Spier Contemporary
The Spier Contemporary is a biennale exhibition of contemporary South African art and an accompanying series of awards. The first exhibition was launched on the Spier Estate on 12 December 2007 and ran there till 15 February 2008. During this time it was seen by just over 13 000 people and received extensive critical acclaim. It then moved to the Johannesburg Art Galley and was to be installed at the Durban Art Gallery. However this final leg has had to be cancelled due to sponsorship from a public sector donor not materialising. The Spier Contemporary seeks to make a contribution to the visual arts industry in a broad way endeavoring to benefit artists, curators, writers, development officers, designers and others. Whilst the Spier Contemporary culminated in an exhibition of 92 artists and 120 artworks from all over the country and series of awards, the intention is to make contributions to each aspect of the profession required for the production of a biennale large-scale exhibition.
The exhibition/award has been conceived as a platform to give artists the opportunity to show their work, uncompromised by the limitations of technology, themes or materials used. An additional goal of the project is to address some of the imbalances in the visual art field regarding access to information and resources. This imbalance is acute for artists who are not based in the major metropolitan areas of South Africa. To address these issues the Spier Contemporary has established a series of residencies, in collaboration with Fort Hare University, and other training projects to connect artists who fall outside the existing art infrastructure to a wider network of art production; develop new skills; incorporate alternative materials; gain access to other art making forms and themes; and, to link artists to a broader network of galleries, museums, art bursaries and art residencies.
All artists chosen for the exhibition were paid an artist’s fee of R3,000 and there is an additional series of career development awards stemming from participation in the exhibition. Seven award winners were offered the opportunity to structure their own career development plan. This will take the form of a residency or some type of self-study, which may include an internship, travel in order to research or collaborate with other artists, curators or institutions. These awards are worth up to R700,000 in total.
THE AWARD WINNERS:
- Abrie Fourie for his photographic works: Beverly Hills, Sunnyside, Pretoria 2007 and Changing Room, Hillcrest Swimming Pool, Pretoria 2007;
- Chuma Sopotela, Mwenya Kabwe and Kemang Wa Lehulere for their performance: U nyamo alunampumlo (The foot has no nose), a work that explores African urban centres, through a hybrid of theatrical forms including live-feed video and live performance work;
- Bettina Malcomess, Rene Holleman and Linda Stupart for their performance: Wrong Side of the River Tour, a walking tour of the Spier Estate which re-images real and fictional histories;
- Nina Barnett and Robyn Nesbitt for their video: Warcry, a challenging and thrilling look at the war cries of two Johannesburg schools;
- Andrew Putter for his video installation: Secretly I Will Love You More, based on three paintings in the Castle of Good Hope in which the portrait of Maria van Riebeek sings a Khoi Khoi lovesong-lullaby, celebrating her love for Krotoa, her adopted Khoi Khoi daughter; and
- Peter van Heerden for his performance: Flowers for My Flesh, which looks at the patriotism, dedication and resolve of African women.
The seventh award has been designed as a peoples choice award. People attending the exhibition on the Spier Estate voted for their favorite artist:
Justin Fiske unanimously won the popular award for his installations: 14 – kundalini and Firling.
For more information please consult the website: www.spiercontemporary.co.za or email info@africacentre.net or call 021 881 3116
