KNYSNA NEWS - The artists for the latest residency programme at Entabeni farm on Welbedacht Road, Knysna have started arriving, and already excitement is building for when they will finally showcase their artworks created there when the programme comes to a close with an open studio session aimed at the art-loving public of Knysna.
The residencies at Entabeni fall under the auspices of the SA Foundation for Contemporary Art (Saffca) and aim at bringing together a well-established and emerging artist under the same roof, usually one from SA and one from abroad, according to Saffca cofounder Frenchman Pierre Lombart.
According to Lombart, Saffca was started by him and his partner in 2014, and the foundation operates both locally and in France, creating exposure for artists.
To kick off 2019, the first artist, South African Asemahle Ntlonti, arrived at Entabeni on 15 January, and is already hard at work creating new and exciting pieces according to Entabeni and Saffca spokesperson Ruzy Rusike.
Ntlonti, a Capetonian by birth, was born in 1993. She graduated from Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town in 2018, and built quite a buzz around her work up to that point.
In 2014 she received the Barbaro Fairhead award for social responsibility, in 2015 she was awarded Hoosein Mohamed Award for excellence, while in 2016 she was a top 10 finalist for Barclays L'Atelier.
According to Ntlonti, she tackles different themes in her work. "The disappearance and later death of my great uncle during the '60s prompted me to look deeper into my family history and the violent history of this country, how it has affected many families of those who were once oppressed. I also looks at my culture and also my upbringing," she said.
The second and final artist, Frenchman Eric Chabrely, will join Ntlonti at Entabeni later this week. Chabrely is a multimedia expressionist and works in a multitude of mediums, even using video as a means to share his artistic view of the world.
The two artists will showcase what they have been creating during their residency on 9 March, from 16:00 to 18:00, at Entabeni Farm on the Welbedacht Road, Knysna.
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