KNYSNA NEWS - The run of the Men of HeArt art exhibition at the Old Gaol Museum in Queen Street has been extended due to popular demand, says its curator, Gatsby Lubanza Mpoyi.
The exhibition was due to close on Friday 4 April, but will now end tomorrow, Friday 11 April, and is open between 10:00 and 14:00.
Mpoyi, a local artist, poet and musician, is a member of the Knysna Fine Art Society, and the exhibition marks his debut as a curator.
Featuring local male artists only, it has been billed as a "challenge to conventional perceptions of masculinity".
"With this exhibition we're hoping to create a spirit of collaboration and unity between young artists, and people who would like to get into the arts," Mpoyi says.
Reaching out
"We are trying to specifically reach out to young men who are from the local community."
Wood carving by Kelvin Mtobeni
"What we are hoping to achieve with this is to spring out a spirit of collaborative unity, have fun, and create memories with amazing people. This exhibition explores man's identity - the modern man - and our ideal of being in harmony with yourself and your community."
'True peace'
He says a lot of the art in the exhibition is inspired by an "intense desire for understanding, but also for true peace within oneself". "Some of the pieces are very intense and speak to the audience."
Mpoyi, who matriculated from Knysna High School in 2020, says he became interested in art as a child, and since then has always had a passion for it.
Untitled work by K Ngcwembe of Plettenberg Bay
"I've been working as a professional artist for the past three and a half years, going further into my career."
Performance poetry
A guitarist, he says he and other musicians take part in jam sessions at the Old Gaol, Oaks on Main in Main Road, and at the Grain Mill.
At these events the poetry he writes is "combined with music and becomes performance poetry".
His poetry is drawn from "life experiences and what I'm feeling - it's a form of self-expression".
Mpoyi says he might hold another art exhibition, or perhaps help organise a music event, to mark 16 June, Youth Day, which commemorates the Soweto Uprising of 1976.
"I'm planning to work with a few guys; we are planning to do something on that date."
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