Emerging artists from across the country have been urged to continue with their eye-catching work in order for maximum exposure.
Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa says this will help artists to boost their client base.
Mthethwa was speaking at the launch of an exhibition of the National Art Bank at Oliewenhuis Art Museum in Bloemfontein.
This is the first launch of the National Art Bank in the country and the Free State has been identified as the right province to exhibit the artworks.
Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa says the entire continent is set to benefit.
“It’s a major milestone, not only for us here in South Africa, but for the whole continent because what we do here impacts on the continent. It represents what we stand for and that artist, both the upcoming and experienced artists, should in a way find expression here.”
The Art Bank is celebrated under the theme “Emerging Visions: Towards a sustainable Economic Development of the visual arts.”
Some of the artworks will be leased to South African Embassies and institutions abroad.
Artist, Richard Bollers, elaborates, “We have to remember the government of today has already established that our buildings must reflect to the times that we live in. So, this is an important event.”
Robert Moramaga, a self-taught sculptor from Limpopo, says, “Our challenge as artists is that some of us, we can’t market our own work and sometimes when we don’t have the benefits we end up giving up.”
A view echoed by another artist, Martin Lekotoko, “It is very much important to have met the National Art Bank for the sake of the artists that struggled in the past, that needs more exposure. Especially when we come from a deep past. We will benefit definitely through the National Art Bank.”
President for the Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of South Africa (CCIFSA) Tony Kgoroge says there have been major challenges when it comes to the visual arts sector.
“The initiative like this is something that will help to allow those artists to also bring their staff and that means that we, as an organisation, have to do a lot of ground work to make sure that those artists who are within the visual space are recognised and they’re known, get them in a database and make sure that we place their art there.”
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