17 Mar 2016

Six young Batswana artists have been chosen to partake in this year’s Barclays L’Atelier 2016 competition in South Africa. The final winner will walk home  P161 000 richer and receive  an international residency at the Citë Internationale des Arts in Paris and having their artwork displayed at the ABSA Gallery in Johannesburg.

Tom Ketlogetswe, one of the judges who presided over the entries along with his team, indicated that they received 41 entries from 22 artists and only six artists were chosen to represent Botswana in the competition which will also involve contestants from other African countries that Barclays Bank trades in.

He indicated that the competition required artists to submit work that is contemporary visual art and that is what they were judging.

“The criteria for the adjudication both at the regional and national levels revolves around matters of technical execution, conceptual and thematic engagement, freshness of artistic vision within the context of African contemporary art and finally and probably and most difficult element, aesthetic appeal,” said Ketlogetswe.

He further said with regard to technical execution it is important that the works of art reveal an expert handling of materials and techniques and are presented in such a way that informs the adjudicators that the candidate was mindful of the work having to stand in its own right as an artwork and create dialogue.

“In respect of conceptual and thematic engagement it is imperative that the artwork reveals an honest and intellectual reasoning or rationale that may lead to the artists’ arrival at the artwork and simultaneously, the conceptual nature of the work is also about the artwork conveying a message that is accessible to the viewer,” he said, adding that a freshness of vision implies that the artwork has to reflect something that is not pastiche or echoes of rhetoric gone before, but rather engages with new and honest ways of seeing

He went on to say that aesthetic appeal implies that the artist has shown a great consideration for the artworks ‘look’ in terms of visual quality and the conceptual concerns, where the artwork becomes a cohesive object carrying the intended message.

“For those that did not make the cut, I urge you not to despair but rather start working on next year’s competition and do not do things at the last minute,” he said, also indicating that it is important for artists to research and move away from the norm and embrace new things so as to grow.

Thebe Phetogo, Modisa Motsumi, Kefilwe Sentsho, Onkabetse Mpolokeng, Totang Motoloki and Gaone Rose all made the cut and will compete with other artists in South Africa for the Barclays L’Atelier 2016.

For his part, Public and Media Relations Manager at Barclays Bank Botswana, Spencer Moreri said for the past 30 years the Barclays L’Atelier competition was confined only to South Africa and this year it is the second time Botswana will be competing in it.

He indicated that in 2015 the competition was extended to include Botswana and it was this year that it was extended to other African countries where Barclays Bank trades in.

“Barclays Bank has taken a deliberate decision of exploring artworks in our rich continent and giving a platform to young artists to showcase their work,” he said.

He indicated that this year there are five prizes for the 2016 competition; the first prize, three merit award prizes and the Gerard Sekoto Award for the most promising artist and artists can read more on the prizes at http://lateliercompetition.com .

“The top 10 finalists will all be placed on a two-day art professionalism course and will also be paired with a mentor who will work with them for the next 12 months,” said Mr Moreri.

Treasurer at Thapong Visual Arts Centre Mr Mesh Moeti said Africa’s art has been described as a solid form of investment for the past 15 years by news cable network CNN and it embodies Barclays Bank vision of promoting art in Africa.

“Even Aljazeera news network has reported that Europe and the United States of America (USA) are keen on African art,” he said, adding that it has to be the right art.

Moeti indicated that there is a lot of talented artists in Botswana as much as anywhere else in the world and the question that has always remained is what Botswana is doing with it.

“We have a lot of raw talent and raw talent alone has never been sufficient enough. Talent has to be nurtured, developed and allowed to gain exposure,” he said, also adding that mentoring of artists has to be done by the best experts the world has to offer, whether locally, nationally or internationally.

He said the journey to self-discovery by an artist starts with competitions such as the Barclays L’Atelier competition and Botswana artists should not submit art pieces just for the sake of participating but rather to compete. Ends