An exhibition of artworks from the 2023 Baker’s Bay Artists’ Retreat is now open to the public.
Organised and facilitated by StArt Art Gallery and OMDis, the exhibition opened on 30 November, and it is hosted at the Namibian Arts Association (NAA). It will close on 29 February 2024.
This follows the exhibition of the same artworks at Berronies in Oranjemund that ran from 23 to 29 September 2023.
While there will be no opening event this year, the NAA will host an end-of-year party on 15 December, which will be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and view the exhibition outside normal operating hours. To close the exhibition, a catalogue launch will be held in February.
Artworks on display in this exhibition are by artists from Namibia: Wil-Merie Greyling (Swakopmund), Immanuel Chiete (Oranjemund), Julia Nakashwa Hango (Swakopmund), Elisia Nghidishange (Omaruru), Ismael Shivute (Windhoek), Natache Sylvia Iilonga (Windhoek), Tity Kalala Tshilumba (Windhoek), Nicky Marais (Oranjemund) and Lila Swanepoel (Windhoek).
From further afield: Anita Sambanje (Angola), Jeannette Unite (South Africa) and Line Krom (Germany).
From 9 to 21 September 2023, these 12 artists attended an Artists’ Retreat at Baker’s Bay in the Tsau //Khaeb (Sperrgebiet) National Park.
The remote environment of Baker’s Bay provided artists with a chance to pursue their creative practice in an uninterrupted, dedicated manner. They used this opportunity to learn from each other and be inspired by the incredibly unique environment and its social history.
As a result, this exhibition includes a wide variety of artworks in traditional and new mediums.
Sculptural works on display use recycled metals from a nearby dump. Paintings respond to the landscape in various ways, drawing from topographic imagery – and in some cases, using pigments from the earth.
Photography and collage incorporate archival images, document installation and site-specific work that will remain at Bakers Bay itself for years to come. Also on display are imaginative architectural plans that seek to explore new modalities of inhabiting the landscape.
This retreat was the third of its kind.
The Artists’ Retreat is part of the Art Can Transform project that was initiated by OMDis Town Transform Agency in Oranjemund, with proud sponsorship and support from the Namdeb Diamond Corporation.
This is the third iteration of the project.
The first retreat saw six artists living and working at the deserted mining town of Bogenfels in the Tsau //Khaeb National Park in 2021 – and in 2022, the next retreat was held with 13 artists at Baker’s Bay – also in the Tsau //Khaeb National Park.