(Reservoir Hills by Victor Shange)African Art Centre’s Artist and Crafter of the Year
From the time of its inception in 1959, the African Art Centre has provided significant opportunities and opened doors for thousands of artists and crafters from the province by providing them with a professional platform, valuable support and guidance.
An initiative which aims at developing and nurturing new talent is the Artist and Crafter of the Year Award, a project which was initiated by the Centre in 2003 and has been running consecutively. This sought-after award presents one artist and one crafter with professional direction, critical support and resources for a period of three months which enables them to concentrate on and develop their art practice. In honour of their award and the contribution they have made to the cultural heritage of KwaZulu-Natal, the Centre mounts an exhibition of their work. In so doing, it continues to expand its vision, which is to acknowledge, respect, appreciate, promote and preserve the work of artist and crafters to ensure that they are able to earn a sustainable living from their artistic creativity and craftsmanship.
Candidates are selected annually by the Development Committee of the African Art Centre and the criteria for selection is that the recipients must be of mature age, must consistently produce works of high quality and innovation and should be concerned with passing on their skills and knowledge to young up and coming artists and crafters living within their communities.
The awardees for 2011 are Victor Shange and Widus Mtshali. Both recipients operate outside the Durban Metro and by nature of their location are isolated from relevant, professional skills training, information and markets. This award assists the recipients in overcoming these obstacles and in so doing they are able to generate a sustainable income from the sales generated from the exhibition.
Victor Shange was born in Claremont, KwaZulu-Natal in 1958. He completed Grade 9 and currently resides in Ntuzuma. Victor is a self-taught artist who is interested in the political events of South African history and the changes in the environment made by settlement and industrial installations. Shange’s paintings are characterized by atmospheric depictions of the lush, abundant landscape of KwaZulu Natal and the rural environment. In more recent paintings, Victor carefully examines and explores the effects that urbanisation and human settlement has had on the land.
Widus Mtshali was born in Mangusi in Northern KwaZulu-Natal. He has no formal education and as a young boy spent most of his time working for his father by looking after his cattle. When he was twenty, he left home to work on a sugarcane farm in the Empangeni area. On retirement, he returned to his home in Ngwanasi where he was introduced to the technique of decorating carved animals using the burnt wood technique by friend and fellow wood carver, Timothy Mlambo. His preferred medium is an indigenous wood, Mpengende, which is light in colour and soft in texture. He is inspired by the wild animals he encounters while collecting wood and has become well-known for his incorporation of whimsical and sometime humorous elements. Widus Mtshali is celebrated as a wood carver whose work is rich in expression, individually designed and superbly handcrafted.
Previous recipients of the award are Philemon Sangweni, Timothy Mlambo, Reuben Ndwandwe, Sibusiso Gumede, Themba Khumalo, Clive Sithole and Jabu Nala.
The exhibition runs until April 8 at the African Art Centre at 94 Florida Road, Morningside. More information from the Director, Sharon Crampton on 031 312 3805 or email africanartcentre@afri-art.co.za or visit www.afriart.co.za
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