The Fine Art Graduate’s major challenge is to get a platform from whose vintage point he or she can show case his work. There are currently galleries and competitions for the artists to tap into but most of them has ideological constrains in that the artist’ students work may not fit in with the prevailing trend of what the gallery may be selling as far as art as a commodity is concerned. Or with the adjustors consensus on what constitutes good art at any given art competition.
The buying public, whom not all of them are schooled in contemporary Art. relies on the prevalent ideologies of the gallery owner as to what constitutes contemporary trends in the visual arts production and practices. This trend is very limiting to the emerging artist in that they have to comply with the prevalent ideologies as to what constitutes cotempo’ art in order to exhibit.
Despite the lack of commitment and support from the various public and private institutions who should be investing in art by starting and stabling corporate collections a group of young artists who are volunteers at the Pretoria art museum team up each year to mount an exhibition under the mentorship of the museum personnel. The For Sale Project Exhibition is the result of this collaboration.
The main aim of this project exhibition is to reform the state of visual art in Tshwane by giving this young artists associated with the museum education and development programme a platform to show case their work.
The artists are tasked with producing a body of work exclusive for the exhibition, they also have to propose the exhibition to the museum and they are also responsible for handling part of the marketing of the exhibition by designing an invitation. The involvement of the artists in these processes gives the artists the opportunity to learn about aspects which are important in the planning of an art exhibition.
It is with great pleasure that I announce this year’s forthcoming exhibition which is to be shown at the Pretoria Art Museum from 7 – 31 October 2008.
