The four finalists
of the MTN New Contemporaries Award 2012 were announced yesterday (November 7).
This year the finalists comprise four collaborations instead of the accustomed
four individual artists.
Among them is Collaboration
3 featuring the work of Vaughn Sadie, Brian Mtembu and Humphrey Maleka Vaughn
Sadie (b. 1978), Humphrey Maleka (b. 1981) and Brian Mtembu (b. 1987). They are
are participants in an ongoing interdisciplinary collaboration with Sello Pesa,
director of Ntsoana Contemporary Dance Theatre.
The three art
practitioners – Sadie is a visual artist, while Maleka and Mtembu are
dancers/choreographers – often work independently from the collaboration.
Sadie’s first solo exhibition, situation (sic) (2009), was held at the Bank
Gallery in Durban and at the AVA, Cape Town (2010). Maleka has performed in all
of Ntsoana’s projects, including at the FNB Dance Umbrella, the Arts Alive
Festival, Jomba! Contemporary Dance Experience, the National Arts Festival in
Grahamstown and The HIV/Aids When Life
Happens Festival. Mtembu choreographed the solo Dithokgako, which was performed on the Solo Works Programme in
Sebokeng and as part of the In House
Project (2010) and Emerging
Modernities (2011). The visual arts/performance art/dance collaboration has
performed with Pesa in Tshwene ga ipone
Makopo (2011) and Inhabitants
(2011), among other shows.
The Award is a
biennial competition managed by the MTN SA Foundation designed to identify and
promote young artists who have not yet received critical acclaim, but who are
positioned to be the next leaders in the contemporary art sector.
Identifying
these emerging participants for the competition was in itself something of a
quest. As one of the Award’s mandates is to reflect on the traits and trends in
the current art scene, the project starts with the nomination of a young
curator who is a specialist in contemporary South African art. The exhibition
will be curated by lecturer and art historian, Portia Malatjie.
The finalists
will mount an exhibition of their work in the Iziko B-Block at the Castle of
Good Hope, which is operated by Iziko Museums of South Africa. The area
referred to as B-Block is maze-like, intricate and winding with surprising
staircases, linking the three floors in different combinations. These spaces,
redolent with the history of colonialism, are among the oldest remaining parts
of the Castle, and are soon to be transformed with contemporary art works
including video projections, installations, photographs, sculpture and
performance art, exploring history and contemporary meanings.
The winner
will be judged by a panel of experts and appointed at a gala event on December 12,
2012 after which the exhibition will be open to the public until January 25, 2013.
More information at www.iziko.org.za
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