(Overall Winner:
Patrick Rulore and his work: “Stage 4 Moments”)
Deadlines: June 24 &
25, 2020, between 10h00 & 16h00
The call for entries for one of South Africa’s oldest and most respected
art competitions, the Sasol New Signatures Art Competition, is now open.
Now in its 31st year of existence, the competition calls on this year’s
entrants to enter works that are “imaginative, transgressive, transcendent,
disruptive, boundless and ‘beyond’,” said new National Chairperson, Pfunzo
Sidogi.
Explaining further, he said: “The world today is complex and full of
seemingly irreconcilable contradictions, and as we march into a new decade, visual
artists are best equipped to make sense of our dynamic, interconnected, and
challenging environments. By promoting art that is ingrained with an aura of
possibility and potentiality, the ‘beyond’ moniker is a call for artists to go
‘beyond’ mere mimesis of the global malaise.”
(Right: Merit Award Winner:
Kagisho Moloto and her work ”Disguise Mask“)
Emerging artists across the country have the opportunity to submit their
works at various collection points on Wednesday, June 24 and Thursday, June 25,
2020 between 10h00 and 16h00.
This annual competition is open to all South African artists who are 18
years and older, who have not yet held a solo exhibition. Artists who have held
a solo exhibition for academic purposes, for example, a Master’s degree
exhibition, are allowed to enter. Artists are able to submit artworks in all
artistic mediums including photography, performance art, video and
installations.
Not only do emerging artists benefit immensely from the profile of being
named a winner but it is also “an enabler for emerging artists to not only
unsettle societal conventions, but to also expand the possibilities of art”
says Sidogi.
(Left: Runner Up: Luyanda
Zindela and his work: “Phowtha sis'Mgabadeli”)
The overall competition winner receives R100,000 and an opportunity of a
solo exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum (terms and conditions apply) with
the runner-up receiving R25,000 and five merit awards winners receiving R10,000
each.
Patrick Rulore (see above), who won 2019 competition for his work titled
Stage 4 Moments – which is an oil on
canvas – said the competition is “a wonderful platform to expose emerging
artists and to show the huge belief this corporate company has in emerging
artists. It has opened doors for me as an emerging artist. The Sasol New
Signatures competition sort of means you leap-frog ten big steps at once. This
sort of achievement usually takes fifteen years.”
Artists can enter by downloading entry forms from
www.sasolnewsignatures.co.za
All details regarding Feedback Sessions as well as collection points and
conditions of entry are also available on the website.
Due to the national state of disaster declared to curb the spread of
Coronavirus in South Africa and guidelines on social distancing and gathering,
the Information Sessions held in previous years will not take place this year.
Artists can, however, follow on twitter (sasolnewsignatures) and visit the
website for regular updates for further information, tips and more.
The winners of this year’s competition will be announced on August 26,
and the Sasol New Signatures exhibition will run from August 27 to October 4, 2020.
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