01 Jun 2022

Visual artists need to put more effort into perfecting their craft as it has the potential to be a source of income and significantly contribute to the economy.

Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) Kanye branch manager, Khaolani Phineas thus advised during the Southern District art exhibition in Kanye on Tuesday.   

The event, themed; Creative Industry, a Vehicle for Sustainable Development, was a build up to national Presidential Day competitions slated for July and was hosted by the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture.

Phineas urged artists to work hard, adding that the event was also a platform to market their products.

“This event brings unique opportunity to showcase local talent and it promotes production of art in the country,” he said.

He commended the artists for for making the event a success, especially coming from a trying period. Phineas appealed to attendees to share their experience  at the event with others, saying by so doing they would be partaking in growing the industry.

He further expressed hope that in the near future, local products would flood the international market. Phineas advised the artists to take advantage of government programmes designed to grow the arts industry.

“Come to our offices and share your ideas with us, we will then find a way to assist in growing your craft. LEA is there to unearth and grow local talent,” he said.

For his part, Kgosi Bathoen II museum board Secretary, Mike Mothibi, who shared the sentiments that visual arts could be a source of income if taken seriously, appealed to the artists to make use of the museum as a platform to market their products. “If your products are displayed in the museum with your contact details attached, a lot of people will know about them and buy from you,” he said.

One of the judges, Thabo Modise explained that the assessment tool included first impression, originality, objectivity and craftsmanship. 

He said it was vital for artists to prepare their work well in time, adding that they realised that some of the products were prepared at the eleventh hour, as such, owners did not have enough time to perfect them.

Modise said some of the products had blurred messages, the message was important for communicating the product theme.

He said the artists had to choose raw materials wisely as some might rander the products fragile, thus difficult to be moved around.

“The type of material used is very important as it contributes to the overall appearance and durability of the product,” he said. Modise explained that some decorations on frames of artefacts overshadowed the products even though the main focus should be on the artefact.

He, therefore, appealed to all artists to take into consideration all the factors that the judges pointed out. The exhibition was made up of such categories as; Pottery, Drawing, Photography, Leatherwork, Sculpture, Wood Curving, Painters, Design, Basketry, Ceramics, Tapestry as well as Textile and Fabrics.

Kago Belgium emerged the best in the Painters category while Mathusi Lechuti, Thekoetsile Mposa and Kennedy Bakwadi won in the Design, Basketry as well as Textile and Fabrics categories respectively.

Winners of Photography, Leatherwork and Sculpture categories are; R Mongwaketse, Rebaone Montsi and Onkarabile Mafosi respectively.

For Wood Curving, Bid Work, Pottery and Drawing, the first prizes went to; Itumeleng Moterati, Keoabile Kagiso, Morekisi Mosekisi and Tumelo Moteba, respectively. Winners of Tapestry and Ceramics are Lesly Ntwaetsile and Thapelo Motshwarateu respectively. ends