Unisa online - Resurrection

In a first of its kind, the Unisa Art Gallery is collaborating with the Department of Psychology in putting together an exhibition featuring some of the artists of the greater Tshwane region. Entitled “Resurrection”, the exhibition was inspired by earlier exhibitions curated by Frieda Hattingh, in which the artists of the greater Pretoria region were regularly featured in group exhibitions at the Unisa Art Gallery. Click here for the invitation.

The focus of Resurrection is mainly on artists from townships around Pretoria (Mamelodi, Ga Rankuwa, Mabopane, Soshanguve and Atteridgeville). The intention of the curators is to investigate if there has been a change in the art and lives of the Pretoria township artists since 1994. The exhibition also explores the emergence of a younger generation of artists from the townships with regard to their artistic needs. Through the exhibition, the curators are attempting to find out if challenges facing the younger generation of township artists are the same as those of their predecessors or whether democracy has brought with it opportunities for these artists.

The imperative to actively invest in community life formed the basis for the collaboration between the Department of Psychology and the Unisa Art Gallery. They wish to engage with a number of artists from the greater Tshwane region, to help provide a platform for their work and to listen to their views about their lives as artists. Their observations have been documented in the exhibition notes. These form an important part of the exhibition, in that they serve as social commentary on the contexts in which our artists are working. The realities of being a fine artist in the Tshwane metropolitan area have been well-captured by their remarks.

Participants include artists from both the older and younger generation. Some are known names such as Roy Ndinisa, Eric Lubisi, David Phoshoko, Lefifi Tladi and Gert Potgieter (who co-founded the Bataki group). Others are lesser-known emerging artists from the townships such as Tladi Mokgokolo, Thabo Pitso and Tshepo Sebothoma. Apart from regular exhibitions at the Unisa Art Gallery, some of the older artists have another link with Unisa. In difficult times they were encouraged on their journey by Walter Battiss, a former Chair of the Department of Art and Art History. In turn, some of the older artists have acted as mentors for the younger generation. The collection represents the works that were available and were not pre-selected through a rigorous screening process.  In this way, the viewer is pulled into a kaleidoscope of present-day thematic content, styles and mediums without the confines of a pre-digested or analytical appraisal. 

The exhibition will be opened by Prof Matsepo Matoane, who is the Chair of the Department of Psychology, at 12:00 on 15 May 2010 at the Unisa Art Gallery.

For more information, contact Magda Botha (012 429 6823; ukun1@unisa.ac.za).