The arts are an integral part of South African culture, meshing our past, present and future into a single medium. At the recent Canvas and Community celebration, we got to imagine a South Africa that does better for the art economy.

Cape Town, South Africa (21 October 2024) — Art is an integral part of South African culture. For our country, it’s a story-telling medium that often merges commentary on our socio-political, history, heritage and questions of who we could be as a nation. It’s also how we honour our unique relationship with wildlife and our natural surroundings while visualising the problems these cherished parts of our environment face. And, of course, it’s a means to inject pride into our communities through murals and public art of different mediums. It’s our past, present and future meshed into a single field.

So, if art has such an important role to play across different borders of the South African experience, the question persists: how is South Africa supporting our artists? And, are we doing enough?

Canvas and Community: An Example of an Artistically Inclusive South Africa

Recently, I attended an evening dubbed Canvas and Community as hosted by the Century City Conference Centre, writes GTG’s Ashleigh. It was an evening any art lover would’ve adored; spoiled with excellent music (from a staff member who got to perform opera to the brilliant classical trio The Muses and Cape Town’s ever-talented Jimmy Nevis), secret ‘fashion shows’ and, of course, a lot of local art.

Fadiel Herman’s street-art-infused paintings, Jaret Loggenberg’s powerful portrayals of the female form and Logan Marlon’s designs were all on full display amongst other talents. The spirit of Soweto was ever present thanks to Moeketsi Moahloli’s mixed media works, while Sarah Danes Jarrett’s portraits left mouths agape (and not just on the paintings).

It was thrilling to see so many different art forms sharing a single space outside of a designated gallery, exhibition or traditional arts festival.

I couldn’t ignore the thought that this is how more South African spaces can and should honour the arts to whom we all owe such a big thank you for preserving and pushing our culture forward.

Local Businesses, it’s Time to Step Up.

Because local art is the tangible mix that’s produced once the South African melting pot is poured out, it only makes sense that it should be shared and appreciated in more spaces beyond those traditionally designated for the arts. There are, after all, only so many galleries and so many residencies available. But how do we grow the space?

One way to do this is for more businesses, especially those up the tourism and hospitality alleys, to invest in our local artists. This isn’t just a means for aesthetic value and measure; it’s a gateway for the world to see who we are.

When businesses become platforms for creative development, wonderful things can happen. Just look at the likes of Karabo Poppy, who is a master at merging her art with branding alignments.

Plug the Art Drain

Just as it is with many students part of South Africa’s ‘brain drain’ dilemma, many of our artists are forced to travel outside of our country in hopes that they’ll get better opportunities. The Free State Art Collective rightly shared that there is a big gap in support for local artists in communities like theirs, while showcases like Alchemy aptly indicated that local artists should be given the chance to claim the spotlight before they go overseas.

The bottom line is that if South Africa wants to boost our art economy, there needs to be a push to carve out spaces for it in other avenues of business. Whether that means from a showcasing and collection curating perspective, creative connection events perspective, brand and partnership efforts, or initiatives that beautify our spaces whilst giving artists a boost.

It matters, as so fashionably highlighted at Canvas and Community, because our culture does. Because we cannot be proudly South African without the arts. And we cannot have a thriving arts economy without South African businesses proudly making room for the patrons of our culture.

Sources: GTG

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Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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Artist Alfred Thoba’s 50-year-long career is set to be honoured in a legacy exhibition: ‘True Love’—a must for South African art and history lovers:

Johannesburg, South Africa (02 February 2024) — The life and work of South African Modernist Alfred Thoba (1951-2022) are both to be honoured in a new commemorative exhibition titled ‘True Love’.

A collaboration between Strauss & Co. and Kalashnikov Gallery, True Love will reflect on Thoba’s 50-year career in art as a unique force in the South Art scene, with a selection of his artworks to be exhibited along with archive materials in a special reconstruction of his Hillbrow home studio.

The story of Alfred Thoba is an important one in that of South Africa’s art and history, and one that has a deep relationship with the socio-politics of our country.

Hailing from Sophiatown, Thoba’s largely self-taught creations drew attention for the way they explored life from the lens of the disempowered, inspired by his personal life and the media he consumed through newspaper and magazine articles. But, it also brought forward topics of love and marriage; fledged into art in ways that helped influence the South African modernist art scene.

True Love will give art-lovers and historians a first-hand look at the works he exhibited from the 1980s right to his last completed painting. This way, the story of Thoba, his style, influences and contribution to South African art can be appreciated as a rich, evolving story.

The focus beyond honouring the late artist is also on art education so that school children can be inspired by the greats who came before.

True Love runs from 5 February to 1 March 2024 and can be visited at Strauss & Co Johannesburg.

Sources: Supplied

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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Star Wars fans in Jozi got a treat from outer space recently thanks to street artist DBongz’s epic Mandalorian mural—the artist uplifting SA through art one can at a time.

Johannesburg, South Africa (30 March, 2023) — In case you missed it, Johannesburg street artist DBongz Mahlati makes some pretty epic art. From incredible murals breathing life into industrial areas, to surfboard-art that raised much-needed funds for our oceans, DBongz is usually up to some sort of greatness. And, his latest Star Wars-inspired Mandalorian mural is no exception.

Turning walls into wonders is what DBongz does best. His vibrant hyper-realistic style will make you do a double-take and wonder how the heck he managed to do it all with a few cans of spray paint and some acrylic.

Starting off his career as a street artist 15 years ago, DBongz knows his unconventional canvases well. But, his Mandalorian mural is more than just an ode to out-of-this-world skills—it’s splashed with South African flair.

Bright colours, beads and beauty all made the Mandalorian a little more Mzansi. Even its wording, ‘This is the Way’ —the Mandalorian catchphrase from the show— holds a little something for SA.

When asked what he would like the public to take away from the mural, DBongz said: 

“There is always a Way to make anything happen, especially what seems hard!”

However, the Mandalorian Mural likely isn’t the first time his art has been on your radar. Over the years, DBongz has uplifted his community through art countless times. He was part of the Newtown Revitalisation Project, has teamed up with Wavescape, and also has entire portfolio of the art he’s dedicated to community development.

Walk Through His Streets

Dbongz created the art in anticipation of Disney’s the Mandalorian’s season 3 which aired this March.You can visit it in Rosebank at Kingsmead College on Oxford Road.

Taking a leaf from his book, here’s to always leaving a place a little more beautiful than we found it.

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Source: Various (Linked Above)

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

https://youtu.be/GfqNkXOhWUk

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