Be reminded of the beauty and efficiency of technology when reading this article because

regardless of the physical/social distancing measures the COVID-19 requires, I had the pleasure

of interviewing 2/13 of the directors of Stevensons Gallery and independent artist, Dimakatso Mathabe.

 

Have you ever gone to your artist friend’s exhibition and thought, I need to buy that or how

much are you charging that for? You might have imagined it would match the aesthetic

of your house, or be compatible with your business’s brand or even enhance the mood in your restaurant but the price held you back. Fortunately, it is not entirely impossible to purchase artwork.

Stevensons Gallery tells us how and further explain their role in their artists’ careers while Mathabe highlights the reason art prices are high and the role our education system could play in

alleviating the barrier regardless of financial reasons.

 

Dimakatso is a 21 year old independent artist from Pretoria and Anthropology student at the

University of Johannesburg. Mathabe’s first inspiration to attempt creating artwork was from a piece by another senior student in her primary school when she was in Grade 1. She began seriously exploring and perfecting her craft at the age of 13. “You know, because I’m shy I use it as a voice” she describes the vehicle behind her.

Although, she effortlessly and passionately speaks about her work it comes with challenges that she’s adapted to.

“There are a lot of things that go into creating an artwork” Mathabe confirmed. She pulls out a 50ml paint and mentions that one costs R100. “Imagine how many you’ll need to paint the rest of your artwork if it’s as colourful as the work I do”. “My style is really a mixture of colours and shadows. The most constant theme is that my work always has people – the human – in the painting”.

Mathabe emphasises that definitely, the cost of creating the work makes part of its monetary value when it’s in its final form. Besides the emotional currency and life experiences that contribute in the cathartic creation of her work, Mathabe’s own allowance money supports her growing art career. Fortunately, she has managed to learn some art supplies she could recycle but also receives support from local textile designer, Odirile Khune Motsiri, who is also one of the artists she looks up to.

 

 

Alternatively, a gallery would grant her the financial assistance necessary if she was signed; which is one of the many roles of the Stevensons Gallery for their artists. The gallery which is based in Johannesburg and Cape Town was founded in 2003. On the Zoom interview with 2/13 of its directors, Sinazo Chiya and Alexander Richards they describe more of their contributions in their artists’ careers. “The galleries help you manoeuvre the art industry and help you grow your footprint” Chiya mentions. “We are the agents” Richards adds on. Granting the artist space for exhibitions, media and marketing duties and other administrative work behind-the-scenes form part of the long list of the gallery’s functions.

 Similar to Mathabe’s statement regarding the costliness of artwork, they also add that artwork that is created to be sustainable holds even more value.

“But you can actually negotiate to pay for the work in over 6 months if you will” Richards informs. The gallery is not closed to any payment negotiation that one may want to propose regarding the purchase of an artist’s work. “We even offer discounts depending on circumstances. Just ask” he continues. This is information is probably as new to you as it is to me, I got excited when he said this.

 

 

In terms of the accessibility of art, this year’s National Arts Festival going virtual is indicative that technology and the Internet have been channels that make art obtainable in a non-physical sense.

The biggest inaccessibility of art is a result of the education system not introducing art in schools. “They should hire more artists as art teachers” Mathabe adds. There aren’t enough basic education schools that teach art in South Africa which leads to poor visual literacy in terms of reading art or even just being unaware of the existence of Fine Art work. For me, that is ‘accessibility’ at its best, the one that matters – when you can understand it or create it, when that ‘art world’ is not so foreign.

 

Nevertheless, you can now support you friend’s art career buy making a deal to pay for it as long as you live. Or you could just follow them on Instagram and Facebook and promote their work by sharing it on your social media platform. Hopefully, he or she gets recognised by a gallery like Stevensons.

Otherwise, the artists continue to fight for more bursaries and more opportunities in the country.