Getting to know Thabo Sekoaila

Thabo Sekoaila is a curator in visual arts for the City of Ekurhuleni.
How did you decide on art as a career path?
My artistic career started at an early age.
I showed an interest in drawing and sculpting while growing up in the Village of Flora Moletjie near Polokwane.
I always had a fascination with building structures and toyed with the idea of studying building or architectural design.
I later studied for a national diploma in fine arts at the former Wits Technikon and obtained a BTech, FA. degree majoring in sculpture in 2003.
I did some studio teaching at the same Technikon and participated in several group exhibitions and curatorial projects before I joined EMM’s Springs Art Gallery (SAG) as a curator.

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What do you do as the curator of SAG?
My focus is on strategic and operational management, including administration, finance and SAG personnel by researching, planning and implementing current and future visual arts projects, programmes, workshops and exhibitions.
What qualities, qualifications and skills are necessary to be a curator?
You need knowledge and understanding of the visual arts industry coupled with some experience.
You need to be innovative and have an interest to make a valuable contribution.
One would require a BA degree in fine arts or relevant qualification to be a curator.
What are the challenges and rewards of your job?
The fact that the arts and culture sector is not formalised is a challenge.
And makes it difficult at times to assist artists in the promotion of their artistic practice.
It just feels great to be able to assist in launching a young artist’s career.

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Is there a work of art you wish you owned?
I have a very long list of both local and international artworks and wish that we have more urban renewal arts-based or public art initiatives.
As a country, we need to invest in the transformation of our environment and beautify our landscape, like the Mandela outdoor sculpture by artist Marco Cianfanelli at the Nelson Mandela Capture Site, Howick in KwaZulu-Natal.

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