I love visual art , art in general actually. You can learn so much from how a painter strokes a canvas, from how a photographer edits a picture & how objects can be used by people to express complex emotions.
Africans have used art to document their lives, priorities & politics throughout time. I had the opportunity to attend #OpenStudios in Johannesburg which was an open tour of 4 major art houses in Johannesburg including Ellis House, August House, Victoria Yards & Living Arts Emporium.
On the Sunday afternoon, which began with me dreading to leave my soft couch in Boksburg, I only managed to visit Ellis House, and August House. This piece dedicated to the artists who let us in that weekend. I have visited Victoria Yards on many other occasions & I still owe the Living Arts Emporium a visit for sure.
My mind was blown by the personal freedom of the creatives at the houses. The ability to strike out into the world with your passion in such a wholesome way speaks volumes for me. You need to be at the next #OpenStudios, and I will share dates as soon as they share new dates. We can go together ! It is a date, yes?
Disclaimer : I would like to formally apologize for publishing these pieces on here without formal consent from the each of the creatives. We were allowed to take pictures throughout the experience, and where I could, I took the artists name so you can follow them and buy some cool pieces for your home.
Thokozani Mthiyane (@Thokozani_iv)
Man, 5th floor in Ellis House is everything. It felt like a very different version of the Mthiyane house hold I grew up in eShowe Kwa-Zulu. Kwa-1000 :). There were artifacts from different tribal villages across Africa countries, well organized chaos, paintings on the floor, blunts , books, an entire experience. You just had to be there !
My mind was blown by the personal freedom of the creatives at the houses
NOMA-T
I left my house sure that the city was calling my name, you wont believe my joy when I saw Mo Tsomi (@Mo_Tshomi)‘s work at August House. It was my name, in a corner, in the City ! Ahh ! Gorgeous. Her work is feminine & for me it articulates a message of being seen, as an individual & as part of a collective society. There’s a big emphasis on having many eye’s which for me in spiritual terms speaks to being open to many perceptions of the same information.
I knew the city was calling my name
Nomathemba
Vusi Mbulali (@Mbulali_iv)
I had so much fun associating with these pieces. I took the selfies as recommended by the pieces & I enjoyed the concept of a candle on my bright mind illuminating from within. I have been working so hard to heal my crown, this series made perfect sense to me.
If you’re into multi-textured, colorful, cultural & multi-layered art pieces, you will love @Jibrilbycollage’s work. I captured a few of his pieces here below. The detail is gorgeous, and the work on display was so happy, stylish & uplifting & celebratory.
The other aspect of walking through these corridors is that you see the most exotic, minimalistic but loud studios & work spaces. I can’t imagine the energy I would bring to a teams call if I was taking it from here.
I found @Justin_Dingwall’s pieces very to be an interesting combination of weird metallic type objects & black women photography. The helicopters on a black women’s crown were a peculiar story, the bags used are a type of bag used by older black women to take heavy goods home from the city so the pieces were very interesting to engage with for me.
There was a range of artist showing the innocence of their inner child through the visual display of children. I loved all of them, I managed to capture these few. Please tag the artists in the chat section below.
I am so glad there are spaces in Africa where African artists can express themselves with so much personal freedom. I felt so overwhelmed I ran to my house to have tea & absorb it all.
