Panel discussion: Art and creativity in the city
Published 15 April 2024 in News
On Friday April 12, Asisebenze Art Atelier's gallery played host its first panel discussion. This event formed part of the first of the DECONSTRUCTED Series of programming of month-long contemporary African Art exhibitions by our resident studio artists.
The three-person panel consisting of the featured artist, Sifiso Mkhabela, the exhibition's curator, Nolan Stevens, and renowned multidisciplinary artist and lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, Marc Edwards, all sort to unpack this topic. With each panelist having different life experiences and varying interactions with the city of Johannesburg.
The variety in age, culture and even race resulted in the conversation being dynamic, unexpected, challenging and at often times supportive and encouraging.
Sifiso Mkhabela's current solo Exhibition showcasing 18 mixed-media artworks, "Concrete Cocoon", weaves together narratives of spirituality, culture, politics, heritage and a multitude of inner-city life complexities into one exhibition.
Friday evening's panel discussion fed off the thematic undertones which Mkhabela's artwork provided and allowed them to serve as the foundation of a panel discussion which posed the question: "What impact does the city of Johannesburg have of artists and creatives living and working in it?".
Even though this panel's main objective was to root the conversation predominantly within the confines of creativity within the scope of Johannesburg's inner-city, the discussion did away with those confines very early on. Continental creativity, global expectation, artistic responsibility and even the politics of this country were all fair game, once the audience joined in the conversation.
The interactions between panelists and audience members soon took centre stage, as the discussion oscillated between debate, and conversation.
