12 Nov 2013

The local fine art arena is making strides to keep up with modern technology.

One fine artist, Rosy Sbrana in 2012 founded an online archive www.loraarts.com for Botswana based visual artists.The aim of the website is to provide an online home for works that employ images of fine art and new media.

The website operates under Lora Arts, an organisation that aims to promote the growth of cultural exchange through the creation of events within the local visual arts community.

Lora Arts, in collaboration with the Department of Arts and Culture will be having an online competition dubbed ‘Lora Arts expression contest’, where artists will get to promote their works through a large fan base, by encouraging an online voting system where the population votes for their favorite artwork. In order to secure a fair vote for each artist, Lora Arts has integrated social media such as twitter and facebook applications in its online gallery.

Images of artworks of painting, drawing, photography and print making will be published and available for voting from November 29, and the deadline for submissions is November 22.  
Lora Arts aims at developing a groundbreaking platform for Batswana artists by integrating the use of technology with art. In an interview, Sbrana said Lora Arts expression contest is the first competition of its kind to take place in Botswana, and the winner will get P10 000 prize money.

She said the contest will allow the public to become more familiar with the visual arts community in Botswana and to initiate a modern approach in the way that people perceive art by emphasizing the use of technology as a primary source for promotion.

The Masters’ of Fine Arts holder said the competition is also a platform where local artists can expose their work through the global network. “Our focus is the youth aged 18-35. We want an upcoming and young artist to win in this competition,” said Sbrana.

To sensitise artists about this competition, Sbrana said Lora Arts will conduct workshops at Thapong Visual Arts Center on November 13 and 16, to assist with entry forms and photographing of artworks, and artists are thus, encouraged to attend.

Sbrana also encouraged artists to register in large numbers since this would be an opportunity for local artists to expose their talent internationally. Meanwhile, through the website, artists will be able to upload their works via an application form and from which a Lora Arts panel will select the best for publication.

Once voting is closed, votes will be counted through each social network login, which means that, a viewer can make only one vote. To allow for transparency, the public will be able to view the counting process on the website. Ends