Tatham Art Gallery

Home > Articles > From the Director's desk

From the Director's desk

There are a number of targets we have set ourselves for this year. The overall strategy is to make our collections and the information they contain more accessible to a much wider audience.

We are reconfiguring the first floor administration offices to include a documentation centre. All archival material relating to artists and their works represented in the permanent collections will be moved from the library and housed in what are now my office and the Gallery’s boardroom. The boardroom function remains but I will move to an adjacent office. This means that Gerhi Janse van Vuuren moves upstairs to join his education colleague, Thulani Makhaye.

I have completed basic entries of all artworks into our database system and am presently scanning slides into digital format which will be linked to the system. This provides the basis for networking the database for research purposes and providing basic information and images of works in the permanent collections.

Much of the work mentioned above has been preparatory to a publication on the history of the Tatham Art Gallery collections. This will include a full catalogue listing but is not intended as a dry academic tome. It will be readable, useful and have contributions from many different sources, including articles written by members of the public on specific works. We anticipate launching the book in the second half of the year.

A new take on Schreiner Gallery exhibitions opens this month. Education Officer Thulani Makhaye has curated a small educational show on works by four artists with connections to Edendale. The exhibition is targeted particularly but not exclusively at Grade 11 and 12 school learners studying art. A similar show with copies of the original artworks will be hung in the Georgetown Library. We are hopeful that this initiative will introduce art pupils to the work of artists within our area.

Another new venture will be a small trade fair promoting selected local crafters and their work. This will be the responsibility of The Gallery Shop. The intention is to create marketing opportunities and forge relationships between crafters and dealers which will provide more stable income generation than we were able to achieve through the Echo Craft Bazaar.

Two new artwork storerooms were created last year, one for objets d’art, the other for the Gallery’s collections of traditional Zulu, Xhosa, Mfengu and Tsonga artifacts. I am still hopeful that a further storeroom for artworks on paper will be created during the year. Rationalizing our artwork storage will help fulfill our responsibility to ensure that items are preserved in good condition for the future.

It was with great sadness that we bade farewell to Phumzile Sithole at the end of December. We wish her well. Our DUT (Durban University of Technology) interns Sphepelo Mbanjwa, Austin Msomi and Cyril Ntuli will be with us until May.

Learnership programmes have been devised for our museum assistant, Nthuthuko Nkabane and our administrative assistant, Sibahle Khanyile. Nthuthuko will continue to assist Technical Officer, Phumlani Ntshangase, in all aspects of display and building maintenance. This will free Phumlani to spend time on DTP (desk-top publishing) for the book to which I have already referred. Sibahle will work mainly with Vimla Moodley.

So the Gallery will once again have a full work year. It will be challenging I know, but hopefully enjoyable and fulfilling. I trust your year will be the same.

Brendan Bell

Izwi Lomqondisi

Kulonyaka sihlele ukwenza izinto eziningi.Iqhinga esinalo elokwenza iqoqo lemisebenzi yobuciko yethu kanye nolwazi ngayo luvuleleke kuwonke wonke.

Sihlela ukuguqula amahhovisi ethu ezokuqondisa abenenxenye yendawo youkugcina ulwazi olunzulu. Lonke ulwazi oluqoqiwe olumayelana namaciko kanyenemisebenzi yawo ayinxenye yeqoqo lethu luzosuswa kumtapo wolwazi lwethu, luyogcinwa enqolobaneni yolwazi ezoba segunjini lokuhlanganyela okuyihhovisi lami okwamanje. Lokho –ke kuchaza ukuthi mina ngizosuka ngiye ehhovisi elincikene ne gumbi lokuhlanganyela bese u-Gerhi Janse van Vuuren afudukele emahhovisi ezemfundo kwisakhiwo esingenhla abeseduze nomlingani wakhe u Thulani Makhaye, yize kunjalo igumbi lokuhlanganyela lonangekeliphazamiseke.

Sengiqedile ukuqokelela ulwazi ngemininingwane yethu okuhlanganisa nezithombe esizozikhangisa ngazo ukwandisa ubudlelwano phakathi kwethu namanye amagalari. Lokhu kuzokwenza kubelula kubantu abacwaninga ngemisebenzi yamaciko nabathanda ukubona iqoqo lethu njengoba sizolibeka obala ngokusebenzisa izikhahlamezi.

Wonke lomsebenzi uyinxenye yamalungiselelo encwadi engomlando ngeqoqo lemisebenzi yobuciko esegalari i-Tatham. Lomsebenzi uzohlanganisa ibhukwana elichaza kabanzi ngeqoqo lethu. Lencwadi kuzobalula ukuyifundanngoba izoba nezethulo ngezihlokwana ezivela kubantu abahlukahlukene, okuhlanganisa namalunga omphakathi abhale ngemisebenzi yamaciko ayithandayo kuleliqoqo. Sihlela ukuyethula enxenyeni yesibili yonyaka.

Igalari i-Schreiner izoba nombukiso omusha.Obhekene nezemfundo nokufundisa uThulani Makhaye uzokwethula umbukiso wamaciko amane (4) adabuka e-Eden dale. Lombukiso uhlelelwe abafundi bebanga le-11 nele-12 abenza ezobuciko. Omunye umbukiso oyinxenye yalo uzoba kumtapo wolwazi wase-Georgetown kepha kuwona kuzobukiswa ngemifanekiso yezithombe zalamaciko. Siyathemba ukuthi ngalomzamo sizokwazi ukwethula ezobuciko kubafundi nasemphakathini esiwakhele.

Elinye igxathu sihlela ukuba nendali yemisebenzi yezandla encane.Leli yigxathu elivela esitolo sethu semisebenzi yezandla. Inhloso yendali ukuba izingcweti zemisebenzi yezandla zikwazi ukuba ukuhlomulangemisebenzi yazo nyangazonke. Lendali izovula amathuba okuxhumana phakathi kwabthengi kanye nalezingcweti ngendlela engcono kunohlelo lwe-Echo Craft Bazaar.

Sakhe amagumbi amabili okugcina iqoqo lethu.Igumbi lokuqala elokugcina imisebenzi emincane yobuciko ,elesibili elokugcina imvunulo yesintu yamaZulu,amaMfengu kanye namaTsonga. Ngiyathemba ukuthilisengakhiwa elinye igumbi lesithathu lemisebenzi eyenzelwe ephepheni sizoba nalo ungakapheli unyaka. Ukuhlela kahle izinqolobane zethu kuzokwenza ukuthi sigcine iqoqo lethu esimweni esamukelekile.

Ngokukhulu ukudabuka sithi ndlelanhle kuPhumzile Sithole, ngoDisemba. Simufisela inhlanhla. Sinabafundi abavela kusikhungo semfundo ephakeme i-Durban University of Technology (DUT) abango: Siphephelo Mbanjwa, Austin Msomi no Cyril Ntuli esizoba nabo kuze kube nguMeyi Kulonyaka.

Sethule uhlelo lokufunda kumbasizi bethu uSibahle Khanyile, isekela-mphathi beno Nthuthuko Nkabana. UNtuthuko Nkabana,okwamananje uzoqhubeka nokusebenzisana noPhumlani Ntshangase (Obhekene neSimo sonke seGalari) ekubhekeni sonke isimo sesakhiwo sethu kanye nemibukiso esinayo. Loluhlelo luzukhulula uPhumlani ekwenzeni imisebenzi yakhe yokuhlela amabhukwana ethu kanye nencwadi esengike ngaphawula ngayo. USibahle Khanyile uzosensana no Vimla Moodley.

Igalari ibhekene nomsebenzi wonyaka wonke. Kuzoba nezinselelo eziningi, ngiyazi, sizozimisela sithokoze. Ngiyathemba ukuthi nawe uzowuthokozela owakho unyaka.

Brendan Bell

More Articles