Rose-Mary Haufiku
In an effort to raise awareness around the poaching and illegal trafficking in pangolins, the Namibia Arts Association recently invited artists to submit artwork for an exhibition around the theme of pangolins.
Believed to be the most-trafficked mammal, pangolin scales are used in traditional medicine and as fashion accessories.
The theme for the exhibition is ‘Let every scale count’, and is set to open on 7 June at the revamped NAA gallery along Robert Mugabe Avenue in Windhoek. It will run for three weeks.
By noon Friday, the association had received 33 pieces of art, which range between mixed media, drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures in metal and wire, as well as clay ceramics.
NAA executive manager Jaimee-Lee Diergaardt was excited at the number of pieces already submitted and looks forward to the exhibition, which she described as the NAA’s way to draw attention to the illegal killing of pangolins, which can drive the species into extinction.
This exhibition is among many activities lined up for this year, following renovations to the association’s offices that began in January 2022, culminating in the reopening on 26 April 2022.
Essentially, the NAA’s vision is to celebrate, co-create, document and archive Namibian art, while purposefully enabling exploration and potential by cultivating connections within the Namibian arts industry.
Anyone can become a member of the association.
“Among other benefits, members will receive monthly newsletters on art-related activities, information on local and international opportunities, invitations to workshops and events, opportunities to use the NAA library, internet connection and office facilities, and discounts on venue rental,” said Diergaardt.
They will furthermore have something happening every second week of the month. “We have things like the Art Club, where people can come in and co-create some art pieces; and the Art Talk, where we invite key industry players to talk about their work and their experience in the industry.”
The past week, they successfully hosted over 70 members of the public, who went to watch a short film by filmmakers Hendrik and Karl Ehlers on the work of artists Nicky Marais and Jade Tune. This was followed by an Art Talk, during which guests could ask the artists questions about their work.
When it does not have exhibitions running, the gallery will be showcasing some of the 1500 pieces of artworks from the Arts Association Heritage Trust, a collection from 1948 to 2021.
Meanwhile, the NAA is also calling on visual artists within Namibia to exhibit their work at the gallery.
Interested artists should submit their concept notes before 14 June 2022 to be considered for the 2022/23 exhibition calendar.
The NAA is a member-based art institution formed in 1948 as the Arts Association of South West Africa, which was then a branch of the South African Arts Association.
In 2020, it became a Section 21 Not for Profit company under the Namibian Companies Act 28 of 2004, and in the same year acquired its current building.