DOCSLIB.ORG

Professor Sandra Klopper Curriculum Vitae

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Professor Sandra Klopper Curriculum Vitae Professor Sandra Klopper Curriculum Vitae Narrative Prof Sandra Klopper is currently Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Pretoria. She did her undergraduate studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she obtained her Honours in Art History (cum laude) in 1978. Her MA, from the University of East Anglia, was on Art and Social Reform. She lectured in Art History at the University of the Witwatersrand from 1981 to 1988, where she also obtained her PhD, which traces the socio-political histories of various traditionalist art forms from present-day northern KwaZulu-Natal. She was appointed as lecturer (specialising in African art) at the University of Cape Town in 1989. While at UCT, she was promoted to Senior Lecturer, then Associate Professor, before accepting an appointment as Head of Visual Arts at the University of Stellenbosch in June 2001. Following her subsequent appointment as Vice Dean: Arts (Drama, Fine Arts and Music) at that university in January 2006, she accepted an additional appointment as Acting Head of the Music Department in mid-2006. She was appointed by the University of Pretoria as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities in October 2008, after being approached to apply for this position in early 2008. Prof Klopper has written extensively on the traditionalist art of southern African communities, including the expressive culture of migrant labourers and their families; on African fashion, textiles and beadwork; on various aspect of contemporary South African youth culture; and on the work of several contemporary South African artists. She has collaborated with photographer Peter Magubane on the publication of three books and has served on the editorial boards of African Arts (UCLA) and NKA: Journal of Contemporary African Art (Cornell). She has been awarded a B2 NRF-rating, valid from 1 January 2012. Prof Klopper has long-standing links with colleagues at various universities and museums in the USA and the UK. She also has close ties with colleagues at Makarere University in Uganda and at the University of Dar es Salaam, where she supervised a PhD thesis funded through UCT’s USHEPiA initiative. She continues to collaborate with her former Tanzanian student, Rehema Nchimbi, on various projects. Prof Klopper has played an active role in spearheading curriculum developments at UCT, Stellenbosch and Pretoria. She currently chairs the Humanities Faculty’s Teaching and Learning Committee at the University of Pretoria. She has also served as a member of the Senate Library Committee at UP and, before that, at Stellenbosch. While at Stellenbosch, she was tasked to develop strategies for securing senior academics appointments from the so-called designated groups, and she oversaw a major refurbishment of the Visual Arts department’s building and facilities. To support the latter project, she secured a R5.5 grant from Anglo Platinum to build and equip a platinum studio for the department’s Jewellery division, and to fund substantial bursaries for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In 2006, she also secured THRIP funding to ‘match’ this Anglo Platinum grant. Prof Klopper has played an active role in various community projects and initiatives. She was for many years the treasurer of the Visual Arts Group (a subsidiary of the now defunct Cultural Workers Congress of the Western Cape). From 2004 to 2006, she also chaired the committee formed by the Western Cape Government to commission the Peace Laureate sculpture project at the Waterfront in Cape Town. ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS Degree/ Higher education Field of study Year Distinctions Diploma institution University of Witwatersrand 1978 Cum Laude BA Hons History of Art University of East Anglia 1980 MA Arts and Social Change PhD The Art of Zulu- University of Witwatersrand 1992 Speakers from Northern KZN WORK EXPERIENCE Name of employer Capacity and/or type of work Period University of Pretoria Dean of Faculty : Humanities October 2008, to date University of Stellenbosch Vice Dean: Arts (Drama, Music & Visual 2006- Sep 2008 Arts) and Acting Head: Department of Music University of Stellenbosch Head & Professor: Dept of Visual Arts June 2001 Dec 2005 University of Cape Town Associate Professor Dept of Historical 2001 Studies University of Cape Town Senior Lecturer Dept of History of Art 1995-2000 University of Cape Town Lecture Dept of History of Art 1989-1995 University of Witwatersrand Lecturer Department of Art History 1981 - 1988 University of Witwatersrand Tutor Department of Art History 1979 February - Aug MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES At the University of Pretoria 2010 to the present Member of the Senate Library Committee 2009 to the present Member of the University of Pretoria Arts Committee 2009 to the present: Chairperson, Teaching and Learning Committee, Faculty of Humanities October 2008 to the present Membership of Senex and related Executive committees as part of my duties as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities At the University of Stellenbosch 2008 Member of Research Sub-Committee A 2008 Member of Senate Appointments Committee (ASK) 2006-2008 Member of Humanities Faculty Research, Teaching and Learning and Community Engagement Committees as part of my duties as Vice Dean: Arts 2002-2008 Member of Senate Library Committee 2004-7 Member of the Senate Academic Planning Committee (ABK) 2004 Chairperson, Task Team 3: Equity Development at Senior Academic Level, Stellenbosch University. Report tabled in March 2005 2002 -2004 Member of the Academic Submissions Committee (AAK), Humanities Faculty 2001-2005 SAUVCA appointee for NSB02. (South African Qualifications Authority) Also the university link person (Stellenbosch and prior to that UCT) for the SGB on Art, Craft and Design. At the University of Cape Town 2000 Convenor, Texts in Context, Humanities Foundation Course at UCT (900 students) From July 2000 to June 2001 (when I left UCT) Convenor, Humanities Faculty Cultural and Literary Studies Programme. 2000 Board, Museum Studies Diploma Committee, UCT, UWC and the Robben Island Training Programme. 1993&1994 Member of the Board of the Centre of African Studies, UCT. 1993&1994 Member of the Management Committee of the Harry Oppenheimer Institute, Centre for African Studies, UCT. RESEARCH NEARING COMPLETION 1. The Mat racks of Tivinyanga Qwabe An paper on the relief panels of this early-20th century Nongoma-based artist, titled „Tivinyanga Qwabe and the Invention of Zulu Tradition‟ will form part of a book on Indigenous Modernisms edited by my Toronto-based colleague, Ruth Phillips. 2. The cosmological concepts of traditionalist Zulu-speaking communities For an exhibition catalogue, as part of an exhibition that will open at the National Museum of African Art (Smithsonian Institution, Washington) in mid-2012, titled African Cosmos: Stellar Art, curated by Chris Kraemer. 3. African Art at the University of Stellenbosch Paper for a book of essays on the German-born/South African-based African Art collector, Egon Guenther, to be edited by my Indiana-based colleague, Paula Girshlik 4. Returning the Gaze: The Gendered Art of Deborah Bell This paper will be included in a book of essays on the artist, Deborah Bell, which is due to appear in September 2011. CURATED EXHIBITIONS April 2004 to March 2005 Democracy X: Marking the Present, Re-Presenting the Past. I was one of three chief curators on this project, which was awarded a budget of R2.5 million by the Department of Art and Culture. The Royal Academy voted this exhibition one of the 15 „must see‟ international exhibitions for 2004. Aug-Sep 2002 Willie Bester 15 Years. Sasol Art Museum, University of Stellenbosch. Dec 1999-Feb 2000 Other People’s Property. An exhibition of hiphop spraycan art held at the South African Museum, Cape Town. (Co-curator, hiphop „writer‟, Falko). April 1999 Writing Religiously. An exhibition of hiphop spraycan art held at the University of Stellenbosch Art Gallery, Stellenbosch. (Co-curator, hiphop „writer‟, Falko). 1985 One of several curators for the Women‟s Art Festival, Johannesburg. This ambitious project witnessed the display of work by South African women artists in virtually every commercial and non-commercial gallery in Johannesburg over a two-month period. EDITORIAL BOARDS 2004 Appointed as the South African editor for African Arts (UCLA) 2003 Appointed as a contributing editor for NKA: Journal of Contemporary African Art (Cornell) COMMUNITY SERVICE 2004-2006 Chairperson, Technical Committee, Nobel Peace Laureate Sculpture Project, Waterfront Cape Town. (Funded by the Western Cape Government). I oversaw the planning and erection of sculptures of Chief Albert Luthuli, former presidents Nelson Mandela and FW De Klerk, and, Archbishop Desmond Tutu by Claudette Schreuders and a further work by Noria Mabasa, titled „Peace and Democracy‟. The process of negotiating with, and convincing all stakeholders to sign off on the project was extremely demanding, but this public sculpture project has been a major success, drawing countless local and international visitors who interact daily with the sculptures and have themselves photographed standing next to one or other of the peace laureates. 2003 Wrote part of the South African Schools Syllabus (Grades 10, 11, and 12) for Art and Design 2003 Invited Guest Speaker at the CT launch of VANSA (Visual Arts Network of South Africa). 2002 Invited Guest Speaker at the 21st Anniversary of the Community Arts Project. 1998 National Judge for the FNB Vita Now Craft Awards. 1998 Lectures on key aspects of African art for school teachers from the greater Cape Town area. 1998&1999 Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees, Community Arts Project, Cape Town. 1997 July Appointed to the Board of Trustees, Community Arts Project, Cape Town. 1995 Mounted display on southern African beadwork for the “UCT and You” exhibition at the South African Museum. 1994 Lectures/seminars on Baroque, Mexican and New Deal murals for the Mural Arts students at the Community Arts Centre in Woodstock, Cape Town. 1994 Began co-ordinating the South African Association of Art Historians' initiative to publish material on contemporary South African art for use by art educators in secondary schools and in the non-formal educational sector.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Monuments and Museums for Post-Apartheid South Africa
    Humanities 2013, 2, 72–98; doi:10.3390/h2010072 OPEN ACCESS humanities ISSN 2076-0787 www.mdpi.com/journal/humanities Article Creating/Curating Cultural Capital: Monuments and Museums for Post-Apartheid South Africa Elizabeth Rankin Department of Art History, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand; E-Mail: [email protected] Received: 5 February 2013; in revised form: 14 March 2013 / Accepted: 21 March 2013 / Published: 21 March 2013 Abstract: Since the first democratic elections in 1994, South Africa has faced the challenge of creating new cultural capital to replace old racist paradigms, and monuments and museums have been deployed as part of this agenda of transformation. Monuments have been inscribed with new meanings, and acquisition and collecting policies have changed at existing museums to embrace a wider definition of culture. In addition, a series of new museums, often with a memorial purpose, has provided opportunities to acknowledge previously marginalized histories, and honor those who opposed apartheid, many of whom died in the Struggle. Lacking extensive collections, these museums have relied on innovative concepts, not only the use of audio-visual materials, but also the metaphoric deployment of sites and the architecture itself, to create affective audience experiences and recount South Africa’s tragic history under apartheid. Keywords: South African museums; South African monuments; cultural capital; transformation; Apartheid Museum; Freedom Park 1. Introduction This paper considers some of the problems to be faced in the arena of culture when a country undergoes massive political change that involves a shift of power from one cultural group to another, taking South Africa as a case study.
    [Show full text]
  • PUBLICATIONS the Constitution of Public Intellectual Life Research Project
    PUBLICATIONS The Constitution of Public Intellectual Life Research Project According to the University of the Witwatersrand Research Office figures for 2004, the Graduate School for the Humanities (which comprised the Constitution of Public Intellectual Life Project, the Graduate Programme in Journalism and Media Studies, and the Forced Migration graduate and research programme) had the highest relative publication figures, viz 2.453 (pubs/ftes) and 2.404 (pubs/sles). The next highest in the university was the School of Public Health on 1.758 (pubs/ ftes) and 2.033 (pubs/sles). The University average was 0.629(pubs/ftes) and 0.647 (pubs/sles). Accredited publications only. Platform for Public Deliberation Constitution of Public Intellectual Life Research Project Publications *Designates DNE accredited publications. Please note that as the Public Intellectual Life Project we are committed to publishing in public interest media as well as accredited academic publications. Platform for Public Deliberation Constitution of Public Intellectual Life Research Project Barstow, O. & Law-Viljoen, B. (eds) Fire Walker: William Kentridge and Gerhard Marx Fourthwall Books: Johannesburg, 2011. Barstow, O. “The Thinking Machine / Digging in the Rubbish Heap”, Itch Magazine: The Theme is Dead 1(5):76-79, 2005. Bester, R.M. “David Goldblatt’s Making Visible: Photographic Strategies of Rumination, Orchestration and Circulation” Social Dynamics 36(1): 153-165, 2010. Bester, R.M. “2009 Joburg Art Fair”, Art South Africa 7(4):81, 2009. Bester, R.M. “The Bride Stripped Bare for Her Bachelors”, Art South Africa 8(1): 44- 49, 2009. Bester, R.M. “Between the Wars and Walls”, Art South Africa 8(2): 64-69, 2009.
    [Show full text]
  • South African Artists at the Constitutional Court of South Africa
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Decoding Memories: South African Artists at the Constitutional Court of South Africa A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in African Studies by Mary Ann Braubach 2017 © Copyright by Mary Ann Braubach 2017 ABSTRACT OF THESIS Decoding Memories: South African Artists at the Constitutional Court of South Africa by Mary Ann Braubach Master of Arts in African Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2017 Professor William H. Worger, Chair This paper examines the decoding of the memory of apartheid and post apartheid years of South Africa’s recent history. And it contextualizes how the struggle influenced the visual arts. Also analyzed are the history of the Constitution and Constitutional Court of South Africa. It interrogates the formation of the Constitutional Court art collection. by Justices Albie Sachs and Yvonne Mokgoro for the yet-to-be-constructed Constitutional Court building in Johannesburg. Many donated artworks are responsive both to the anti- apartheid struggles and also to the new democracy. The essay also examines the underlying politic that now hangs in the Constitutional Court building. Select works, that function as signifiers of the new Constitution, are examined. I draw on interviews with South African artists, Court Justices and curators to investigate the role of memory, the archeology of the site, and the significance of the collection to the artists, the Justices, and citizens of South Africans twenty years post apartheid.
    [Show full text]
  • Representations of African Bodies in the 1983 Contre
    Visual Trauma: Representations of African Bodies in the 1983 Contre Apartheid Exhibition MA Thesis Department of English University of the Western Cape Name: Charlise Petersen Student Number: 3222728 Supervisor: Dr Hermann Wittenberg Due Date: 7th June 2018 PLAGIARISM DECLARATION 1. I hereby declare that I know what plagiarism entails, namely to use another’s work and to present it as my own without attributing the sources in the correct way. (Refer to University Calendar part 1 for definition) 2. I know that plagiarism is a punishable offence because it constitutes theft. 3. I understand the plagiarism policy of the Faculty of Arts of the University of the Western Cape. 4. I know what the consequences will be if I plagiarize in any of the assignments for my course. 5. I declare therefore that all work presented by me for every aspect of my course, will be my own, and where I have made use of another’s work, I will attribute the source in the correct way. Signature: ii http://etd.uwc.ac.za Acknowledgements I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to the following people whose valued assistance played a vital making my thesis a reality: Dr Hermann Wittenberg for his patience, passionate guidance, and his constant support as my supervisor, my family and friends for their faith in my abilities and their encouragement throughout my research journey, Dr Vanessa Brown for being an amazing mentor and constantly motivating me to succeed and the SSRC Mellon for enabling me to conduct research in the U.S in aid of my thesis.
    [Show full text]
  • Apartheid: History Through an Artistic Lens Sarah Latimer • St
    Apartheid: History Through an Artistic Lens Sarah Latimer • St. Olaf College, MN, United States • June 4th - August 26th, 2018 • Cape Town, South Africa “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela Goal: This project aims to educate 20-30 Hyde Park Primary music students on the history of apartheid through an ​ artistic lens, showcase a gallery of their creative responses, and ultimately empower them to achieve lasting peace in their community. Background: Apartheid was a system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination that existed in South ​ ​ Africa between 1948 and 1991. The law classified four races – white, black, coloured, and Indian. The Group Areas Act of 1950 allocated living areas for each race, resulting in the forced removal of 3.5 million people from their homes over the course of 23 years. Non-whites were treated as subhuman and were often beaten and killed to secure white power. In one instance, the police opened fire on a peaceful high school student protest in Soweto; reports estimated 170 were killed. In the face of growing internal and international resistance and a failing economy, President F. W. de Klerk released anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela from prison in 1990, and after much negotiation, officially ended apartheid. While much of the historical record emphasizes the violence of this era, the struggle against apartheid also sparked many profound and non-violent responses from artists like Miriam Makeba, Mongane Wally Serote, and Willie Bester. Encyclopedia articles provide basic facts and dates, but cannot convey the true depth of experiences held by apartheid victims and survivors.
    [Show full text]
  • Sarah Baartman Sculpture Reignites Art Dialogue at UCT
    27 September 2018 Sarah Baartman sculpture reignites art dialogue at UCT The University of Cape Town (UCT) is running an exhibition as part of an ongoing process and dialogue about the display of artworks at the university, with the intention of creating a more open and inclusive space. The Sarah Baartman sculpture by Willie Bester is being exhibited alongside a sound installation featuring a poem by Diana Ferrus, images and other artwork in an exhibition entitled Sarah ‘Saartjie’ Baartman, A Call to Respond which is being held at the Ritchie Gallery on the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Hiddingh campus. The exhibition, which runs until October 4, is part of an ongoing process. It has also been designed as an expressive space and a place for thinking and reflecting. People are also free to write their own messages on a wall which forms part of the display. Dr Nomusa Makhubu, senior lecturer in art history at UCT’s Michaelis School of Fine Art, says: “Art is not just the beautiful things we put on walls and in various spaces, but they themselves are the intellectual discourse we are looking for. This sculpture has become a very significant catalyst for that intellectual discourse, about a number of things, but also focusing on the narrative of Sarah Baartman.” UCT acquired the sculpture in 2000. It was initially located in the engineering section of the Chancellor Oppenheimer Library on the upper campus. “It was not only an inappropriate location, but a difficult sculpture to engage with and deal with,” says Dr Makhubu.
    [Show full text]
  • Sfiso Ka Mkame Suewilliamson Norman Catherine Sam
    THEART Compiled by GRIZEè LL AZAR-LUXTON Sam Nhlengethwa and DALENA LE ROUX Sam Nhlengethwa wasborn on 9 January Librarian,Central Collection 1955 at PaynevilleTownship, Springs. He studied artthroughthe ELCArt and Craft rtcannotexist without society. Centre at Rorke'sDrift. Hisexperience also There can be no line separating includesthat of set designer. `A the artist from his community. The progressive effectof our societygives Pippa Skotnes riseto culturalgrowth. The artistmust seek The few tinygroups of San who stillexist new formsof changing hissociety for the todayinthe Kalahari Desertin Botswana better.' are avidly studied by anthropologists, and Profoundwordsdatingbackasfar as1987 have beenthe subjectof a number of docu- and containedin a letter to the editor by a mentary films. Buttothe Dutchfarmers of reader of a largely black-read newspaper, the eighteenth century the nomadic San, or The New Nation.Wordsthatembody Bushmen as they called them, were vermin much of what has transpired in the visual to be tracked down and ruthlessly extermi- and other formsof artduring the pastthree nated. decades. We take a look at a selection of In South Africa, allthat remain ofthe San some verycollectible artists whose work Ebrahim, one ofthelastresidents of District are their beautiful and elegantrock paint- encapsulates protestor resistance art- a Six. The chairs were usedin Naz'shouse for ings, executed in the colours of the earth, most powerful medium in the peoples of the last celebration of the Eid feast in Dis- and to be foundin shallowcaves right across South Africa'sstruggle forliberation. Many trict Six, and were draped with white the country. Itisknownthat painting was of their worksare held in stock.
    [Show full text]
  • Willie Bester: an Artist Resisting the Injustices of Post-Apartheid in South Africa
    Visión Doble Revista de Crítica e Historia del Arte Título: Willie Bester: An Artist Resisting the Injustices of Post-Apartheid in South Africa Autor: Ivette Pérez Vega Resumen: Willie Bester is regarded as one of the most important resistant artists against the injustices of “apartheid” and “post-apartheid” in South Africa. His artworks expose the state of extreme poverty in which the inhabitants of the townships of the Cape of Good Hope still live today, defining a strategy of opposition, as well as a means to generate a rebellious consciousness among his people. They present the oppression, violence and racial discrimination often misreported or ignored by the newspapers, law enforcement, and the South African government. Palabras clave: Africaan , Apartheid , Installation , Nelson Mandela , Painting , Sculpture , South Africa , Willie Bester Fecha: 15 de abril de 2018 Contacto: Visión Doble Revista de Crítica e Historia del Arte Programa de Historia del Arte Facultad de Humanidades Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras 13 Ave. Universidad Ste. 1301 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00925-2533 Tel.: 787-764-0000 ext. 89596 Email: [email protected] Web: http://humanidades.uprrp.edu/visiondoble Willie Bester: An Artist Resisting the Injustices of Post- Apartheid in South Africa visiondoble.net/willie-bester-artist-resisting-injustices-post-apartheid-south-africa/ Ivette Pérez Vega April 15, 2018 Introduction Willie Bester is regarded as one of the most important resistance artists working against the injustices of apartheid and post-apartheid realities in South Africa. The term “apartheid”—which is from Afrikaans, one of the official languages of South Africa—literally means separation, segregation or “apartness,” and, more broadly, the official government policy of South Africa from 1909 to 1994 which rigidly controlled the movements and living conditions of non-white citizens.
    [Show full text]
  • Research Report
    Research Report Beginning with Criticism: An Analysis of the First Four Volumes of Art South Africa Candidate Name: Clarissa Snapper Student Number: 0514950k Degree: Master’s by Coursework and Research Report in History of Art Faculty: Humanities, Social Science and Education Supervisor: Professor Anitra Nettleton Abstract: Art South Africa is currently the leading, professionally published art magazine in South Africa. The magazine plays an important role in the dissemination of art discourse and art news and is the only ongoing, printed forum devoted exclusively to South African contemporary art. In this paper I will be looking at Art South Africa to describe the type of art texts it presents and the particular position it has taken in the contemporary art world of South Africa. In doing this I will be analysing the magazine to register the types of writing and other information in formats such as art news, exhibition reviews, artist bios, interviews and even advertising. This paper will also be analysing selected texts to determine the key issues that are represented and the way those issues have been represented with a critical position. Looking at Art South Africa from many angles will show that criticality is one of the magazine’s ideological aims and though the magazine’s format changes over time, it has continually sought to engage its readers in critical discourse. Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Aim 1 1.2 Rationale 1 1.2.1 History and Texts 2 1.2.2 Why Art Criticism? 3 1.3 Scope 5 1.4 Key Terms Chapter 2: Literature
    [Show full text]
  • The Democratisation of Art: Cap As an Alternative Art Space In
    THE DEMOCRATISATION OF ART: CAP AS AN ALTERNATIVE ART SPACE IN SOUTH AFRICA BY EBEN LOCHNER SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR MASTER OF ARTS AT RHODES UNIVERSITY. 02 JUNE 2011 SUPERVISOR: PROF. RUTH SIMBAO. Declaration of originality. I declare that this thesis is my own work and that all the sources I have used have been acknowledged by complete references. This thesis is being submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for Master of Art at Rhodes University. I declare that it has not been submitted before for any degree or examination at another university. __________________ __________________ Signature Date This thesis is dedicated to the late Dr. Michael Herbst who made me enthusiastic about Art History during my 1st year at university. He supported me with his time and his advice and his presence is sorely missed. Abstract While formal arts education was inaccessible to many during Apartheid, community-based centres played a significant role in the training of previously disadvantaged artists. By engaging in a socio-political critique of the history of South African art, this thesis argues that even though alternative art spaces are often marginalised, they remain essential to the diversification and democratisation of contemporary South African art today with its re-entry into the international art scene. According to Lize van Robbroeck (2004:52), “some of the fundamental ideals of community arts need to be revised to enrich, democratize and diversify [South Africa's] cultural practice.” The aim of my Thesis is to investigate this statement in relation to the contribution the Community Arts Project (CAP) in Cape Town (1977-2003).
    [Show full text]
  • Willie Bester
    WILLIE BESTER Willie Bester nasce nel 1956 a Montagu, in Sud Africa. Diventa artista a tempo pieno nel 1991, dopo aver frequentato dei corsi d’arte alla Community Art Cape Town. Egli è riconosciuto come uno degli artisti attivisti più significativi del Sud Africa: il suo lavoro è caratterizzato dagli sviluppi drammatici a livello sociale e politico nel Sud Africa post- apartheid, affrontando questioni scomode quali criminalità, povertà, corruzione e responsabilità del governo. Bester grazie ai suoi dipinti, assemblaggi e sculture, incorporati a materiale di riciclo, punta proprio ad alimentare consapevolezza e discussioni in merito Bester vive e lavora a Kuilsrivier, un quartiere di Città del Capo. Willie Bester was born in 1956 Montagu, Cape Town. In 1991 he attended art classes at the Community Art in Cape Town. He is regarded as one of South Africa’s most significant activist artists. His work is characterized by dramatic social and political developments in post-apartheid South Africa, discussing uncomfortable issues such as crime, poverty, corruption and government responsibility. Thanks to his paintings, assemblages and sculptures combined with recycled material, Bester comments the political injustice and the human rights issues. Bester currently works and lives in Kuilsrivier, a district of Cape Town. SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2017 “Willie Bester's social engineering”, The Melrose Gallery,Johannesburg, South Africa “Transformation”, Fynarts Festival, Space Gallery, Hermanus, South Africa 2016 “Comprehensive”, Art B, Bellville Sout Africa
    [Show full text]
  • South African Family Stories Reflections on an Experiment in Exhibition Making
    Bulletin 378 Tropenmuseum South African family stories Reflections on an experiment in exhibition making Paul Faber, Ciraj Rassool, Leslie Witz Contents 5 Preface 7 Making the Family Stories exhibition Paul Faber 65 Making South Africa in the Netherlands Ciraj Rassool & Leslie Witz 95 Family stories Neo Malao 97 Reviews of the exhibition 105 Reviews of the book 111 Notes 115 Literature 119 About the authors Preface On 3 October 2002 the Tropenmuseum (Royal Tropical Institute Museum) Amsterdam presented an exhibition called Group Portrait South Africa: Nine Family Histories (Familieverhalen uit Zuid Afrika: Een Groepsportret) (see ill. 1). Twelve months and over 100.000 visitors later the exhibition went to the National Cultural History Museum in Pretoria, South Africa, where it opened on 31 March 2003. The exhibition was extended twice before being dismantled in July 2007. In many ways it was an experimental and risky exhibition and it is remarkable that the management team at the Tropenmuseum endorsed this project. Museum staff did not know the scope and had no insight into collection that would be shown, i.e., what type of objects, what type of new art works would be created during the process. Moreover, the large financial investment caused them to have occasional doubts about the entire process. In hindsight one can argue about the effective result, but the process itself was most enlightening. I learned much during the process and find myself going over it again and again. Apart from being a fascinating work experience, it was a highly personal adventure, too. I met dozens of fantastic people, some of whom will stay friends forever.
    [Show full text]