'Heritage Art Festival' at Kizo Art Gallery and Gateway Theatre of Shoppingby Carol Brown
To coincide with Heritage Month and as part of the Celebrate Durban season, Gateway Theatre of Shopping and Kizo Art Gallery have organised a jam-packed month of events called the 'Heritage Arts Festival'. They are making full use of their shopping mall precinct to bring a variety of art and artists to the general pubic. The anchor event is the visual art exhibition 'Living Legacy', curated by Bongi Bengu and Nathi Gumede, which brings a strong collection of works from around the country to Durban (See LISTINGS). An accompanying catalogue written by Thembinkosi Goniwe will be on auction at the end of the month-long festival.
As part of Kizo's community outreach programme, the gallery is facilitating the painting of a mural at the Hambanathi School in Tongaat under the guidance of mural artist Lalelani Mbele (whose previous acheivements include the Sipho Gumede portrait on the external wall at the BAT Centre). On September 15, a ceramic-making workshop, faciliated by ceramicist Clive Sithole will be featured on SABC 3's magazine programme Top Billing, as part of their nation-wide arts workshop series.
The Kizo Gallery is also participating in the 'Moveable Arts Feast', an innovative project involving eight Durban galleries. A specially-commissioned hop-on, hop-off bus (with tour guide) visits eight galleries every Saturday during the Celebrate Durban season. Kizo's contribution to this event is a lecture by arts administrator and curator of the Johannesburg Art Gallery Khwezi Gule at 6pm, September 19.
A number of smaller exhibitions are part of this festival programme including: 'The Gateway to the Arts Expo', showcasing the work of 28 artists in the cinema area of the mall. The 'Love Art Expo' is a development programme for artists and crafters who will be exhibiting and working in the climbing wall area at Gateway. 'Try Your Hand at Painting' gives members of the public an opportunity to get in touch with their creative sides and explore the medium of painting. Cape Town-based digital artist Gavin Rain will be creating a large 200 x 200cm work on-site, which will be the prize in a major SMS competition.
The Heritage Awards will be held on September 18, honouring South Africans for their contribution to the preservation and promotion of South African heritage and culture. The festival will culminate in an auction of original works from the 'Living Legacy' exhibition held at Kizo Gallery.
For more information:
Kizo Art Gallery
The Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Shop G350, Palm Boulevard
Tel: (031) 566 4324
Fax: (031) 566 2494
Email: nathig@kizo.co.za
www.kizo.co.za
Hours: Mon - Sun 9am - 6pm
