Last week, Jesko von Samson, the Counsellor of Cultural affairs from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Pretoria and Anna-Louise Rolland from LIA, Leipzig visited Yebo Art Gallery to meet local visual artists.
As a result of the evening at the Yebo Art Gallery, the German Embassy decided to offer three-month residencies in Leipzig/ Germany. An announcement with further information for local artists will be made shortly through Yebo’s social media pages.
“Every culture lives from tradition, but without artists there is no progress. Art can ignite a fire; it brings people together and creates connections from which an inspiring energy can emerge. Art can make visible what connects us and build bridges between our countries. This was also the goal when we arranged a get-together in the wonderful Yebo Art Gallery,” Jesko von Samson said.
He further emphasized that The German Embassy was keen on understanding local artists and creating a relationship between them and European artists as well.
“The German Embassy would like to get to know the perspectives of the artists from Eswatini and bring them together with those of artists from Germany and Europe. I am looking forward to many future encounters and will support an increased exchange of artists between Eswatini and Germany,” he elaborated.
He went on to express gratitude towards Yebo Art Gallery as well as the artists who contributed to the evening with their works.
“I don’t just say thank you to Aleta and Pete Armstrong for the hospitality and organization of the evening, but also to the various artists who enriched this evening with their contributions and works. It became clear to me once again what great potential there is in the artists in Eswatini. Since this is still not well known in Germany, I will advocate more intensive cultural contacts between our artists and institutions,” he said.
Anna-Louise Rolland explained more about the LIA residency program and what it constitutes. The importance of finding common ground and understanding were emphasized as part of the benefits of cultural exchange.
“A cultural exchange with African artists is something very special. Learning to understand each other, sharing experiences, discovering common ground, enjoying togetherness, but also acknowledging the historical and contemporary systems of power between Germany and Africa are central to inviting artists from Eswatini, Lesotho and South Africa to Germany,” she explained.
The benefits to an artist of such an experience are immense as it can be seen as an experimental opportunity and can arm the creative individual with inspiration and more sources of creativity.
“The visiting artist leaves their familiar everyday life for twelve weeks and experiments with a new, unknown one. They observe, eagerly, what creative potential this change releases. The artist’s residency abroad becomes their own experimental field for living and working, a starting point for travel as well. Of course, an experiment can fail. But even if it seems so at the beginning, inspiration can come unexpectedly,” she articulated.
This idea of experimentation is, according to Rolland, central to LIA’s philosophy and its outlook.
“LIA focuses on being a place for experimentation and learning within a strong local artist community and a city rich in traditions. Local and international artists have an impact on each other while exchanging cultural experiences they are shifting the gaze. At LIA, we believe that moving outside of our comfort zone leads to new perspectives opening,” she said.
She further elaborated that the interaction between visual artists with musicians and other institutions results in new approaches and new creative exchanges occurring.
“International visual artists working together with professional musicians, public space and institutions like museums fits perfectly into this philosophy and this type of collaboration leads to new approaches being developed and new kinds of artistic exchanges taking place. Since 2007 over 500 artists from 40 nations have taken part in the programme,” Rolland explained.
The artists will spend three months in studios on the old spinning mill site in Leipzig, Spinnerei, surrounded by the historic atmosphere of the converted industrial buildings from the last century. The Leipzig cotton spinning mill, founded in the 1880s, developed into the largest on the European continent within a few decades because of the textiles taken out of Africa under German colonisation. This history of injustice, present in contemporary discourses about the restitution of looted art, was not ignored.
Aleta Armstrong, Director of Yebo Art Gallery, also shared a few comments on the day.
“We were honoured to meet with the visitors and very appreciative that they took the time to come to Eswatini to connect with artists. It was a fascinating evening as we all exchanged ideas and had great conversations. Looking forward to exploring this connection further as it helps Yebo’s mission to grow the local creative economy and in sharing creative visions with artists from all around the world,” she said.