The "Summertide" exhibition at the Festival Gallery was officially opened last Thursday (12 November) and will run till 20 February next year.
The "Summertide" exhibition at the Festival Gallery was officially opened last Thursday (12 November) and will run till 20 February next year.
On display are the responses of 12 artists – including two from the Carinus Art Centre – to the theme of summer. Summertide is the second exhibition at the Gallery, which is inside 38 Somerset Street – between 'The Corner' trinket shop and Hand Made Coffees.
The first – Exhibition 1 – which ran earlier this year, featured Eastern Cape artists from the National Arts Festival Fringe Art programme. The Festival Gallery is an ongoing initiative by the Festival to nurture the growth of visual arts in Grahamstown.
Curator Carmen Ford says that, in order for that growth to happen, accessbility is key.
"I think one of the aims of the gallery is to be an approachable and comfortable platform for both artists and the public to engage with."
“The first two exhibitions have been fairly similar in the sense that there hasn’t been a ‘strict’ conceptual theme for either, which obviously has its pros and cons from a curatorial perspective, but is quite nice for anyone wanting to participate”
All of the Summertide artists have a connection with Grahamstown. Some live here, some have gone to school or university here or they have participated in the National Arts Festival.
Notable showcased artists are Peter Midlane and Daniel Rankadi Mosako.
Ford says that Summertide has no particular narrative layout but balance between the different artworks is emphasised. For example, Sally Scott’s two paintings are placed next to Peter Midlane’s pair of copper etchings. A diverse selection of works in content and form provides environmental, botanical, personal, abstract, and imaginary interpretations of the seasonal theme.
Traditional media – such as painting and copper etchings – are matched with experimental forms of paper cut flower shields and succulents paintings on wood inside gold spray painted frames. In the next room there are seaside scenes followed by an outdoor family painting. Personal memories are invited within the space.
If you are interested in participating in one of the future exhibitions at the Festival Gallery, please email
gallery@nationalartsfestival.co.za
