Executive Foreword
Jacqui O’Sullivan
Conversing the Land marks the fifth collaborative public exhibition programme in partnership with the MTN SA Foundation and The University of Johannesburg Art Gallery since 2008. The central theme for this exhibition is landscape and its’ myriad of guises.
The tradition of portraying landscapes in the South African context is intimately connected to colonial policies and attitudes of land discovery devoid of any traces of indigenous influence upon it. The land depicted as empty, adheres to ideals of the picturesque, where the artistic depiction becomes a product of the mind rather than the representation of real events experienced at a specific geographical location at a particular period in time.
Sub categories accompany the main theme and highlight significant periods of concern pivotal to the lands’ history, these are: Discovering the Land, The Land in Conflict and The Land Worked
Aligned to the MTN SA Foundations’ strategic focus on youth development; young emerging visual artists were invited to work with the theme of landscape guided by the sub themes expressed above. This opportunity affords the emerging artists a public platform to showcase their artworks alongside more established artists. Furthermore, three Fine Arts students from the University of Johannesburg are mentored on curatorial processes, project and exhibition logistics and educational outputs inherent in the partnership.
An educational booklet designed through the mentorship programme encompasses activities aligned to workshops and exhibition tours to educate primary school groups on basic visual literacy relating to the theme of the exhibition.
Conversing the Land allows for the art collections of the UJ Art Gallery and MTN to converse once more on themes related to our nation’s history and the role our youth plays in that narrative. We have always been proud of our association with the University of Johannesburg Art Gallery and regard ourselves as most fortunate to be working once more with Annali Cabano-Dempsey and her dynamic team to ensure the success of our arts and culture endeavours.
We trust you will enjoy the experience and immerse yourselves in this thought provoking and engaging exhibition.
