Art world taking time to grow
Curator tries to educate people
There has been a bit of growth in the arts industry over the past 25 years and experts believe that there is still a long way to go.
After 25 years of democracy, the industry has gone through different phases like all developing countries, Standard Bank Gallery curator Dr Same Mdluli says.
She says since then, artists have had access to opportunities and getting platforms to participate internationally.
Born and raised in Botswana, she says when looking at the local context of what art means to broader communities, there is still a disconnect and gap.
“You have these parallel markets in arts, where on one hand the government has an arts and culture component; nation building and social cohesion. All of that is kind of being championed by the department of arts & culture.
“Then you have the other art market which is your art schools and auctioneer houses, and you wonder at which point does this convergence meet. I don’t think it has happened successfully,” says the 36-year-old curator.
Mdluli, a former fine artist herself, says that the introduction of art fairs and the booming art studios have a contribution to the growth to a certain extent. However, she is not pleased be- cause the focus is on urban or main centres such as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. She believes that the rest of the country is being sidelined.
Mdluli says she would like to see events such as art fairs being hosted in Limpopo, Northern Cape or North West. “When I think of these parallel two worlds I am referring to, I don’t know what it will take to have a meeting ground where we can consider an art fair to be hosted outside these main cities. It takes people who have that kind of vision.” In terms of seeing black people being art collectors, Mdluli believes that there is a bit of growth despite challenges such as not understanding the value of art.
“There are more challenges for black people. Black tax is real. Buying art is about having disposable income as well, not as a form of investment. You have to have money sitting there, of which a lot of people don’t have that. “I’m trying to educate people with the money about investing in art, instead of buying a BMW,” she says.
On her latest exhibition: 40 Years of Collecting: A Celebration of the Standard Bank African Art Collection, Mdluli says the collection on display at the gallery is unique.
The exhibition features 5,000 objects from across the continent, which include Southern African art objects, such as wood figurines, drums, masks, clothing and ritual objects as well as specialist areas such as beadwork, textiles and valuable ceramic pieces.
She says it was a challenge to put the show together because she had never seen some of the works since they were collected long before she was born.