WINDHOEK
The exhibition, Conversations: a call for collaborations opens this Thursday at the National Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN) at 18h00.
Initiated by the NAGN, artists from all communities were invited to submit artworks for consideration with only one condition – the work had to be made collaboratively. Drawing on the history of collaborative processes in artistic practices, the inspiration for this exhibition came from a desire to promote and encourage these types of convergences and collaborations, and also to try and expand them. From musicians to performers, to all forms of visual practitioners, this exhibition has asked artists to draw strength from each other and submit works together.
The local art scene rose to the occasion and the NAGN saw the submission of works from local and international artists in a variety of mediums and forms. Conversations took place between husband and wife, dancer and fashion designer, musician and poet, painter and sculptor, artist and institution.
As a multidisciplinary exhibition, Conversations opens with two dance performances. The first is The Art of Broken Pieces, a collaboration between dancer Haymich Olivier and director Ilona Frege. This piece is inspired by Kintsugi, which is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. As a philosophy, Kintsugi treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.
The second performance of the opening night, Practise the Dance of Painted Preach, a conversation between dancer Nikhita Winkler and painter Daniella Magg, is inspired by the nature of a spider as a feared creature despite its elegance, creativity, innocence and feminine energy. Nikhita’s movements will be inspired by the spider’s web, whereby, communicating with Daniela – the painter of the spider – she will capture its beauty.
These performances are the first in a series of events as part of the exhibition showcasing conversations in multidimensional and multidisciplinary ways. The rest of the Conversations events are as follows:
July 19: Dominance (18h00): Dominance is a performance art narrative theatre piece in collaboration with Goethe Institut that focuses on the hidden language in conversations; all that is unsaid in normal day to day conversations.
July 28: Concrete Melodies: Micheal Pulse and Zulu (18h00): In this performative collaboration Micheal Pulse and Zulu have brought together graphic design and music to create concrete poetry – Concrete Melodies. Pulse is a musician, lyricist and performer and Zulu is a graphic designer.
August 5: State of Citizenshi.ph.t: moving into bodies, places & times (18h00): A performance artwork by Oudano wa Afrika theatre-making company that will take place in conjunction with the National Art Gallery of Namibia’s Happy Art Hour.
August 6 – Home of Heart (12h00): A film screening of a short film (26 min) made by Finnish director Riikka Notkola that tells a story of urbanized Namibians who miss their childhood homes in north-central Namibia (‘Ovamboland’). Conversations runs at the NAGN until August 6.