DURBAN Art Gallery (DAG) invites film and documentary makers to attend a briefing in the Durban Art Gallery on Monday, 17 August at 9am to find out more about a project it is initiating in which film makers are invited to pitch to make short documentaries of some of the city’s top art makers.
“The intention is for all the films to be distributed among all the eThekwini public libraries, in addition to those of all our sister cities which include Bremen, Leeds, Daejeon, Chicago, New Orleans, Rotterdam, Bulawayo, and Curitiba. If the project is completed early enough, these films may be considered to be screened during the Durban International Film Festival before they are distributed among all our sister cities,” explains Mduduzi Xakaza, director of DAG.
“Given the current reality that our visual artists often leave Durban to explore other cities which are perceived to offer better opportunities, and that, in actual fact, the art market here and elsewhere in the country is not always sustainable, DAG has decided to deal with this situation once more by commissioning film makers to make documentaries of some of our city’s arts luminaries. It has started a similar process with the Outdoor Public Art Initiative (from this initiative flowed the eThekwini Art prize competition and resultant projects in our urban spaces),” explains Xakaza.
Taking advantage of our partnership with many sister cities across the country, the DAG, depending on the availability of sufficient funding, will soon embark on another attempt to render the local visual art sustainable by searching for a broader, global market from which artists may benefit. The DAG is searching for the best film production companies that have capacities to produce ten 54 minutes documentary films on lives and works of selected artists. These films must document artists’ lives within the socio-political context of South Africa pre- or post-apartheid eras. The concept itself has been inspired by a book titled Visual Century: South African Art in context 1907 – 2007, edited by Mario Pissarra and published in 2011.
Public members who know local visual artists with rich profiles and artistic credentials may suggest names for consideration for the next phase of this project to Mduduzi Xakaza (Mduduzi.Xakaza@durban.gov.za).
