Artists Selected for Thami Mnyele AIR Programme
Seven African artists have been selected to take part in the Thami Mnyele Foundation�s Artist in Residence programme in Amsterdam.
Established in 1992, the Thami Mnyele Foundation�s main objective is to advance cultural exchange between artists from Africa and the Netherlands, and in particular artists from Amsterdam. To this aim, the Foundation engages African artists of all disciplines of contemporary visual art (painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, video, film, audio and multi media) to work for three months in the Thami Mnyele Foundation studio, located in an old school building in the centre of Amsterdam.
The Foundation is named in commemoration of the South African artist and freedom fighter Thami Mnyele, who inspired Dutch artists to set up an artists-in-residence program. Initially the focus of the AIR programme was on artists from South Africa, but since 1997 artists from all African countries have been invited to apply. The current average age of participants is thirty, and the majority of these artists have completed some kind of formal education, though this is not a prerequisite. Thus far, the programme has attracted artists from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Benin, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Egypt, Nigeria, Mozambique, Zambia, Mauritius and Uganda.
Participants receive a grant for living expenses, a budget for materials and the travelling expenses to and from the Netherlands. In order to promote this cultural exchange, the Thami Mnyele Foundation mediates in meetings with artists and people associated with the Dutch art world. The selection of participants is done on a regular basis by an independent selection committee of experts, which is appointed by the Board of the Foundation.
Artists selected for the next three months programme are Ruan Hoffmann, South Africa; Leo Asemota, Nigeria - UK; Zanele, South Africa; Ndikhumbule Ngqinambi, South Africa; Adriaan Hermanus de Villiers, South Africa; Michael Tsegaye, Ethiopia and Akintunde Akinleye, Nigeria.
www.thami-mnyele.nl
