs Roots in conjunction with the PE Animal Welfare Society until January 1.
There is a lovely collection of work on display and if you buy something, the artists and the AWS will benefit, because the gallery is giving its commission to the AWS.
Gallery hours are Monday to Friday from 10am until 4pm and on Saturday from 10am until 1pm. Inquiries: Robyn Sharwood, (041) 586-3973.
ý The city’s major municipal gallery is the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum (NMMAM for short). NMMAM is showing The Vibrant City exhibition until January 22.
This contains artworks that depict the Bay from the museum’s permanent collection and is aimed at allowing the public to “see the city through the eyes of artists”.
Don’t miss the photographs at the back by well-known Bay photographers such as Tim Hopwood, Glenn Meyer, Marc Shoul and Rob Duker – but the work goes right back to an 1804 engraving of the military base in this city.
The Friends of the Art Museum in conjunction with NMMAM are hosting a Just Painting exhibition until February 3. Works had to predominantly consist of paint, or watercolours, although some mixed media were permitted.
Gallery hours are 9am to 5pm on weekdays, except Tuesday mornings and public holidays. Inquiries: Emma O’Brien, (041) 506-2000.