Lithography and screen-printing will take centre stage at UCT’s Michaelis Galleries when ‘print co_lab’ opens on Wednesday, 10 May.
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The exhibition features prints produced at workshops organised by the Africa South Art Initiative (ASAI) and the Michaelis School of Fine Art in 2018 and 2023.
These workshops were funded by the National Arts Council (NAC), the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport.
The exhibition features work by mid-career and late-career artists, mostly painters.
Lionel Davis, Manfred Zylla and Sophie Peters are also known for their relief prints (linocut and woodcut), and Davis, Patricia de Villiers and Xolile Mtakatya were active in the production of agit-prop screen-printed posters during the anti-apartheid era.
Some of the artists are best known for their work in other media; Ricky Dyaloyi, Zemba Luzamba, Tony Mhayi and Ndikhumbule Ngqinambi work principally as painters, and Thami Kiti is a sculptor.
Donovan Ward and Ayesha Price work in a wide-range of media, often in the form of public art. Almost all the artists have historic links to the Community Arts Project (1977–2008), as students, staff, and (in Davis’ case) as trustees, and several have worked extensively as educators, particularly in non-formal environments.
For the majority of participants, the workshops provided an introduction to lithography and screen-printing, whereas for some it was a return to a technique they had briefly encountered before or which they had seldom used for purposes of making their own art. Artists worked on themes of their own choice, with the results reflecting their diverse approaches and concerns.
The artists will attend the opening of the exhibition, which will include documentary images of the workshops. Mario Pissarra, a founding director of ASAI, will present an informal talk, highlighting the challenges of access for artists in the apartheid and post-apartheid eras. Professor Emeritus Stephen Inggs, who co-facilitated the first two workshops, will also speak at the opening.
Details:
Location: Michaelis Upper Gallery | University of Cape Town, Hiddingh Campus, 31 Orange St, Cape Town
Dates: 10 May to 21 May | Weekdays: from 10am to 4pm | Weekends: 10am to 2pm | 10 May: 5pm to 7pm
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Picture: Supplied
