18 Jun 2014

Government departments, non-governmental organisations, parastatals and individuals have been urged to buy local art products to enable artists to eke out a living through artwork.

Kgomotso Diseko, principal programmes officer in the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture (MYSC), said this in Kanye during President’s Day art exhibition.

She said the support would preserve local art and crafts by giving artists the necessary motivation and drive to do art work on a full time basis rather than as a pass time errand. She has thus urged accounting officers to purchase local art products for office decorations to whet artists’ appetite for art.

Meanwhile, MYSC Art curator, Mr Phenyoyaone Pampiri has advised artists to come up with products which were relevant to everyday lives of Batswana if they were to improve their sales. He observed that often times art products were not sold because they were irrelevant to local art lovers.

The curator has also warned artists to use vanish sparingly on art work, saying vanish devaluated and made products look bright. He added that vanish also reduced product durability and warned that Motswere and Morukuru products did not need vanish at all.

Although he admired the potential of artists, art lover, Mr Tweedzani Woto said art work was a full production process thus advised artists to produce quality products that would fetch them good prices. ENDS