NETWORK16

Nov 21, 2016

[NEWWORK 16] GradShow  

adj. Assembled into or viewed as a whole. Of, relating to, characteristic of, or made by a number of people acting as a group.

An undertaking set up on the principles or system of collectivism. collective disagreement assent dissent In light of the student protests it did not feel appropriate to simply continue to follow the blueprint of the previous Newwork shows. As a collective there were moments where we felt that having a graduate show would not be possible and that canceling it altogether would be necessary. We felt that the protests had to be taken into consideration with regard to what a graduate show implies. The graduate show marks a break, an end-point with the university whereas in reality the situation is much more fluid, messy and unresolved. This iteration of the Newwork graduate show is what we thought would speak back to this current socio-political moment within tertiary education. We tried to reflect the urgency and instability of the current moment both in the form of the catalogue and the exhibition; undoing the singular opening night and a catalogue that documents individual works within a collective. We have instead tried to produce a catalogue that focuses on the collective tensions and congruencies in the group; a reality for any graduate class. The show hopes to address the issues of who the curriculum is aimed at and designed by; its political orientation and its geographical relevance; and the current ideological crisis which stands around us. While this exhibition is a break from previous Newwork shows, this is merely our reflection of the moment and should remain as only that. We hope to prompt future Newwork shows to not simply reiterate previous versions, but to rather engage with their particular context.

Wits Young Artist Award

Aug 5, 2016

The Division of Visual Art at the Wits School of Arts invites you to the opening of the first annual Wits Young Artist Award (WYAA) Date: 12 August Time: 6pm Venue: The Point of Order, cnr Bertha and Stiemens Streets, Braamfontein Winners to be announced on 1 September 2016 About the WYAA: Over the past  ((….)) years, the annual Martienssen Prize has been awarded to honour artistic excellence produced by senior Wits Fine Arts students. Although change was inherent in its previous iterations, the award saw an accelerated shift in its structure in recent years. Taking place at various locations, including Museum Africa in Newtown, the award fostered links between the Division of Visual Arts and other art institutions in the city. Its return to Braamfontein in 2011 has positioned the award as an important contributor to the area’s growing cultural hub, which has attracted artists, galleries and various cultural institutions. The newly established Wits Young Artist Award (formerly known as Martienssen Prize) is born out of a need for more than “change”. It is an urgent call for rethinking and re-imagining what an Art Award means in a Pan-African University which acknowledges the idea that decoloniality is an embodied experience of the postcolonial moment. This year not only sees a change in the name of the award, but also enables further interrogation by challenging the notion of “artistic excellence”. It intends to redefine how Art Competitions are governed. Through interrogating the processes of submission, adjudication, and project manifestation, the WYAA implements the mandate of decolonizing the art competition itself. Through this process, notions of ‘failure’ come to signify that ideas and/or their execution have the potential to dismantle convention. This point in the history of the award signifies our search for an aesthetic language that advocates for the development of creative practices that go beyond “exhibition-making”. This allows for a revisiting of critical questions such as When is a work of art? Where does a work of art begin? Where must it be located? How does it manifest? When can it be allowed to die? If art is the answer, what are the questions? It further asks, Why “Art” if others cannot live?

Street parking is available – a car guard will be present during the day and for public events.
More parking is available at the Wits School of Art (entrance at cnr Station & Jorrissen streets)

14/15

12 – 20 February 2015

14/15 | 12 – 20 February 2015 | top achievers of 2014 An exhibition of work from top students of 2014. Join us to open this show and launch the new (and still unnamed! ) fine art project space. For the first time the Division of Visual Art goes beyond the boom gate and into Braamfontein. We have traded in the substation for this new project space situated on the ‘eland plaza’ on the ground floor of the Noswal Hall residence. Besides a strong selection of work by students from 2014, we will also inaugurate and name the space this Thursday! Featuring work by: Chad Codeiro Teresa Firmino Nathaniel Shepard Bianca Stevens Alexander Appolis Gabriel Hope Jessica Janse Van Rensburg and Halfa Pictcha

Occupy The Mic

Feb 19, 2016

On Friday the 19th, ‘Occupation’ will be hosting a collaborative project with local artists and musicians. The event will take place from 18:30-22:00 and will be in conversation with ‘Occupation’, the foregoing project at The Point of Order. It will conclude the project and act as a platform to extend the conversations that took place during ‘Occupation’, beyond the Point of Order. The event aims to provide a space for upcoming local musicians and artists to perform, collaborate and share their creative processes. Free Entry

NEWWORK 2023: AUCTION