17 Nov 2016

Coordinator of Thapong Visual Arts Centre says the competition among artists for the Thapong Artist of The Year Award (TAYA) seems to get stiffer every year and exciting as well.

Speaking in an interview, Reginald Bakwena said he was impressed with the artworks that had been submitted for TAYA.

“The showdown will be on November 23. On November 22 judges will also hold a presentation on the processes they used to judge the artworks,” he said adding that 78 artists submitted their artworks for the award.

He indicated that there had been a significant difference with regards to the artworks submitted this year compared to last year.

“This year artists seemed to have followed instructions and there is less we can complain about. Also new faces have come in and in recent years we have seen the number of young people increasing, which can only mean good things for Botswana’s art,” he said.

He noted that this shows a level of growth and also means young people can forge a career out of art.

Speaking on the categories that submitted, Bakwena said 51 paintings, 23 drawings, six sculptures, 11 photographs, four installation art, 35 ceramic and crafts, four multimedia art and one print had been submitted for this year’s TAYA.

“But I am worried about the decline of submissions for sculpture and print making. We will do more lobbying and workshops so that more artists can take part in these categories,” said Bakwena, adding that artists are always encouraged to try out new mediums. He indicated that they need to motivate more artists in exploring their creative abilities by taking part in a variety of art.

“TAYA is one platform that encourages artists to try their luck, hence trying out new things. We do not want our artists feeling restricted and the more people explore other avenues of art the better,” he said.BOPA