08 Oct 2017

Coordinator of Thapong Visual Arts Centre has encouraged artistes to work hard on their art pieces for this year’s Thapong Artist of the Year awards (TAYA) .

Speaking in an interview, Reginald Bakwena said that preparations for Botswana’s biggest visual and fine art competitions were at an advanced stage and the deadline for the submission has been set for November 5. 

Bakwena said they were yet to communicate the date of the awards ceremony and would announce the date to stakeholders well in time. 

He said that they were looking to revamp the awards and increase the categories to include disadvantaged people.

 He further said one of the main objectives of the awards was to give a platform to artistes to showcase their talent and also win a bit of cash for their work.

“As artistes, we need to look at the level we are at and see what improvements we can bring to our work and then build up,” he said.

With the arts centre having been revamped in 2014, Bakwena said the awards had entered an exciting phase and as such people should attend in large numbers to witness and appreciate art and see what Botswana art is after 51 years of independence.

Speaking on the importance of artistes knowing copyright law, Bakwena said artistes must have some knowledge of copyright law as it applied to their trade.

He said the copyright and neighbouring act provided creative people with the ability to control the reproduction of their work and to reap economic rewards from their creativity.

Bakwena noted that the act also allowed for punitive measures against individuals who obtained more than inspiration from the work of others.

“The law does not require you to use a copyright notice but it would be a good idea to do so,” he said. 

Bakwena said in the past he had been actively lobbying for Thapong Visual Arts Centre to become an active member of the copyright society of Botswana so that it would be able to protect and advance the interests of its members in an effective manner.

“We have also in the past held workshops aimed at raising awareness amongst our artistes with regard to copyright and they were taught about what they can and cannot protect,” he said.

 He indicated that artistes too needed to be financially savvy so that they received  rewards for their creativity.

“We have also held talks before teaching artistes business and management skills because these are some of the areas they should be exposed to lest they continue to be taken advantage of,” said Bakwena.

Bakwena also paid tribute to women who had taken to the arts and competing with the male counterparts saying women artistes faced more challenges than men. 

“As a society in general, we need to support our women folk who have chosen to take up art as a vocation so that they fulfil their potential,” he said.

He said the majority of households in Botswana were female headed, thus making females bread winners; “so supporting all of them in any way possible is terribly important,” he added. 

Bakwena said women artistes also had to contend with prejudice and discrimination with their works selling for significantly less than their male counterparts.

 “This is something we need to combat. An artiste’s gender should have nothing to do with their market value,” he said. 

Bakwena also urged members of the art centre to not be afraid of approaching them whenever they wanted to exhibit their art pieces.

“As long as you are a subscribing member of this centre, you can approach us for an exhibition and we will see how to assist you,” he said. ENDS