Windhoek
The Bank Windhoek 30×30 Art Competition in the Upper Galley of the National Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN) today promises to give homegrown amateur and student visual artists a much needed platform to grow in the art industry.
The competition aims at discovering new and fresh talents in Namibia and to encourage artistic excellence, creativity and individual expression by Namibian visual artists. It consists of two categories, one for schools (Grade 8 to 12 and age 14 to 19) and an Amateur Category for visual artists who do not have any tertiary art qualification and have not had a solo exhibition or participated in a curated exhibition. Up to 128 artworks will be exhibited for two months.
More than 200 artists entered the competition this year and only 80 have been selected as finalists of which only ten will be chosen as winners of this year’s competition.
The winner’s artworks will be sold for N$ 1000 each. The rest of the participants will receive a certificate of recognition and their artworks will be displayed at an exhibition where they will be on sale to the public for N$500.
The competition will start with an official opening and a prize giving ceremony and all the 128 art works will be exhibited until November 29.
One of the amateur artists taking part in this competition, Eva-Risto Uushona, says being chosen as one of the finalists will give him a platform to shine in the sketching circles, and to exhibit his own artworks in the near future.
During the first phase of the competition earlier this year, participants were required to complete an application form describing what they intended to develop on a 30cmx30cm canvas or paper. The ideas had to be supported by visuals such as preliminary sketches, collage, photomontage, intended materials or written text.
In the second phase the finalists were required to successfully translate their ideas into any type of medium. In the final tonight judges will select the top ten best artworks overall winners.
“Bank Windhoek is recognised in Namibia as one of the biggest supporters of the Namibian art industry. We therefore remain committed to the development of arts, as artists still struggle to gain the recognition and appreciation that they deserve,” says Riaan van Rooyen, head: Corporate Communication and Social Investment at Bank Windhoek at the launch