(“African
Goddess” by Sfiso Ka-Mkame)
To commemorate Africa month, African Art
Centre invited selected artists to participate in an exhibition themed I Am An African.
“Africa month is an opportunity to
celebrate the arts and culture of our country and continent. As South Africans
we are Africans and part of the diversity of cultures of this continent, but
our home province of KwaZulu-Natal is naturally a distinctive thread in the
works on display, featuring artists such as Sifiso Ka-Mkame, Jabulani Cele,
Zakhele Hlabisa, Sabastein Pillay, Welcome Danca, Sibusiso Duma, Joseph Manana
and Major Ndlovu amongst others,” says Magdalene Reddy, Director of the African
Art Centre.
“This exhibition hopes to create colourful
awareness of our various social and cultural identities and simultaneously provoke
thinking about what it means to be African. It touches on unresolved questions
pertinent to our society, the challenge of xenophobia for example. Establishing
acceptance, tolerance, cooperation and unity amongst our respective cultures
and communities is crucial for the growth of Africa, and for our lives as
Africans. That is the spirit which underlies the invitation to a group of
artists to participate in the I Am An
African exhibition, Reddy adds.
The exhibition will feature works in a
range of mediums from oils to watercolours to pencil drawings.
I Am
An African will be opened on May 11 at the African
Art Centre, 94 Florida Road, Durban. For additional information, contact the
African Art Centre on 031 303 4634 or email africanartcentre@afri-art.co.za