When it comes to the local arts scene, visual artists are the most prolific.
With exhibitions regularly on show at the National Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN), Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC), the Omba Gallery, John Muafangejo Art Centre (JMAC) and The Project Room, this year featured a number of retrospectives including Namibia Arts Association’s ‘Back to the Future’, Omba Gallery’s ’30 Years of Anin’, Lukas Amakali’s ‘Double Exposure’ exhibition and photo book launch as well as the NAGN’s ‘LongStoryShort’ preceding ‘Textiles and Textures’.
When not looking back, exhibiting artists often looked around. At wildlife in the case of Elia Shiwoohamba’s print and sculpture ‘Owls of Namibia’ at the FNCC; at ‘The Bondelswart’, a photographic exhibition by Kristin Capp featured at the OpenART Biennale in Sweden; or at our surreal landscapes in Dr Paul Godard’s mesmerising ‘Change Your Perspective’.
Offbeat in Michael Mansfield’s ‘Who Killed Mr Art?’, an interactive mixed media mystery, women-centric in Alpheus Mvula’s sculptural ‘The Tonzo’, stirring in Silke Berens ‘Brothers in Arms’ and in honour of the late Tony Figueira in Papa Shikongeni’s ‘Inspiration Through the Lens’, the output was good for more established artists while the month of June saw students of the College of the Arts embroiled in protests decrying the halting of their classes by The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture.
Happily, classes resumed shortly after with ‘I Come from Womxn’ honouring the work of Namibian woman artists in the JMAC gallery and Cota alumnus Elisia Nghidishange presenting ‘The Cost of Wealth’, her solid first solo exhibition.
A year in which the Potter’s Association of Namibia celebrated their 30th anniversary alongside their eighth National Ceramics Biennale, JMAC presented its ‘Whose Role Is It to Educate the Public About Art?’ series as well as John Muafangejo Season, a highlight of which was ‘Kuzaliwa’, a feminist performance piece directed by Azania L Mokoena.
Illuminating when incorporating a little extra as in Berens’ ‘Fishbowl Conversation’, 2017 saw the NAGN continue with its interactive Happy Art Hours, Julia Hango forge ahead with her nude life drawing sessions and Jaimee-Lee Diergaardt encourage everyone’s inner artist to ‘Paint & Wine’.
With regard to regularly scheduled programming, this year the Omaruru Artist’s Trail celebrated its 10th anniversary, the NAGN hosted 70 artworks by 60 artists at the Bank Windhoek Triennial as well as the Tulipamwe International Artists’ Exhibition in a calendar that included Nicky Marais’ ‘Presence in Absence’ and ‘The City – Becoming and Decaying’, a travelling exhibition by Ostkreuz.
New on the gallery block, Windhoek was happy to welcome StART art gallery. The brainchild of Gina Figueira and Helen Harris, the little gallery on Macadam Street hit the ground running in a series of ‘pARTicipation sessions’, exhibitions and art salons.
As for the other visual art, this year Namibian filmmakers got to honour their own at the Namibian Theatre and Film Awards held at a National Theatre of Namibia red carpet event in March.
While the awards show gave kudos to the best of the last two years with South African soap star Vusi Kunene as the esteemed guest speaker, 2017 had some highlights of its own with Vickson Hangula premiering the Maria Nepembe and Tjuna Kauapirura vehicle ‘Fish Out of Water’, Andrew Botelle’s ‘Damara King’s Festival’ documentary shortlisted for the Research in Film Awards in the UK and Tim Huebschle’s ‘Another Sunny Day’ reaching the finals of the Discovery Channel’s Don’t Stop Wondering Award at the Jozi Film Fest.
With Oshosheni Hiveluah exploring virtual reality while ‘Evoking Origin’ in Windhoek’s month of movies featuring Cinemafest, AfricAvenir’s Oshana Film Festival and the NTFA’s ‘7 Days of Namibian Movies’, this year’s film calendar was certainly a respectable one.
Debuting ‘Oom Land’ online in July, Ernst Steynberg and Huebschle’s documentary about Johannes and Lisbeth Benade who opened Rehoboth’s Volkswinkel over 50 years ago, garnered over 1 000 Facebook shares while Michael Pulse and Desiree Kahikopo’s upcoming ‘The White Line’ trailer has been viewed 1 800 times on YouTube.
Perhaps as filmic a month as March, October saw the premieres of Phillipe Talavera’s prison set ‘Salute’ at the Warehouse Theatre, Oshoveli Shipoh’s thriller ‘Resentment’ as well as the second Japanese Film Festival both screened at Ster-Kinekor.
Ending the year in style with ‘The Unlikely Encounter’, a Namibian Brazilian co-production directed by Andre Costa, hosting an avant premiere at the Lemon Tree Opera House at The Village and poet and activist Tangeni Kauzuu premiering ‘So Over the Rainbow – Young, Black and Trans in Namibia’ at the Goethe-Institut, the 2017 visual art industry was one in which the film yield was more abundant than last year while the gallery offerings, Cota and Unam end-of-year exhibitions included, were largely forgettable.
