South Africa: The Eastern Cape Arts Exhibition opened today at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum in St. George’s Park.
Together with the Red Location Arts Gallery and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality bought 14 new works by local artists.
The Art Collection of the Bay states the story of art in the region, and new and contemporary voices must be added to the unique story of art in the Eastern Cape.
In February this year, Eastern Cape artists who work and live (or have worked and lived) in the Eastern Cape were invited to submit work for consideration to be part of the Art Collection of the City.
The works of art chosen were by Angie Weisswange, Ayanda Mji, Banele Njadayi, Celela Nonongwe, Graham Jones, Karl Schoemaker, Lizo Pemba, Margot Muir, Michael Barry, Mxolisi Sapeta, Nwabisa Mnqumevu, Siphosethu Plam, and Timothy Hopwood.
From more than a hundred submissions, only 30 artists were chosen to be in the show.
In 2018, the Friends of the Art Museum launched the Museum Gala in order to raise much-needed funds for the NMM Art Museum to purchase local art for the collection.
Art lovers around the city demonstrated their commitment to supporting local creative talent in the Eastern Cape by buying tickets to this glamorous event.
The Mantis Collection’s assistance has been critical to the initiative’s success. Adrian Gardiner’s involvement in this event reflects his long-standing commitment to supporting local artists and the arts in the region.
The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum was able to bring back the selection committee and start buying new works of art because of this amazing fundraising effort.
The money raised in 2018 and 2019 has been used in 2021 and in 2022 to purchase additional local art for the city’s collection.
