The night is ‘Moonlight @ The Galleries’ and the patrons flitting between Windhoek’s four downtown exhibition spaces are dressed in canvas white.
A car guard dances beneath the floodlights that illuminate Hage Mukwendje’s paintings outside the National Art Gallery of Namibia. Art lovers discuss the purchase of an artwork by Lynette Musukubili over tumblers of wine at The Project Room next to a showing of Frans Nambinga’s ‘The Spirit of Africa’ at the Namibia Arts Association. At the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC), 35 artists showcase their works for the centre’s 35th anniversary while a creative night market buzzes beyond the gallery space.
The city’s creatives dream of nights like these. Expansive evenings where the city comes alive after dark. Enthusiasts can view art after a hard day’s work and chat to fellow patrons as a night market entices with destination cuisine, high quality crafts, quirky clothing and locally made craft beer.
The evening’s highlight is the FNCC’s showing of 35 artists. The other exhibitions are well into their runs. Mukwendje’s work is an outdoor special feature. But inside the FNCC, we meet a splash of new and emerging artists. Some of them, like Medwin Swartbooi, are presenting their work to the public for the first time. In ‘Die Pyn van Heiraxabes’, the artist reflects on the trauma and legacy of the Bondelswart Nama community who hail from a historic fountain in the Great Namaqualand.
Beguiling in blue, Sascha Olivier-Sampson’s abstract rendering of a strait is part of a mesmerising collection inspired by the ocean. Also evoking water is Joëlle Nuulimba’s ‘Woman of the South’ which celebrates the cultural richness of southern Africa, particularly of the region’s women. In the artist’s acrylic painting, a Himba, an Otjiherero and an Ndebele woman cross the Zambezi River together in the spirit of connection, transition and shared journeys.
While culture and heritage are recurring themes, the exhibiting artists also delve into themes of nationhood, freedom, unity, womanhood, boyhood, Namibia’s natural world and the beauty of silence.
Featuring striking photography by Prince Simon David, Dee Conradie and Guillame Haurice as well as an arresting entreaty to consider the boychild in our communities by Fatima Camilla Van Wyk, the exhibition presents work of varying degrees of quality and accomplishment and is worth a visit to the FNCC.
As the centre renews its commitment to arts, culture and creative exchange during its 35th year, the public is invited to the second season of ‘Movement’, a contemporary dance festival. The festival will take place from 12-20 August featuring artists from Namibia and Réunion Island (France). Professional dancers can attend a series of workshops and seminars while patrons are invited to a free community performance of ‘Become – A Dance Performance in Four Acts’ in Katutura on 19 August.
This season features dancer and choreographer Nadjani Bulin (Réunion Island), French choreographer Jérôme Brabant, Equipped Dance Academy, Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (OYO) dance troupe and Nalingungule Creatives. A ticketed performance of ‘Become’ will be held at the National Theatre of Namibia on 20 August. Visit the FNCC online for the full schedule and for more information.
– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com
