The MTN SA Foundation and UJ Art Gallery will continue their collaboration following on the successful Shifting Conversations }} exhibition (2017) that engaged with colonial and post-colonial narratives, an exhibition of portraits entitled {{Continuing Conversations (2018) addressing various forms of identity through portraiture and Conversing the Land (2019) on depictions of landscape in all its manifestations.
Due to the ramifications of Covid-19, the offering for 2020 is an online documentary with focus on MTN’s THE BLIND ALPHABET – LETTER B: Barbery to Bigeminate] and artist, Willem Boshoff, as well as selected artworks derived from an Emerging Artists Development Programme.
Artwork submissions can be related to the themes dealt with in Willem Boshoff’s THE BLIND ALPHABET – LETTER B: Barbery to Bigeminate or can be a response to or in conversation with the body of work (Please see the available resources below for references to the work). We will also be considering artworks that encourage innovative and creative ways of looking at and approaching multi-disciplinary online exhibitions and the current lockdown situation.
Ten submissions will be selected and incorporated into THE BLIND ALPHABET – LETTER B: Barbery to Bigeminate online exhibition, with nine of these emerging artists receiving a stipend of R3 000 to further their careers. The most deserving artist will receive R30 000.
These works must also be made available for an exhibition at the UJ Art Gallery towards the end of 2021.
The partnership between MTN & UJ is supported by the Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) Supporting Grant.
For more information on THE BLIND ALPHABET – LETTER B: Barbery to Bigeminate please refer to https://www.willemboshoff.com/ and https://www.willemboshoff.com/product-page/blind-alphabet
For more information, contact Mia van Schalkwyk on miavs@uj.ac.za. Closing date is the 28 September at 17:00.
About UJ Arts & Culture
UJ Arts & Culture, a division of the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (FADA), produces and presents world-class student and professional arts programmes aligned to the UJ vision of an international university of choice, anchored in Africa, dynamically shaping the future. A robust range of arts platforms are offered on all four UJ campuses for students, staff, alumni and the general public to experience and engage with emerging and established Pan-African and international artists drawn from the full spectrum of the arts.
In addition to UJ Arts & Culture, FADA (www.uj.ac.za/fada) offers programmes in eight creative disciplines, in Art, Design and Architecture, as well as playing home to the NRF SARChI Chair in South African Art & Visual Culture, and the Visual Identities in Art & Design Research Centre. The Faculty has a strong focus on sustainability and relevance, and engages actively with the dynamism, creativity and diversity of Johannesburg in imagining new approaches to art and design education.
About MTN Foundation
MTN SA Foundation is a corporate social investment wing of MTN South Africa, a subsidiary of MTN Group. Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging markets operator with a clear vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to our 240 million customers in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. We are inspired by our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code “MTN”. We are pursuing our BRIGHT strategy with a major focus on growth in data, fintech and digital businesses.
Visit us at www.mtn.com or www.mtn.co.za Follow us on Twitter @MTNza
About Business and Arts South Africa (BASA)
Constituted in terms of the Companies Act, BASA is registered as a public benefit organisation (PBO) and is accountable to its stakeholders. The BASA Board of Directors comprises Chair Charmaine Soobramoney, with Deputy Chair Mandie van der Spuy, and Kojo Baffoe, Kathy Berman, Devi Sankaree Govender, Ashraf Johaardien (BASA CEO), Hilton Lawler, Andre Le Roux, Khanyi Mamba, Zingisa Motloba, Carel Nolte, Dr Yacoob Omar, and Mirna Wessels. For more information please visit www.basa.co.za to become a BASA member, click on the ‘JOIN US’ tab at the top of the home page.