Bag Factory Artists' Studios David Koloane Award Writers' Mentorship

Bag Factory Artists Studios

David Koloane Award 2017

The David Koloane Award is a celebration of the life and career of Dr. David Koloane, internationally renowned artist and co-founder of the Bag Factory Artists' Studios. For the first time, the 2017 Award was given to arts writers, instead of artists, as it has done in the past. This year's focus on writing aims to honour Koloane as an accomplished writer, alongside his better-known accolades as an artist and curator.

The Award provides three young aspiring art writers, with a two-month mentorship at the Bag Factory, guided by established South African art writers and critics, Robyn Sassen and Ashraf Jamal. The programme focuses on developing critical writing on contemporary visual art in South Africa. The recipients of this year‰ۡó»s award are Siya Masuku, Lukho Witbooi and Nolan Stevens.

The writers have conducted in depth interviews with artists currently working at the Bag Factory. Works by the artists about whom they have written, were curated for an exhibition to be shown at the FNB Joburg Art Fair. The articles developed by the writers have been complied, along with pieces by Sassen and Jamal, into a publication. Also included is a piece by David Koloane, titled Walking the Tightrope, which was first published in the catalogue for the second Johannesburg Biennale in 1997.

The articles written by the three young writers span from the history of the Bag Factory Artists' Studios, to the contemporary themes emerging out of the current artists' work. Steven gives an overview of the institution through comparing the work of younger and older artists working in the studios. Masuku looks at the work of female artists in the space, past and present, and Witbooi does an in-depth analysis of Onyis Martins work, which evokes themes of memory and loss.

Title: Bag Factory Artists Studios David Koloane Award Writers' Mentorship 2017

Co-ordination and layout by Aysha Waja and Tayla Lubinsky̴Ì_

Photography by Thys Dullaart and Lungile Zaphi̴Ì_

Published by Bag Factory Artists' Studios, Johannesburg. 2017

Paperback, 76 pages