An exhibition entitled Map – South Africa with works from a broad spectrum of artists and genres will be hosted by the UJ Art Gallery from 11 May to 15 June 2011. In addition to showing new work by 39 artists who have participated in Map, the exhibition documents the diverse spaces utilised for the Map projects all over South Africa.
These spaces include restaurants, hotels, homes and Map’s own Karoo residency. The show also records Map participation in the 2007 Innibos arts festival and an architecture conference: African Perspectives 2009: ‘The African City Centre (re)sourced’, hosted by the University of Pretoria, as well as publications relating to these projects.
The founders of the project, patron of the arts, Harrie Siertsema and Abrie Fourie, well known artist and curator, brought a fresh and innovative approach to the domain of visual arts through this ongoing project and through their unwavering trust in and support of South African artists.
The multifaceted Modern Art Project (Map) originated in 2005 out of the impulse to combine the works of established and emerging artists and to show such works in unexpected spaces outside the traditional gallery context.
Map is emblematic of a new ‘empathetic economy’ in which the artwork is taken from the white cube gallery for more democratic dispersement, and brought back to the white cube for documentation and integration. Map also points to the destruction of the division between high and low culture.
The Map endeavours are documented in an exceptional series of “black books” available for public perusal. This informative resource is also a collector’s item as a limited edition “black box” set.
Enquiries: Annali Cabano-Dempsey +2711 559 2099
Web:
http://www.uj.ac.za/EN/artsacademy/Gallery/Exhibitions/Pages/CurrentExhibition.aspx
johanthom.com 