Francistown Arts Meeting to exhibit 150 artworks
FRANCISTOWN: The annual Francistown Arts Meeting (FAM) is back and it is anticipated to attract 30 visual artists and about 150 artworks to be displayed. The four-day art exhibition organised by Ground Work will be held from November 23-26.
The show will have indoor and outdoor exhibitions held at Chedu Choga Hall in Phase IV and Roots of Africa respectively. FAM started in 2019 with the objective of promoting artistic growth that inspires creativity and creating programmes that will benefit the local emerging and established artists in the community.
In an interview with one of the FAM organisers, Keoagile Bonang said they have introduced a music element for their outdoor exhibition. “We believe that music can make people visit exhibition halls and stay longer.
We also have a therapeutic art session, which will be facilitated by Loretta Mekgwe-Ferguson,”
he said. During the therapeutic session, guests will be given canvas paintings, brushes, meals
and drinks (wine and non-alcoholic cocktail) at a fee. He also said they have also reserved five slots for students, particularly the senior secondary students. Bonang indicated they have already received 20 entrants but have extra 10 slots for local artists.
Some of the guest exhibitors include crème de la crème in the art industry, Lebogang Keitshokile, Wilson Ngoni, Timothy Dike, Rachael Hutton, Souza Malebo, Calvin Morake, Mekgwe-Ferguson.
The curator for the event is Mother Masire. Bonang said their main target audience includes potential art collectors like interior designers, architects and individuals.
The event is sponsored by the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture (MYSC) with a whooping P160,000. Ground Works has hosted different art events promoting visual arts. In 2020 they held an online art lesson, which was sponsored by the First National Bank Botswana (FNBB). A few months back the same company hosted the Brush Night with Ngoni, which was a solo exhibition for the renowned artist exhibiting close to 200 works.