The Ukunqwena art exhibition will showcase artwork from local artists at the Ann Bryant Art Gallery on Thursday October 19.
Sango Filita, Lukhanyo Muluse, and Anako Falibangwa are all former Walter Sisulu University (WSU) art students who are now working professionals, while Abongile Mantshiyose and Nosipho Booi are still studying art at the university.
Ukunqwena means to desire, and is aimed at reflecting what it means to be a child.
Artists were tasked with creating pieces using influences from their own childhoods and experiences with children. Muluse is the art centre manager in Willowvale and the main organiser of the event.
“The objective of this exhibition is to allow the younger self to reflect. It aims to depict the importance of childhood and children in one’s life.
“Ukunqwena calls for us to desire the lives we have always wanted and be what our inner child calls for and who imagined ourselves as children.
“Through this exhibition we also ask the question of how adults can learn from children. It calls for us to question whether the treatment children are subjected to is humane, to showcase how much children’s lives matter, and to question whether they are taken care of in the black community,” Muluse said.
The exhibition will feature mixed media, sculpture, drawings, paintings, photographs and written pieces.
Filita, who is a professional artist, curator and researcher said: “I have tried to capture the special moments that we see in children’s facial expressions when they are happy or sad, using bright colours that invite the viewer to relate or question their behaviour towards children.”
Ann Bryant Art Gallery art curator Leon Du Preez said: “They are all skilled artists, especially Muluse. His work sells well and he is well known by art decor agents. It is going to be an exciting exhibition, and hopefully, we’ll get a lot of sales,” Du Preez said.
