Swedish Southern Cultural Ambition

A partnership between three South African and three Swedish Art Organisations

E.L.C. Art & Craft Centre – Rorkes Drift

Dakawa Art & Craft Community Centre – Grahamstown

African Art centre – Durban

Konstkusten/Lokstallet Art Gallery - Strömstad

Artists for Africa – Stockholm

Nääs Art Gallery – Nääs Castle Göteborg

Brief report of the first official activity at Lokstallet Art Gallery in Strömstad

1. Activity:

Exhibition of South African Art & Craft from the South African partners at Lokstallet Art Gallery.

2. Organisers:

Konstkusten/Lokstallet and Artists for Africa

3. Visiting South African Artists:

Sandile Goje, graphic artist and workshop manager/teacher, Dakawa

28^th September-25^th October (sponsor Nätverk Södra Afrika)

Trained at Dakawa 1992-94 and one year at the School of Graphic Art in Stockholm 1997. Exhibited and represented at museums and galleries nationally and internationally.

Allina Ndebele, tapestry weaver, receiver of the order of Ikhamanga from the President Thabo Mbeki the evening before leaving South Africa.

29^th September-31^st October. (Sponsor Crafting Freedom, Gävle and KwaZulu Natal Universities). Trained at Mpumulo and Rorkes Drift 1962-1964 and at Stenebyskolan in Dalsland Sweden 1964-65. Teacher and workshop manager at Rorkes Drift weaving workshop 1966-77. Thereafter setting up her own workshop at Swartfolozi, KwaZulu Natal. Today the workshop is beeing taken over by her son Thokozani, who accompanied her to Sweden. Exhibited and represented at major Art Museums and Art Galleries in South Africa (Pretoria Art Museum), USA, Germany, Holland and Sweden (Röhsska Museum Göteborg 1985 “Afrikansk Konst”).

Sisiwe Mbatha, weaver educated at Rorkes Drift, after Allina Ndebele left, and at Dakawa 1992-94.

29^th September-31^st October (Sponsor Anna Nordlander Museum) Exhibited at galleries in South Africa and Sweden. Presently working fulltime at the Fugitive Lodge as a “bread winner” only weaving occationally. Would like to be able to weave more.

Muriel Makhathini (former Mbatha), tapestry weaver and poet, educated at Rorkes Drift in the early 1960-ties, living in Sweden since late 1960-ties.

29^th September-6^th October (Sponsor private) Exhibited in Sweden and have had one poetry books published.

4. Duration of exhibition:

1^st October – 6^th November iGUGU exhibition at Lokstallet Art Gallery

18^th November – 4^th December iGUGU exhibition at Konstfrämjandet Art Gallery in Norrköping, facilitator ABF-Workers Study Union

16-19 January small exhibition in connection with The Baxter Theatre from Cape Town visiting Pustervik Theatre in Gothenburg.

5. Geographical diversification:

Strömstad town and municipality, 9 000 inhabitants

Bohuslän north (4 municipalities), 43 000 inhabitants

Västra Götaland Region with main city Gothenburg, 1, 5 million inhabitants

6. Main Objectives:

To show the Swedish audience how living traditional hand craft can survive and develop into new materials, shapes and techniques, and how those pictures reflects and interacts with the history and the contemporary society.

To show the living results of two art development projects which was started by Swedish initiative and funds in 1962-83 (Church of Sweden Mission/SIDA) and 1986-95 (ANC/SIDA).

To give artists from those centres a chance to exhibit in Sweden once more after a long time with little contact. By that giving recognition, encouragement and inspiration to the South African artists and their organisations and build collegial ties with Swedish artists. That will on the other hand inspire South African and Swedish youth to learn art and craft techniques from the artists.

To resume old unifying bonds between Swedish and South African artists and audience and to create possibilities of a fruitful exchange for the future, which will lead to artistic renewal and development and a greater understanding of the diversities and similarities in the fields of art and culture and its interaction with the political and social environment.

7. Target groups:

70 came for the opening of the exhibition. Inaugurator was Mrs Vivi-Anne Nilsson of the regional cultural board. Host was Ms Anne-Lies Landmark of Strömstad municipality board.

More than 600 school children from Strömstad intermediate and secondary schools and youth of the ages 10-18 years visited the exhibition in Strömstad and listened to lectures by Sandile Goje, Allina Ndebele, Sisiwe Matha, Thokozani Ndebele and Malin Sellmann.

130 teachers and students from Grebbestad Peoples High School invited the artists to their school and about 30 of them visited the exhibition and listened to a lecture by Allina Ndebele and Sisiwe Mbatha.

80 came to two separate advertised lectures by Allina Ndebele and Sisiwe Mbatha, arranged by the study organisation Vuxenskolan Strömstad/Tanum.

150 came and listened to the South African choir “Voices of Cape Town”, who visited the region as part of their partnership with the choir “Espiro” in Gothenburg, arranged together with Vuxenskolan Strömstad/Tanum.

90 students at Stenebyskolan met Allina Ndebele when she and the other South African artists visited the school over one day.

8. Activities:

All together the exhibition had 18 demonstrations and lectures, most held by the South African artists.

Sandile Goje had lectures at the Grebbestad Peoples High School and followed one teacher in his lectures for a week. He also participated in a meeting with the Principal and staff to discuss and plan the cooperation with the school and its teachers/artists and students in the next application to the Swedish South African Fund.

Allina Ndebele and Sisiwe Mbatha went for three weeks to Uppsala, Gävle and Skellefteå and had lectures at The Anna Nordlander Museum and Gävle Högskola. Sisiwe spent two weeks weaving with the same weaver Wasti Nyborg.

Allina Ndebele was interviewed by Berit Sahström at Gävle Högskola and her students.

9. Realization:

Everything worked according to plan and the South African artists and their organisations had worked very hard to produce new art for the exhibition. The exhibition was highly popular and many said it was the best Lokstallet had had since its start in 2000. The visiting number were the highest so far during off season. Expectations are high for the new exhibition next year same time, called Clothes-Climate-Culture.

10. Marketing:

The exhibition was marketed extensively regionally and nationally by posters, adverts, Internet calendars and by the web site www.konstkusten.nu

Two newspapers wrote long articles 6 times.

The itinerary covering the whole visit of the artists was given to them on departure and will be included in the full picture report as well as newspaper clippings.

Malin Sellmann

Konstkusten/Lokstallet 2006-01-11

Picture Gallery

The opening with Bäck Brothers1/10/05                      Strömstad Matric School came with 6 classes.

Sandile lecturing                                  Lecture                     Sandile transferring one of his linos into screen print.

Strömstjärneskolan came with all classes. Sandile, Sisiwe & Allina talking together with teacher Sinisha Bozunovic

Visiting class 6 at Grebbestad School. Allina and Sisiwe told about the art they had brought with them and taught some songs and dances. The students surprised them with singing some south African songs.

Study visit to Steneby College of Design in Dalsland. Allina with her son Thokozani in front of the house where she trained 40 years ago, learning about the loom managed by a computer. Grebbestad People´s College.

The concert with Voices of Cape Town at Lokstallet, standing in front of a tapestry by Mary Shabalala about the life of King Shaka. Coincidently the opening music piece was a new composition about the life of Shaka!

Vitlycke Rock Carvings                          We got 5 Lobsters!!                             Monday Lobster Lunch for 10!