Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Exhibitions and Cape Town Art Week put the focus on activist movements
ATIYYAH KHAN
CAPE TOWN is brimming with a series of art-related events this weekend, due mainly to Cape Town Art Week which started on Tuesday.
In addition, various exhibitions will be hosted this weekend for the Cape Town Art Fair at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
An exhibition to look out for is #theopening, a group exhibition which opened yesterday at Greatmore Studios in Woodstock. The exhibition, curated by Justin Davy, focuses on the links between art and protest in the current climate of South Africa.
The exhibition reflects on events over the past year, such as the resulting shift due to activist movements like the ongoing #Feesmustfall and #Rhodesmustfall. Other themes include highlighting the works of often overlooked artists and exploring themes of afrophobia such as those seen in the paintings of Ronald Muchatuta.
Davy says, ‘# theopening exhibition acknowledges the cracks found, openings made, doors left ajar and indeed the roof raised by the class of 2015. Yet it also speaks to a generation of artists who have toiled away in studios almost unnoticed in the mainstream political imagination and on whose shoulders the class of 2015 partly stand.’
The multimedia group show combines work from resident Greatmore Studio artists, guest artists and photographers who documented the #Feesmustfall movement. Artists featured include Khaya Witbooi, Burning Museum, Ronald Muchatuta, Simphiwe Ndzube, Ndikhumbule Nqinambi, Sethembile Msezane, Athi Patra Ruga, iQhiya collective, Kemang Wa lehulere, Dathini Mzayiya, Raesa Pather, Wandile Kasibe, Zara Julius and Barry Christianson.
The exhibition falls within Art Week and also coincides with the Cape Town Art Fair, where Greatmore will exhibit.
The #theopening exhibition is at Greatmore Studios, 47-49 Greatmore Road, Woodstock. The exhibition runs until February 29.