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No Ubuntu culture in Namibia

Home National No Ubuntu culture in Namibia
No Ubuntu culture in Namibia

  Paheja Siririka

The world is going through tough times and artists should work together for everyone’s advantage, a local artist has said.

Speaking to Entertainment Now! on Namibia’s 31st independence and the state of the art industry, visual artist Hage Nasheotwalwa Mukwendje said Namibians do not work together as often as they should.

“Sometimes I feel, as a country, we are still stuck in the past; there is a lot of individuality. People are not working together; there is no culture of that,” he said.

The 30-year-old, who has been a visual artist for eight years, said he likes engaging and interacting with different people from different fields, “not only to keep the spirit but also to learn and share knowledge, skills and experience”. Mukwendje added that visual art in the country has developed tremendously over the past three decades. “There is so much talent in our nation; it is just too comfortable and hidden.”
Mukwendje said it is his responsibility as an artist to share what is received from the world and what needs to be given back to it.  “My art means everything to me, and it motivates me to keep going. It’s truly a form of positive inward and outward expression artistically, and I hope my work is received as something different than other artists.”

The occasional graphic designer further acknowledged people who have supported him in his career, and advised artists to try new ways of getting extra income. “I get supported locally and internationally. Locally as artists, we also have to start having conversations with corporates, for example, ministries and other offices so we can have Namibian art in their buildings.” The Okalongo-born Mukwendje earned a diploma in visual arts in 2011 from the College of the Arts. Collections of his work are in among others, England, America, Germany, Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and Spain.

The multifaceted artist has received numerous merits for his work which includes the Bank Windhoek Triennale Award. 

He has not yet set a date for his next exhibition.

-psiririka@nepc.com.na