Absa Money Museum

ABSA ordered to pay back the money

JOHANNESBURG, 20 June 2017 - Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's finding against Absa over an apartheid-era cash bailout, may have earned her an unlikely ally. Trade union federation Saftu says it fully supports Mkhwebane's finding that the cash injection the apartheid government gave to Absa’s predecessor, Bankorp, was an illegal gift.​

ABSA Towers : International Graffiti Artists Exhibition

CITY OF GOLD URBAN ART FESTIVAL 2014
ABSA CAMPUS - Johannesburg - South Africa

Money spent but still no Winnie Brandfort home museum

JOHANNESBURG, 20 June 2017 - Where did the money go? That was the question posed during a government visit to Winnie Mandikizela-Mandela’s former Brandfort home. The site was meant to have been turned into a museum a decade ago. The deputy Minister of Arts and Culture travelled to the town of Brandfort, to see for herself what has gone wrong.​

#SasolNewSignatures 2018| Info Sessions

Professor Pieter Binsbergen and the team have been travelling across South Africa for the last few weeks helping potential entrants understand the entry requirements, the judging process and why opportunities presented by Sasol New Signatures should be embraced.

Why enter competitions?

Competitions present opportunities for the career-driven artist and allow entrants to supplement their CVs which contributes to career sustainability.

Binsbergen emphasised the necessity for artists to map out their future. He recalled how he himself entered many competitions during his youth. He never won any of them but he consistently placed in the the top 10 and was featured in competition catalogues which gave him exposure and built his profile, which ultimately resulted in him achieving his Professorship. Competitions were part of his journey and he encouraged everyone to enter as many as possible year after year as they are platforms from which a professional career can be launched.

Are you serious about your career as an artist?

Transcend the limits of your artistic reach.

Binsbergen underlined the importance of entering for anyone committed to a career in art.

If you have a talent and a craft - the only way to make a living is to get your work seen and you never know who is watching! He recounted a recent experience in the Bidvest Premier Lounge at OR Tambo airport where he noticed the work of lino artist Victor Kuster, an alumnus of Artist Proof Studio who had entered Sasol New Signatures Art Competition and had his work featured in the catalogue. From here his work was noticed and purchased and it now hangs in a prestigious public space which is another platform in itself.

What do you want to do with your work?

Art is hard.

You might have dreams of becoming a recognised artist but no one becomes famous overnight and there are no quick fixes. As an artist you are a visual communicator and create work to be seen by an audience. Sasol New Signatures Art Competition provides an opportunity for your work to be in the public domain which provides exposure and could lead to developments in your career. Consider the opening night of Sasol New Signatures at the Pretoria Art Museum. This is a high profile event with all the top galleries and influencers in the Johannesburg art world in attendance. Who knows what could happen from here? As a professional artist you need to think about your career path and map out a plan to reach your goals - entering competitions must be part of this plan.

It is not about the prize money.

Chalk up your CV!

Sasol News Signatures is not just about the money and you need to think about the bigger picture. In the future if you are going to apply for any type of funding, tendering on government funded initiatives, pitching for community based projects or looking for gallery space - being able to show that you have been an active and selected artist in national competitions is a great benefit. This achievement adds weight to your CV and shows that you are serious and career minded.

Pricing of Work

Ridiculous prices results in rejection.

Whilst there is no formula to pricing work and it is a tricky business, Binsbergen warned against the proliferation of completely unreasonable prices. One way of approaching this issue is to consult with experts and savvy people and to pay attention to economic viability. Be reasonable and remember there is no price tag to the process.



Find the entry forms detailing all requirements at sasolnewsignatures.co.za.

2017 Absa L’Atelier winners announced

JOHANNESBURG – Maral Bolouri, a previous 2015 L’Atelier Top 100 finalist, won the overall award for her installation Mothers and Others, a multi-sensory, interactive installation that investigates representations of women in African oral traditions. It explores the power of proverbs by juxtaposing negative and positive depictions of women in cultural truisms.

African art was literally brought to life when several seemingly normal artworks lining the entrance of the Absa Gallery came alive with subtle human movement as guests entered the venue at this year’s prestigious Absa L’Atelier art awards. The ceremony that followed reflected the idea of giving art a platform to thrive, as the 2017 L’Atelier winners were announced. Maral Bolouri of Kenya took top honours and was awarded the main prize, and Banele Khoza of South Africa walked away with the Gerard Sekoto Award.

This is the 32nd instalment of the L’Atelier awards showcasing the best young artits on the African continent. The collaboration between sponsors Absa and South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA) brings together young and emerging artists from 10 African countries, namely South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius, Seychelles and Mozambique.

Banele Khoza has also been a Top 100 finalist in two previous L’Atelier competitions, in 2015 and 2016, and this year was awarded the Gerard Sekoto Award. The Gerard Sekoto Award is awarded to a South African artist who has demonstrated continual improvement in the quality of their entry year-on-year in the L’Atelier. He won the award for his piece Note Making, which comprises a series of digital drawings printed with an inkjet printer. Through the pieces, Khoza questions representations of what it is to be a male in South Africa and within the broader social context.

Dr Paul Bayliss, Absa Art and Museum Curator, says the response from artists in these countries was very positive, demonstrating that up-and-coming African artists realise the value L’Atelier adds to their careers.

“It’s so encouraging to see Africa’s young artists making the most of the opportunities that are being created to support and help grow their careers. It’s important not only that artists take advantage of these opportunities, but that they put their best works forward when doing it. I’m proud to say that this year’s participants didn’t disappoint, and we were treated to exceptional quality works. This bodes well for the future of contemporary African visual art,” says Bayliss.

All Top 10 finalists are also placed on a two-day art professionalism course to assist them in managing their careers.

Professional and self-taught young, emerging artists from these same 10 countries will once again be invited to maximise these valuable opportunities in the 2018 edition of the Absa L’Atelier competition, which will continue tonight’s creative idea under the overarching theme ‘Give art life’. Entries open in February 2018.

Members of the public can view the Top 100 best artworks from the 2017 Absa L’Atelier at the official L’Atelier exhibition, running from 14 September 2017 to 27 October 2017 at the Absa Gallery

Francois van Coke & Karen Zoid - Toe vind ek jou

The first single from the self-titled debut solo album.
Koop die song hier / Buy the song here:


Koop die album hier / Buy the album here

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A Chasing Migada Production
Director - Quinton Lavery
Producer - Darren Wertheim
Cinematographer - Darren Wertheim
Production Designer - Kaley Meyer
Lighting Engineer - Jonathan Bandli (Bad Weather)
Editor - Joshua Borril
Colorist - Joshua Borril & Darren Wertheim
DIT - Nicol Dippenar

Special Thanks:
Location - George Van Der Spy (killcityblues.co.za)
Lighting Boards - James Lawrence and Jonathan Bandli (badweather.co.za)
Camera & Lenses - Nicol Dippenaar

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francoisvancoke.co.za
facebook.com/francoisvancoke
twtitter.com/francoisvancoke

S01E01 - Roda Mundo, África do Sul

(Pt/En)
Esse é o primeiro episódio do documentário do Roda Mundo, a volta ao mundo em uma bicicleta de bambú. A viagem começa na África, com um documentário por cada país visitado.

This is the first episode of the Bamboo Trip documentary, about the world trip on a bamboo bicicleta. The trip starts in Africa. With one documentary per country.

- Pra apoiar a viagem: apoia.se/rodamundo
- To support this trip: Patreon.com/bambootrip

A Tribute to Benon Lutaaya 1985 - 2019

Ugandan artist Benon Lutaaya passed away on Sunday afternoon at Edenvale Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa from cancer.

According to Patrick Seruwu, a colleague also based in South Africa, Lutaaya has been battling brain cancer.

Seruwu explained that doctors had told them that Lutaaya had a cancerous tumour on the brain.

Hassan Isilow, another friend of the deceased said many Ugandans and art lovers have gathered at one of his studios in Malvern in Johannesburg to plan for the return of the body to Uganda for burial in Matete, Masaka.

He is survived by two children.

Who is Lutaaya

Benon Lutaaya, a Johannesburg-based visual artist acquired a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art with Education from Kyambogo University.

He was born December 4, 1985, in Mengo Kampala. He moved to South Africa after winning an international artist residency award by the Bag Factory Artists’ Studios, Johannesburg in 2011.

He was the founder and executive chairman of THE PROJECT SPACE a cultural institution centred on creating spaces, increasing opportunities and access to networks in a bid to encourage and empower more female African artists to engage in the full-time activity as artists.

Lutaaya’s work was collected in some of South Africa’s top corporate entities; ABSA Museum, RMB bank, First Rand, Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art, Ellerman’s Contemporary Art Collection, and countless top private collections of major significance locally and internationally.

He was a past recipient of the BASA Creative Grant 2015, Lovell Tranyr Art Trophy 2012, Ithuba Arts Fund Grant winner 2011, The Bag Factory international artist residency 2011, and a finalist of the BBC MyWorld documentary global competition in 2010.

He has been recognised by several institutions globally for his works.

Article Courtesy of

Silent Protest- Brent Meistre

Silent Protest is a five minute video artwork made by photographer/film-maker and lecturer Brent Meistre. In the work Meistre performs two songs, one by the music group 'Belle and Sebastian' and another by 'The Cranberries', in a discourse and interplay between himself and his double. Meistre is presented as a preacher/politician or figure in mourning in a desolate landscape, who is reading a speech to an absent audience.

The work attempts to evoke the complexities and the depth of issues around sexual violence in South Africa and the impossibility of representation, particularly of the number of victims in isolated and rural communities.

The work was made specifically for the Rhodes University Day of Silent Protest.


About:
Brent Meistre is a photographer/film-maker/lecturer based in Grahamstown, South Africa. He was the first recipient of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Museum's Biennale Award and one of eight nominees for the Daimler Chrysler Award for Creative Photography in 2003. He was the only South African video artists on the Bamako Photo Biennale in Mali in 2011 and also had his works featured at the 25th Anniversary of the ABSA Atelier Awards during the Cape Town Design Indaba and the Moving Film Festival in 2011. His stop-frame animation work has also been featured on The International Black Film Festival in Montreal, Canada and the Kunstvlaai: Festival of Independents, at the Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam. His work has recently been show on Making Way: Contemporary Art from China and South Africa at the Standard Bank Gallery in Johannesburg and on the Head-On Photography Festival in Australia.

This is not an attack on Nigerians - Thabo Mbeki

Former president Thabo Mbeki speaks on the confusion of these attacks and how misunderstanding them led to a xenophobic outbreak.

PAINT

A reluctant BSc graduate must follow her passion and paint a picture in order to overcome her depression.

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This was my term project film at AFDA Cape Town and my first attempt and writing and directing for film. We were tasked with creating a 2-3 minute South African comedy short. Despite all the drama it took to get there, the final product was pretty awesome and I think I can safely say the whole crew were happy with it.

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Since the credit sequence was quite fast, so here are the credits again in a glorious still and easy to read form:

Written by Thomas Coull & Matthew Townsend

Sarah: Babalwa Manyi
Marvin: Muendo Mullei Muindi

Director: Thomas Coull
Producer: Matthew Townsend
D.O.P. & Colourist Meagan Heugh
Editor: Lauren Stoffberg
Sound Design and Music Sourcing: Colin Daniel
Production and Costume Design: Louis Erskine

Special Thanks to
Alexander Patterson Jones (who played Marvin until we had to reschedule our shoot) - Alexander la Cock (who created the piece of music used when Sarah finally begins painting) - Thomas Pretorius (who assisted with the camera and lighting work on the day of the shoot)