All artists are invited to take part in an exhibition with a difference at artSPACE Durban’s 11x11: Inanimate Objects. All are welcome, from hobbyists to professionals.
The exhibition will take place as a lead-up to the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign which takes place from November 25 until December 10.
The theme of the exhibition, Inanimate Objects, a modern twist on the still life, explores what an inanimate object is. It considers that it is an object that has no life-bearing parts – such as a teddy bear, a snow globe or a lamp. One exception is plants, for although they are living organisms, they are considered inanimate.
Tonight chatted to the curator of the exhibition, Karen Bradtke, to learn more about the exhibits.
“The term ‘inanimate object’ represents the woman or child who is being treated as a non-human by being abused, mentally and physically. We hope to achieve an increase in visitors to the gallery, many sales and therefore generate loads of money to hand over to Diakonia Council of Church’s Thursdays in Black: towards a world without rape and violence campaign… for them to fund campaign buttons.
“We had an unexpected opening at the gallery and decided to organise an exhibi-tion which is open to all artists, however keep the format small (11cm x 11cm). It is a busy time of the year for artists and we are hoping to get as many artists of all media involved.”
Over the 16 days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, people are made aware of the negative impact of violence on women and children and are urged to act against the abuse. By supporting this drive, thousands of South Africans have helped to build support systems for victims and survivors of abuse.
Speaking about sales so far, Bradtke says they have sold about 100 canvases: “We need more exhibitions such as this because we as artists can do our part in taking a stand against pressing issues and as a gallery we can provide such exhibitions to promote that.
Those who attend can see a variety of interpretations of the theme Inanimate Objects and can purchase works to help support the charity and the artists who have participated.”
• Deliver entries to artSPACE by November 3. The exhibi-tion will run from Monday, November 5 to November 17. Interested artists can collect a canvas (R30) from artSPACE Durban, 3 Millar Road, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, Saturdays 9am to 2pm. Call 031 312 0793.