#WhatsYourStory? opens at NAGN tomorrow

ARTISTS will share their take on the Covid-19 pandemic as ‘#WhatsYourStory?’ opens at the National Art Gallery of Namibia tomorrow.

The culmination of a dynamic countrywide campaign that invited artists to partner the NAGN to produce artworks reflective of the times, ‘#WhatsYourStory?’ features the work of 82 artists with a unique take on art and the current crisis.

“This partnership entails that the NAGN provides art materials for the production of this work and the artists’ creative process will be documented from its initial stage to the final product,” says the National Art Gallery’s acting chief curator, Desiree !Nanuses.

“The final artwork will be exhibited in our galleries and online and the proceeds are for the artist’s benefit. Artists will also receive an honorarium fee for this process.”

A multi-pronged exhibition that has seen the NAGN team travel across the country documenting and collecting everything from paintings in Otjinene to beadwork in Karasburg, ‘#WhatsYourStory?’ also lives on social media as a series of videos and brief artist profiles.

Presenting snippets in which we glimpse artists such as Paul Kiddo, Michelle Isaak and Pinehas ‘Zuluboy’ Shikulo begin paintings, mixed media and pyrography, the campaign tells the story of the Namibian artist creating against all odds.

While the galleries, tourist haunts and arts spaces which usually showcase and ultimately feed artists have been intermittently shuttered alongside the Covid-era dwindling of tourism and walk-in clientele, campaigns such as ‘#WhatsYourStory’ give artists an opportunity to persevere.

Also alive in a collection of murals, sculptures and live art happenings at various sites across the nation, the campaign has put a spotlight on public art through sessions such as Frans Uunona’s art therapy outside the City of Windhoek and Petrina Mathews’ action painting at the Zoo Park amphitheatre.  

“City of Windhoek availed public art spaces where artists could create work,” says !Nanuses who believes public art has a particularly therapeutic effect.

“We’re hoping to encourage more people to start appreciating public art, enjoy seeing it in public spaces and hopefully then come to the galleries.”

With each artist approaching the pandemic through a social, political, emotional or personal lens while creating uniquely in various mediums including painting, mixed media, sculpture, installation, pyrography and more, ‘#WhatsYourStory?’ offers a diverse dive into the minds of local artists during an extraordinary time.

“We are hopeful that the public will come in numbers and we are also hopeful that places like embassies, ministries, commercial companies and banks who can buy artwork to furnish their buildings attend and support local artists,” says !Nanuses.

“Visitors are going to walk into the #WhatsYourStory? galleries and relate to the artworks immediately. This exhibition is going to give you a lot of hope but it’s also going to keep you pondering.”

#WhatsYourStory? will be on display at the National Art Gallery of Namibia until 27 March. Follow the NAGN on social media for more information.

-martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter; marthamukaiwa.com

 

 

 

 

 

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