Art lovers have until 25 June to view the ‘OMDis Artists in Residence: 2025 Art Exhibition’, currently on display at the Oranjemund Art Centre.
Having premiered earlier this month, the exhibition is the result of a month-long collaborative residency with three dynamic voices in art: Hildegard Titus, Edeltraut Rath and Kevlyn Gowases.
According to this year’s programme curator, Helen Harris, all three artists spent time absorbing Oranjemund’s varied cultural and environmental landscapes, returning the favour with distinct mediums and messages.
“Since its opening in 2023, the Oranjemund Art Centre has served as a hub of experimentation, discussion and transformation,” says Harris.
The OMDis residency – founded by Town Transform Agency – is an expression of this same ethos by placing art at the centre of community interaction, storytelling and knowledge-sharing.
“This programme is not as much a showcase of visual work – rather, an open invitation to engage with the redemptive power of place,” says Harris.
“Every artist engaged intensively and respectfully with Oranjemund’s physical and social topography.”
German painter Rath imbued her watercolours with a meditative effect, capturing the desert’s quiet beauty.
She has more than 20 years of connection with Namibia, and her paintings are filled with light and memory.
“The desert does not shout, it whispers,” she says.
“I wanted to capture the pale colour shifts half an hour before sunrise and half an hour after sunset – silent minutes which say everything.”
Multidisciplinary artist, curator and activist Titus of Windhoek presented ‘Fruit of Her Womb’, an exploration of motherhood, empowerment and identity.
Through photography and film, Titus constructed a narrative that was intimate yet universally familiar.
“I wanted to give respect to the private narratives that are usually invisible – the strength, pain, joy and politics of the female body,” she said on a walkabout tour.
The youngest of the trio, ceramicist Gowases, employed a haptic, history-conscious strategy in the exhibition. Her sculptural pieces, crafted from Orange River wild clay, are shaped by earth and memory.
“The extended presence of the land, and the hunter-gatherer communities who once lived there, influenced the making, texture and existence of each piece,” she says.
Their partnership did not stay in the studio. All three artists conducted community workshops, where residents were invited to observe their processes and engage in cultural exchange.
“The workshops were a highlight,” Harris says.
“They reminded us that art isn’t just for looking at; it’s for creating, sharing and living.”
Through initiatives like these, OMDis continues to inspire cultural revitalisation at Oranjemund.
Public art initiatives like ‘Art Can Transform’ ensure the sponsorship of the residency, demonstrating the power of creativity to assist in shaping identity, building tourism, and enriching community life.
The ‘OMDis Artists in Residence: 2025 Art Exhibition’ is open to the public at the Oranjemund Art Centre until 25 June, weekdays from 10h00 to 17h00.
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