JABULISA 2010

Dates of submission February 15 and 16.

Planning and implementation of one of the country’s most significant art exhibitions, Jabulisa 2010, is underway. Jabulisa, which previously took place in 1996, 2000 and 2006, is a touring exhibition that showcases the art and craft of KwaZulu-Natal, and is a project of the Natal Arts Trust. This is an independent body with meaningful ties to the five art museums of the province, and the majority of the Natal Arts Trust board are curators of these art museums. The work of the Trust is largely upublicised but its efforts focus on supporting and assisting the various public art museums to acquire meaningful works for their own collections. The five art museums of KZN are: the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg; the Margate Art Museum; the Empangeni Museum; the Carnegie Art Gallery in Newcastle; and the Durban Art Gallery.

“Jabulisa is the premier exhibition reflecting art and craft production in KwaZulu-Natal,” says Tatham Director Brendan Bell, who is also Chairman of the Natal Arts Trust. “Submissions must be representative of all visual arts, and may include such diverse artworks as paintings, beadwork, fibre art, jewellery and garments, installations, photography and video art, mosaics, etchings – the list is endless. The emphasis is on absolute excellence, with a hint of the quirky, the new, the innovative.”

The exhibition requires a rigorous and extensive sourcing process to ensure comprehensive and quality submissions from artists and crafters across the province. This role is managed by each of the art museums through their media/publicity networks and their longstanding relationships with artists in their regions, as well as through contact with previous Jabulisa entrants. Works are chosen by majority vote from selection panels, with attention paid to diversity of media, diversity of aesthetic and technical issues surrounding the individual artists, and diversity of representations in communicating life in KZN. The selection panel seeks the most appropriate and relevant works for exhibition, and will solicit works from outside the submissions process if necessary to present an accurate representation.

The Durban Art Gallery will accept submissions for Jabulisa 2010 on February 15 and 16 between the hours of 10h00 and 15h00. Telephone Jenny Stretton on 031 311 2264 for further enquiries. The selection day will be February 17 and the collection date for unselected works will be February 18.

Jabulisa 2010 will open at the Tatham Art Gallery on June 8 and will then move to Durban, Margate, Empangeni, Eshowe’s Vukani Museum and Newcastle.

For details about Jabulisa 2010, contact Brendan Bell or Kobie Venter at the Tatham Art Gallery on 033 392-2801. Entry forms are available at regional art museums or www.tatham.org.za