HAZEL FRIEDMAN on artists who will be hitting the big time in 1997
SOUTH AFRICAN artists might be composing their own soulful soundtrack to the film To Forget Venice. But 1997 is far from being labelled “The Year of Being Grounded” for South African art.
From the beginning of May, thanks to the efforts of Linda Givon of the Goodman Gallery, the Havana Biennale will beckon to Penny Siopis, Wilma Cruise, William Kentridge and Moshekwa Langa.
These four artists were chosen by the Cuban organisers to represent South Africa at this prestigious international art exhibition.
Langa is currently studying at the Rijks Academy and Kentridge has been selected to exhibit some of his drawings from History of the Main Complaint – the most recent of his animated films, currently on display at the Goodman Gallery. These are just two artists – alongside Karel Nel, Wayne Barker, Lisa Brice and many others – whose names are acquiring currency status overseas.
And in October this year six South African artists will join six of their French counterparts in Nantes, Western France to participate in the Nantes Turn of the Century Festival. This forms one of several projects involving about 250 cultural activists celebrating the dawn of the third millennium. Co-ordinated by French artist Patricia Selini, the cross-cultural visual arts exchange – initiated in February this year with the visit of six Nantes-based artists to South Africa – involves sending the South African artists to Nantes a month before the festival to co-ordinate joint projects with their counterparts and to establish a correspondence that transcends the boundaries of place, time and language.
The participants in this project include Pat Mautloa (South Africa) and Rose-Marie Martin (France): Sam Nhlengethwa (SA) and Marc Tsypkine de Kerblay (France); Wayne Barker (SA) and Bruno Peinado (France); Stephen Hobbs (SA) and Christelle Familiari (France); Kay Hassan (SA) and Guillaume Janot (France); Kendell Geers (SA) and Vincent Justin (France).
In addition, photographer Santu Mofokeng; director of the National Gallery Marilyn Martin and director of the Africus Institute of Contemporary Art, Bongi Dhlomo have been selected to curate a melting pot of an exhibition called Croisee d’Artistes for the festival. Each curator has designated two artists of their choice to produce works for the show.
And just when you thought – as the clock ticks on relentlessly – that the Johannesburg Biennale was in danger of becoming, at best, a Triennale or – at worst – nothing at all, the date has finally been set.
Called Trade Routes: History and Geography and co-ordinated by the Nigerian-born New York-based curator, art critic and publisher Okwui Enwezor, South Africa’s second international arts extavaganza will run from October 11 1997 to January 18 1998. Unlike the first biennale, there will be no national pavilion and instead of going it solo, Enwezor will be working in conjunction with six international curators: Hou Hanru, Kelli Jones, Yu Yeon Kim, Gerardo Mosquera, Colin E Richards and Octavio Zaya.
The exhibition will be linked to Satour’s Explore South African Culture campaign.