Paheja Siririka

WINDHOEK - The organisers of the Namibian Arts Fair are inviting artists and musicians from across the continent to take part in this year’s fair slated for September at the Goethe-Institut of Namibia. 

Visual artists, art installations, graffiti experts, painters, photographers, creative writers, fashion designers, digital and graphic designers, illustrators, sculptors and jewellers are being called to submit their work. The deadline for entry is July 31, 2019.
The event organiser of the fair, Sam Matengu, says one of the categories in this year’s fair is film and videos, which include short and long films as well as music videos. “The Film application deadline is July 31, 2019,” adds Matengu. 
Another category is food. “The deadline for this category is June 30, 2019, and this is open to food, snacks, drinks, and all types of stalls in the food categories,” says Matengu.  

This is the third arts fair. The first one took place last year, says Matengu. 
“The first show was well received by the Namibian public and artists, with more than 300 people taking part in the fair,” he explains. 

Matengu says last year the fair was held as a biannual event but organisers have decided it would be an annual event from this year. 

“The arts fair is a growing platform. We are not only dealing with artists that exhibit their artwork, musicians with their performances and bookings, we are also looking at education and sustainable development in order for the industry to have a much larger impact on the economy,” emphasises Matengu. 

Furthermore Matengu explains: “The main aim of the arts fair is for artists to be celebrated as well as to network with art organisations and the public. The number of artists we are looking for is 50 in total,” he says. 
This year’s Namibian Arts Fair focusses on free information sessions in terms of economically sustainable development of arts in Namibia, Matengu says.