By Pinehas Nakaziko
WINDHOEK-The government of Namibia has provided an additional one million Namibian Dollars to the National Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN) to acquire original Namibian visual artsworks for installation in government offices countrywide.
Opening an exhibition of the Art Inside 2014 project last Thursday, Special Advisor to the Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture (MYNSC), Reverend Hausiku, says Art Inside Exhibition is an art awareness project organised by the NAGN on the special request of the MYNSC, with the main aim to inspire parliamentarians, officials and visitors to government premises to engage in visual arts on a daily basis. “By installing the works at government premises, the Ministry also aims to celebrate visual art as an important mode of creativity communication, and to foster an appreciation for visual arts as an inherent part of government’s working environment,” says Hausiku. He adds Art Inside also provides an incentive to artists to respond to an expressed need as a way of empowering Namibian artists in all communities, as well as to provide an opportunity for Namibian artists to respond creatively to a typical artist or patron situation.
NAGN Director,Hercules Viljoen, says almost 500 entries addressing a variety of relevant themes were received and of those, 238 artworks were bought for the GRN Collections. “Artists outside Khomas region had also the opportunity to submit artworks to regional collection points, from where the NAGN curators and technicians collected work during January this year. The selection panel represented a wide range of professional expertise and experience,” informs Viljoen.
He says all the artworks were submitted directly to the NAGN of from which art and craft work of the best quality were selected for comprehensive exhibition at three galleries in Namibia, at the NAGN, Franco Namibia Cultural Centre (FNCC) and the Goethe Centre gallery.
The Public Relations Officer at the NAGN, Selma Kaulinge, says the artworks selected is a the reflection of the diversity of Namibian people, landscapes and natural resources, which is portrayed through different mediums and includes painting, sculpture, photography, prints and craft. The range of art work selected also highlight that Namibian artists possess the capacity to create work of an excellent standard.
Artworks that gives out a strong impression to the viewers are those of Namibia’s acclaimed artists such as Papa Shikongeni, Nicky Maraisa, Betsie Van Rensburg, Petrus Amuthenu, Kaleb Haipinge, Ishmael Shivute and Kay Cowley. The exhibition closes on March 29.