Botswana: Gaborone the National Arts Festival (NAF) under the theme “Tlhabololo ya itsholelo ka dikgwebo tsa Botaki le bodiragatsi”. The competition was limited to two categories: Fine Arts and crafts. The Fine Arts Category had 7 subcategories and Crafts had a total of 8 categories.
The top three winners in each category received cash prizes of P3000, P2000, and P1000, respectively. Chief judge of the National Arts Festival, Olga Abotseng was happy to see the success of the initiative.
She reported that the competition had received 84 submissions in various catagories. Out of these, 24 submissions were recognized as the winners.
The Thapong Visual Arts Center in Gaborone served as the venue for the event hosted on Tuesday. The event gave platform for the people of Gaborone to bring their talent and artistic prowess to the forefront. The National Arts Festival focused on the importance of networking, technology, and commercialization in the arts.
The Thapong Visual Arts Center Coordinator Reginald Bakwena delivered the welcome remarks for the Gaborone edition of the NAF. He suggested in his remarks that the artists should invest in networking and technology.
It will help them in enhancing their skills and produce high-quality work. Thapong Visual Arts Center promised to host regular workshops to train artists to excel in events like The National Arts Festival.
CEO of Botswana National Arts Council of Botswana Shombi Ellis delivered the keynote address at the event. She appreciated the previous winners for their continued representation of Botswana on the international stage.
Ellis highlighted that the art in Botswana should be commercialized for the benefit of the creatives
To emphasize on her point, she recollected a Motswana based artist Meleko Mokgosi who is making waves in America and Europe with his artwork. Accordingly, Ellis encouraged artists to take inspiration from Mokgosi’s achievements.
She encouraged them to establish their own art galleries to compete globally. Thapong Visual Arts Center has announced a digital platform to market Botswana’s arts globally. However, the lack of resources with the stakeholders has been preventing action on this goal.