View Online Exhibition on Flickr or saleable work from the show at Artsy
Eswatini artists will be exhibiting at the annual FNB Joburg Art Fair for the first time as Yebo Contemporary Art Gallery has been invited to curate a space in the Gallery Lab. Gallery Lab will be a single 600 sq m pavilion where new galleries and hybrid spaces from the continent and beyond gather for an annual conference of collaboration, discussions and sharing of best practices. The section is curated by Nicole Siegenthaler (Fair Manager, FNB Art Joburg) and Banele Khoza (Founding Director, BKhz). Gallery Lab will serve as an incubator, a space to develop and nurture emerging galleries and programs as well as a space for exploration; to present and test new artists, ideas and business models relevant to the contemporary African arts landscape.
Nicole Siegenthaler said:” One of the first spaces we reached out to for the Lab was Yebo Contemporary, as they have been tireless advocates for the arts of Eswatini. They’ve perfected a unique formula that reflects their cultural landscape, and we’re excited to have them share this voice in Joburg come September. It’s been an honour to plan the Gallery Lab with Banele. I’m interested in going beyond the ‘traditional’ gallery archetype, seeing what artists and galleries on the continent are doing and then looking at how we can incorporate those models into our understanding of contemporary African art. Banele and I have consciously tried to make the Lab a space for everyone to come and play, experiment with their presentation-whether you are a new space, established, South African or international. Hopefully we can create interesting juxtapositions and a space for good conversation, something new. We want our collectors and visitors to be surprised but most importantly to leave feeling excited about the current direction of contemporary African art.”
Aleta Armstrong, Director of Yebo Art Gallery said “We are very excited at this amazing opportunity to showcase contemporary art from Eswatini. Khulekani Msweli will be running the stand for the long weekend. The Yebo space will feature an installation by Khulekani called Ngihle Ngikhohlwa Ngikhumbula (Sometimes I forget, Sometimes I remember) There will also be a group exhibition featuring work by Mbongeni Dlamini, Mesuli Mamba, Tony Marshak, Phindile Mamba, Thabo Lukhele and Sakhile Gumbi. As we partner with Artsy who are also partnering with Joburg Art the work will be online in order to reach a global audience. Yebo has also used this opportunity to advertise with Art Africa and Business Day Art in order to reach a wider audience for local artists. We look forward to being part of this international event and know it will have a positive impact on local artists. We are so grateful to our sponsors FNB, ETA and DHL, without them this would not be possible for a small art gallery.”
Yebo Gallery is extremely grateful for the kind sponsorship by the following corporate partners who support the growth of Eswatini’s creative economy. FNB Eswatini generously donated Emalangeni 30,000 towards the cost of the stand and in assisting the selected artists to visit Joburg. Thirteen artists have been sponsored to stay at a hotel on the weekend so they can visit the fair. The artists are Fela Dlamini, Celimpilo Dlamini, Phillip Mdluli, Mfanfikile Mndzebele, Seni Mdluli, Tutu Mkhabela, Mcebo Zulu, Sciniseko Jele, Akan Masuku, Shedrack Masuku, Thabo Lukhele, Phindile Mamba and Mesuli Mamba.
A big thank you to the CEO of Eswatini Tourism Authority, Ms Linda Nxumalo, for sponsoring their lovely bus so that the artists can travel safely and in style to Joburg! DHL Eswatini will sponsor the shipping of the artwork to Joburg and back. DHL have worked this last year with Yebo in shipping art globally and ensuring the growth of the creative economy of Eswatini.
