Thupelo workshop brings artists together
The open call was for 16 participants, but due to an overwhelming response, 23 artists of varying development stages took part.
A TEN-day intensive art-making fellowship and much anticipated regional Thupelo workshop took place at the Ikomkhulu artists’ workspace at Ambassador House in Durban’s inner city this month.
This initiative of the Cape Town-based Greatmore Studios, culminated in a public open day on Saturday 17 November. The open call was for 16 participants, but due to an overwhelming response from the 42 outstanding applicants, 23 artists of varying development stages took part – including Durban’s upcoming cream of the crop and its much-treasured legends.
Co-ordinator for both regional and international Thupelo workshops in KZN Witty Nyide said: “The idea behind the workshop’s ethos is about creating space for making art without the pressures of structured conventions often accompanying the so called ‘mainstream’ institutions, and is open to self-motivated visual artists who are keen to expand their ideas, exchange knowledge and experiment in fellowship with other artists. This also encourages a space for sharing skills and ideas in an innovative environment where artists feel safe to experiment and learn from one another.”
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“The intention is to allow fresh work to emerge in an open yet inward-looking way so that others can engage with it and converse. There is no hierarchy and no ownership. Since 1985, each workshop, regional or international, has had its own identity which unfolds as the workshop progresses. Because the material budget is often quite low, sharing and the use of found objects or donated materials is encouraged,” Nyide said.
“Thupelo, which is a SeSotho phrase meaning ‘to teach by example’, was initiated in 1985 in Johannesburg by David Koloane together with the late Bill Ainsle and a group of artists. Both regional and international Thupelo workshops were initiated in response to a need for interaction between artists and are therefore artists-led,” he said.
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