25 Feb 2013

Thapong Visual Arts Centre will soon look different and become more attractive to tourists and art enthusiasts.

This followed the ground breaking event to kick start the face lift project. The centre would have a café, which would form part of Thapong’s plan to give the place a major facelift and make it an integrated art centre, with improved facilities such as studios for resident artists as well as a world class exhibition space.

Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony, Thapong treasurer, Mesh Moeti, noted that the idea of a café within Thapong dated back to 2002.

He said part of the feedback from people who visited the centre had always been that they needed a facility to serve them light refreshments as they interacted with the art.

“It’s a sentiment that we share and today through the kind assistance of the FNB Foundation, we are answering that call. We hope once operational, this café will attract more visitors to Thapong,” he said.

Furthermore, Moeti was hopeful that having a café on site would enhance the appeal of Thapong to its usual visitors as well as potential patrons and turn the centre into an even more attractive destination for tourists and residents.

He however said the development was in line with Thapong’s goals of increasing individual and group visits, increasing special events that stood to benefit from an on-site catering facility and becoming the number one destination for fine art lovers in Botswana.

“We are very pleased to see that the corporate sector is showing a greater interest in our art and its development. Today’s event has been made possible by the FNB Foundation, which has made a generous donation towards the building of Thapong café,” he said.

Meanwhile, FNB Foundation Trustee, Regina Vaka said the foundation placed a lot of importance in contributing to the upliftment of the society. The foundation donated P250 000 to the project. ENDS