In the beginning it was more than a little strange seeing primary school children – all still in uniforms, but all from different schools – wandering around the Johannesburg Art Gallery. By choice it seemed. I later learned that they were all here for art classes. These art classes which are sponsored by MTN were formally based at the Johannesburg City Library’s Michaelis Art Department had taken up residence at the gallery after the libraries closure for renovations. In the few months that the MTN Classes have been in operation at JAG (Johannesburg Art Gallery) I have seen – often with amazement – how these children between the ages of 5 to 12 years old wander around with their teacher using terms such as “still life” and “landscape”.

Artsy jargon aside, these art students (which also include an older more advanced class) all showcased there artistic skills with an exhibition in JAG’s print room on August 19th. My first thought when I was invited to attend was one of anticipated boredom; how mind blowing could a children’s exhibition really be? I am very pleased to report that I was pleasantly surprise at the standard of the works on show not only by the older group’s works but also by those of the younger children. At the moment there are only two classes: the beginners class for children, run by former facilitator of the now defunct TAEP (TAXI Art Education Programme) initiative, Rhett Thompson, whose classes are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; and the advanced classes for older participants run by Petru Viljoen which take place on Thursdays and Fridays.

Having more companies such as MTN giving their backing to the arts can not do anything other than push the South African art scene forward. These classes are proof of this.  Now if they could just get rid of the proverbial ‘insufficient funding monkey’ off their backs. 

Us considers the substance of any instance were we name ourselves an Us, whether according to nation, culture, class, gender, sexuality or race. The show will be curated by Bettina Malcomess and Simon Njami and contains work by both local and international artists.

The substence of any Us is not fixed, rather constantly shifting, fluid and unstable. Feminity, masculinity, whiteness, blackness, nation, Europeanity, Africanity, are often an empty shell, a placeholder into which we loosely fit, if at all with boundaries constantly in need of definition and even defense.

The show emerges out of the xenophobia violence, political transformation and the ripple effects of the current economic crises. US, however, takes no position on nation, location or identity that define the criteria for the selection of works. Instead it presents an open frame for artists to develop work in conversation with, and context of, one other. Included works ask questions on the shifting constellation of self, nation, place and culture – question vital to the particular conditions of Us on contemporary SA and elsewhere.

Like any self-respecting revolution, the Saturday Art Class had to, as they say in the movies, “go underground.” During our little black out, which lasted roughly a month and a bit, the class (lets call them recruits) increased steadily as most revolutionary groups worth their weight do. With the forces growing the attention switched slightly to that of subversive art making in which issues such as how art has, does and continues to question how the status quo and ‘The Man’.

Once again Pop Art and graffiti were looked at. This was then linked to a discourse on the merits and pitfalls of initiatives such as Laugh It Off. The crew of design-conscious T-shirt-designers who created Tees such as the much talked about Black Labour White Guilt Tee (which ripped off and raised some interesting questions about Black Label and the liquor industry).  We also spoke about collectives such as Circus Ninja (another design and arts collective whose main objective was to question society). Topics such as the disappearance of resistance and protest art were also looked at.

Next on the agenda is a look at caricatureand how artists use it not only as a means of looking at society but also as a means of turning the proverbial mirror on ourselves. This is ultimately the aim of the Visual Literacy class. Subjects such as race, sexuality, and identity are used in all three of the classes, all in order to get those in attendance a better understanding of who they are and who they are going to be as both artist and people in the world.

I’m sure you have noticed that all the afore mentioned collectives and organisations such as Laugh It Off are no more, and hopefully understand the strategic reasoning for the communication black out. Having said that this will be the last ‘intelligence report’on the happenings in the classes as they are now completely independent. 

Like thay say in the movies I could tell you more of course but I’d have to kill you.

Unlike the ‘friends’ on networks such as Facebook and Twitter, the Friends of the JAG (Johannesburg Art Gallery) are actually made up of real people who do real activities like breathing, eating and going on walks. All jokes aside though The Friends of JAG are a group of dedicated art-lovers from all walks of life who have banded together to support the various activities that the gallery and museum offers. These include finding new and innovative methods of acquiring funds for the gallery, organizing events which broaden the scope of the arts, as well as striving to involve everyone in the community in the life of the gallery.

Undoubtedly one of the most interesting activities that the friends of the JAG partake in are the guided tours. Past tours include the last months trip to BHP Billiton’s internationally recorgnised Art collection. Future tours include a visit to August House; on the first of August. This art deco inspired building is home of a host of prominent artists studios; these artists include Diane Victor, Gordon Froud, Nicolas Hlobo and Mary Sibande, to name just a few.

Another upcoming tour is the walking tour to Troyeville, which will be taking place on September 19^th. This Mark Alfred led tour will include the following itinerary: a stop off at the two Ghandi houses, David Webster’s house and Memorial Park, Troyeville House and The Art Deco Beryl Court will also be visited before stopping for teat Andrew Lindsay’s Spaza Gallery.

For information on these and future tours contact Fiona at (011) 720 3479 or alternatively address your queries to fionag@joburg.org.za.

Or, best of all, visit the Johannesburg Art Gallery : King George Street, Joubert Park

JAG Happenings Series:

• Portrait of a Lady
• Artology – A Saturday School Thing
• The T.A.E.P. Light Still Burns
• Art Class Saturdays
• Musha Neluheni – VANTAGE

Whilst ‘normal people’ were at home doing whatever it is that normal people do on a Saturday, the first of the group of sleep and heat deprived art-lovers who visit the gallery on Saturdays in search of - shall we call it “Artology” – shuffle into the David Krut Bookstore. 

I noticed the growth of the group on this particular Saturday because  not only was it the usual group of students who shimmied into the bookstores doorway, but also saw two interns from the David Krut Print Workshop (DKW) Ellen Nthabiseng Hlalele and Julia Cloete, a DKW intern and an Ogilivy intern joining the latest converts. Yep, the list of people willing to give up their Saturdays and the things normal people do is most definitely growing

The first two hours of the Visual Literacy session saw the concepts of ‘atmosphere’ and ‘anticipation’ being discussed. The focus and aim of the subject matter was intended to concentrate mostly on how through manipulation, use and creation of ‘atmosphere’ and ‘anticipation’ as visual narrative tools that can strengthen an art work. A range of sources ranging from CD covers, comic and magazine covers to the many art books in the store were used.

Thereafter it was upstairs to the educational studio to get stuck into the now infamous Scroll. The Mark-Making Class concentrated both on focusing the students ideas surrounding soccer, Bafana-Bafana, and 2010, as well as on increasing their practical understanding of charcoal – the medium they were all introduced to the previous week in their drawing class. Sketches  that were made will later be used to construct the composition.

 The final two hours saw the students again grapple with the current theme of  ‘narrative’. This past weeks drawing class saw the stereotypical self-portrait art school project being given a make-over of sorts. The class were instructed to do a self portrait, the only prerequisite of which was that they all had to use strips of cotton printmaking paper as their main material. A short conceptualising session was held before the practicalities were attacked. By 4:45pm the last of the artologists had left the confines of the JAG building – and whilst all would agree that spending a Saturday the way normal people do definitely looks appealing when one thinks of braving the morning cold, by the end of the day and having spent the day, the extraordinary way appears to be the best way to spend any Saturday. 

JAG Happenings Series:

• Portrait of a Lady
• The T.A.E.P. Light Still Burns
• Art Class Saturdays
• Musha Neluheni – VANTAGE
• Friends On Walkabout

Antoinette Murdoch. The name might be unfamiliar to some patrons of JAG (the Johannesburg Art Gallery), but this I believe is changing fast. The name in question belongs to the gallery’s newly appointed chief  curator, who arrives fresh from a successful three-year stint as CDO of the Johannesburg Art Bank. An accomplished artist, gallery manager ( Johannesburg Civil Gallery), lecturer and teacher. Murdoch  is well aware of the pressures surrounding her new position, and as such has no illusions regarding the prospect of filling former JAG director Clive Kellner’s shoes.

With activities and achievements ranging from being first TLOTLE (Teaching Language Other Than English) teacher in the West Rand in 1990, completing a beginners and intermediate course at the Photography Workshop in 1997, to placing in the top 100 in the 2002 Atelier Awards.

In between all of these achievements Murdoch found time to travel to New York when she was awarded the fellowship of the Ampersand Foundation in 1998/99. With this wide range of achievements under her belt, I am sure that you will agree that the Johannesburg Art Gallery’s future is in perfect hands.

The now detonked T.A.E.P. (Taxi Arts Education Programme) was an initiative aimed at enriching those youth communities unable part take in art (be the art form dance, drama, music or visual art). The programme which was founded by David Krut Publishing now finds itself bearing fruit beyond the bounds of the T.A.E.P. initiative. The fruit I mentioned takes the form of two of the initiatives facilitators, namely Nkateko Manganye (Visual Art), and Nolan Stevens. Nkateko, who facilitated classes in practical visual arts whilst under the T.A.E.P, continues to import skills to eager youth by still concentrating his focus on the practical side of visual art.  Nolan, who facilitated theory based film classes, now holds classes in visual literacy.  Both classes are held within the JAG building on Saturdays from 10:00 to 17:00, and are held in collaboration with classes founded by MTN.

Come 10:05AM on a Saturday morning the doors of the Johannesburg Art Gallery greet the first few heat deprived bodies that make their way into the David Krut Bookstore, the same way they did the week before and the week before that. The first class lasts about an hour and a half; this is the visual literacy class.  It’s held in the Bookstore and focuses on introducing those in attendance to a vast variety of ideas, concepts and processes surrounding the arts.  This class is for the most part a conceptual thinking class, which in most cases means that the class is thematic.  The theory based visual literature classes work in random with the various other practical classes which all take place throughout the day.  These practical classes include printmaking, drawing and painting classes. An example of how these classes work together can be seen in a project given just last week, the concept of which evolves around the Bafana Bafana National team and the 2010 buzz.  This project involves working together on a two meter long scroll, on which the various students transfer their memories, hopes, dreams, woes and disappointments surrounding the team.  The theory portion of the project reflected on woodblock prints to Greek scrolls. The practical classes deal with (and continue to address) techniques such as paper-dying, working in unfamiliar mediums such as gauche, ink and brushes and design markers. This project will be an ongoing project which will run until the end of the World Cup and aims at teaching students not only how to work in different mediums but also how to utilise various points of reference such as memory, emotion, the media and the imagination. The Saturday Art Classes run from 10:00AM to 17:00 every Saturday at JAG.

In addition to our usual activities, the TAEP Facilitators and members have had numerous opportunities to showcase their talents over the last year. We participated in the Grahamstown Festival earlier this year, premiering the hilarious “We on Air – Radio Nonsense”, written by Ricky Bopape. The TAEP Mini-Festival took place at the Diepkloof Hall on the 22nd of June this year, the day was a wonderful chance for the members of TAEP to display their talent and show off to their peers and families.

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From the 24th to 28th September this year, the TAEP hosted the Standard Bank Youth Zone at the Soweto Festival. This event was a phenomenal success – Adele Lucas Promotions, the organisers of Festival, said that the Youth Zone was the best part of the event and that the TAEP and David Krut Projects were to be commended for an extremely professional programme.

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Still to come this year:

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•    Ricky and Mpho are assisting with the Kliptown Youth Programme drama preparations for their visit to France.
•    Starquality have invited TAEP member to take part in a children’s casting session for a national advert. This will take place at the Ramutovholwa Art Gallery.
•    Some TAEP Facilitators and member will take part in the Masakhane Arts & Cultural Festival from 5 December 2008.

Please keep checking this site for TAEP news and events.

From 24^th to 28^th September 2008, the TAEP facilitators and members hosted and ran the Standard Bank Youth Zone at the Soweto Festival.

Adele Lucas Promotions, the organisers of Festival, said that the Youth Zone was the best part of the event and that the TAEP and David Krut Projects were to be commended for an extremely professional programme.

Over the course of four days the team, along with actor/director Andre Stoltz, worked tirelessly on stage and back stage. The Zone featured talks on environmental issues by Antonio Lopez; health issues like teenage pregnancy and HIV, by Dr. Colwyn Poole; careers in law by some of the law clerks from the Constitutional Court; graphic design by Ellen Papciak-Rose; TV journalism by Jeremy Maggs and Iman Rappetti.

As part of the TAEP’s edutainment line-up, we had acts from our own Ricky Bopape who wrote and performed in the comedy We on Air: Radio Nonsense – a huge hit that really drew in the crowds. Our resident musos Walter Dikgale, Siviwe Mapukata and Shoba Thulare – collectively known as the TAEP Jazz Band – delighted the crowds with their eccentric jazz improvisations while Kalabash Dziripi entertained with traditional roots music. Kudos must be given to Mpho Moloi for his outstanding MC/hosting of the whole event. And special thanks to Andre Stoltz for lending us his expertise.

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Also appearing was Gary Ramutovholwa, whose main focus is recycling paper, wire and matchsticks to create sculptures (as in above photo) and other small functional art pieces i.e. mugs etc. The Ramutovholwa Recycling Art Gallery also teaches this skill to children and young adults, with a emphasis on environmental awareness. Classes are held on Tuesdays at 2904 Luvuvhu Street, Zone 2, Diepkloof, Soweto. Gary, Siviwe and Kalabash from the TAEP also hold a drumming class at the Gallery on Tuesdays – 14.00 – 17.00.

The TAEP team has been asked to participate in the Festival next year.