VISUAL ARTS

USCAA MEETINGS

The 15 year-old Upper South Coast Art Association (USCAA) holds monthly meetings in the Activities Room at the Amanzimtoti Civic Centre. These include either a demonstration, lecture, video, slide show or a crit session on members' work. The next meeting is on November 3 at 19h00. Phone Henriett Wolmarans on 96-2029 for details or how to join USCAA. New members welcome.

NCAG EXHIBITION

The North Coast Art Group will host their annual exhibition of award-winning and selected works at the Alliance Française, 22 Sutton Crescent, from November 28 to December 6.

TECHNIKON ART

The Technikon Natal Art Gallery has works by final year graphic design students from November 16 to 20, to be followed by the Emma Smith Overseas Scholarship Award exhibition from November 27 to December 4.

WORKS ON PAPER

Senior school pupils document people they consider to have played a positive role in their communities in an exhibition titled Works on Paper running at The Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg until November 15.

The selectors this year will be Barbara Siedle, Fransie Pretorius and Gail Baxter who will choose the winners in the four various categories.

These include the Meta Orton Art Group (MOAG) Floating Trophy (best pain-ting); the Peter Moir Floating Trophy (best drawing); The North Coast Art Group Floating Trophy (best work in an alternative art form); and the Caroline Smart Floating Trophy for the most promising newcomer (any medium).

The exhibition will be open from 09h30 to 16h00. For details contact Wendy Courier on 568-1895.

SHIRLEY BRANDON

Featured artist at the Elizabeth Gordon Gallery in Windermere Road this month will be Shirley Brandon.

SINGAKWENZA

The recent Singakwenza exhibition at the BAT Centre of mobiles, paintings, potato and lino prints by physically disabled students from Emalendeni Hostel in Umlazi was a sheer delight.

Presented by the Thuthukhani Art Workshops, run by the ArtWorks Trust, it fulfilled the exhibition's title "We can do it".

Details of the ArtWorks Trust from Liz Palmer on 301-2925.

Anyone out there saying that the arts can't overcome most disabilities?

MILLENNIUM PAINTING

The Winsor and Newton 2000 Millen-nium Painting Competition, launched in South Africa in July at the Sandton Civic Gallery, is open to professional as well as amateur painters. It attracts entries from as far afield as Iceland, Hong Kong, Sweden and Vietnam.

The theme is My Country in the Year 2000 and the competition celebrates the dawn of a new millennium as well as 100 years of partnership between First National Bank and Ashley and Radmore (SA distributors of W&N products). The SA leg of the competition is sponsored by FNB Vita and Ashley and Radmore.

Some 50 semi-finalists will be selected for an exhibition at the Sandton Civic Gallery in early April 1999. Each will receive R300 worth of W&N materials and a celebratory millennium calendar featuring their entries. Five finalists will then be chosen whose works will be air-freighted to the United Kingdom to compete with 50 other countries for the top 12 winning positions.

Bren Brophy, curator of NSA is among the panel of judges and the closing date for entries is December 31. Further details or entry forms from Keith Radmore on (011) 493-6509.

O'DONNELL OILS

Prominent South African and Irish artist John O'Donnell will host his annual Christmas exhibition at his gallery in Botha's Hill from November 28 to December 13. The exhibition will contain works that John has been wor-king on for many years, some as far back as 1980. He has combined these works with his own poetry that spans the same period.

Well-known for his vibrant works that depict the changing nation of South Africa, John is also known in Ireland for his landscapes of the West and his haunting poetry. In the United States he is recognised for his life drawings and abstract compositions.

John hopes to take this exhibition with him to New York in February/March next year and then to Dublin in June.

The O'Donnell Gallery is situated at 32 Old Main Road, Botha's Hill. For details phone 765-7123.

AZARIA MBATHA HONOURED IN DURBAN

Three exhibitions running until November 29 honour artist, Azaria Mbatha, known worldwide for his linocut and silkscreen printmaking.

Born in 1941 in Mahlabatini, Azaria Mbatha studied at the ELC Art and Craft Centre in Rorke's Drift and later in Sweden. Returning briefly to teach at Rorke's Drift in 1967/68, he then settled permanently in Sweden.

The African Art Centre and the BAT Centre have exhibitions of Azaria Mbatha prints. These are for sale and

To see the development of Azaria's work over the years, the Durban Art Gallery has a retrospective exhibition featuring works in media other than linocuts, the majority of which have never been seen in public before.

Works are on loan from most major South African art museum collections, private collectors in KZN and from the collection of Azaria himself.

DAG EVENTS

Reuben Elijah Nxele will give a walk-about of the Azaria Mbatha Retrospective Exhibition on November 5 at 13h00 in the Durban Arts Gallery. The DAG also has wide range of workshops on offer:

Nov 4-5: Potato printing workshop. Cost R25. Bring large potatoes and half a metre of white cotton or calico.

Nov 4-5: Tie 'n die workshops. Cost R30. Bring a metre of light coloured viscose or cotton (pre-washed).

Nov 12-13: Grass weaving workshop. Cost R25

Nov 16-20: Hands on workshop for teens. Bring pencil and paper.

Nov 26: Stained glass workshop. Cost R15. Bring a bottle or glass to paint.

All workshops take place from 09h00 to 12h00. Booking essential on 300-6238.

TRANSGRESSIONS?

The Transgressions? exhibition, com-prising installation and sculptures by Fiona Kirkwood with photographic inter-pretations by Val Adamson and Barry Downard, is to be opened on November 8 at 16h00 at the NSA Gallery.

"The base materials for these sculptures consist of discarded industrial waste from factories that is used in the manufacture of functional fibre products," Fiona Kirkwood explains. "I have chosen this medium for its visual appeal and because plastic is a 20th century invention which has impacted positively and negatively in our planet."

Fiona Kirkwood will give walkabouts on November 12 and 19 at 12h00. The exhi-bition, which closes on November 26, is sponsored by Hirt and Carter, AGFA, Haggie Rand Fibres, Services Interna-tional and Big Ink.

A performance piece by The Fantastic Flying Fish Dance Company, choreo-graphed by David Gouldie, follows the exhibition opening. (More performances on November 14 and 21 at 11h00).

AFRICA GALLERY NEWS

Featured artist this month at the Africa Art Gallery in Umhlanga is Hennie Niemann. "Having exhibited very suc-cessfully in Germany recently, Hennie Niemann is producing some of the most wonderful figure work," says Gallery manager Lynette van Rooyen.

The gallery's year-end Christmas Exhi-bition will be opened on November 26. It will feature works by Errol Boyley, Christopher Haskins, Audrey Fourie and Peter Hall.

Africa Art Gallery offers professional framing, restoration of oil and water-colour paintings as well as the regilding of antique frames.

More details from Lynette at the Africa Gallery, Granada Centre, Umhlanga Rocks. Phone 561-2661.

ILIYAS MAKUYI

An exhibition of mono-prints and soft sculptures by Technikon Natal third year student Iliyas Makuyi opens on November 15 at 19h00 in the Dance Studio at the BAT Centre.

(The exhibition opening coincides with Khwezi Gule's exhibition in the BAT Democratic Gallery)

INANDA SPECIAL ART

In September, the Inanda Special School in Parlock held a Special Day to show-case work done by the school and other similar educational institutions such as Ningizimu School for the Severely Mentally Handicapped.

"Inanda Special school has 112 pupils aged from 6 to 23 in various stages of retardation, from the severely mentally retarded to the mildly handicapped and the educable. All pupils take art as a subject," says art teacher Zethu Mkwanazi.

With no formal art training as such - "except for a little bit in teachers' training college" - Zethu has an energy and love for art that was no doubt inspi-red by her father, the late Eric Ngcobo. An artist himself, he was the first black inspector for the department of educa-tion and culture in Ulundi.

ENJOY

When asked what her pupils enjoy most, her answer was immediate: "Colouring-in, painting and collage. It's therapeutic and when the work is completed they have a tremendous sense of pride and achievement."

One of Zethu's prize pupils is Patricia Lepii (15) whose control in making collage is excellent, considering her co-ordination problems. Her fish made of various pasta and lentils sprayed with gold and silver was particularly notable.

Most of the pupils live in Inanda and, while they are supposed to move on to sheltered employment in workshops when they are 23 or over, all too often these options are not available so they are allowed to stay on at Inanda Special School rather than be launched into a bustling and fast-moving world for which they are not mentally equipped.

OPEN DAY

The Durban Art Gallery will host an Open Day at its Conservation Centre on November 27 between 09h00 and 13h00. Situated at 102-120 Prince Alfred Street, the centre houses the conservation and restoration facilities of the DAG.

Art galleries preserve their permanent collections for posterity, on behalf of society. They are custodians of people's artistic and historic heritages. Unless these works of art are stored and cared for in the correct and safest manner, their physical condition will deteriorate rapidly, particularly in Durban's hostile, sub-tropical climate.

The Open Day will give the public the opportunity to see these comprehensive storage facilities and assure themselves that the Durban Art Gallery's collection is in very fine condition.

Booking is essential. Phone Jill Addleson on 332-7286 or fax 368-3093.

MICHAEL MBATHA

Born in 1976 in Mkhambathini near Table Mountain, Michael Mbatha is a self-taught artist with an passion for cars, helicopters and aeroplanes. This passion stems from his dream that, one day, he will design cars for the motor industry.

Using scrap metal and other recycled materials, Mbatha creates his own vehicles with flashing lights and perso-nalised number-plates, even electrical motors which propel their wheels.

An exhibition of Michael's work takes place at the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg from November 27 to December 13. It has been sponsored by the iNdlovu Regional Council and is held in association with the NgeZandla Zethu Arts and Crafts Bazaar.

REDEYE

The Durban Art Gallery becomes the RedEye Art Gallery this month on November 6 at 18h00. RedEye is an ini-tiative to involve the under-40's in the activities of the DAG. On offer is a special exhibition of challenging and interesting art as well as dance items, fashion and live music.

Membership is R25 a year (students R10) and benefits include concessions at every RedEye Art function, invitations to DAG exhibition openings and Friends functions such as lectures and talks by artists and a quarterly newsletter.

For more information contact Suzy on 23-7297 or e-mail: suzybell@dbn.lla.net or Riason Naidoo on 300-6238.

OPEN AIR ART

Open-air art exhibitions at the Pavilion Site on the Marine Parade support local charities. Art Alfresco takes place on November 15 while Art by the Sea takes place on November 8, 22 and 29. Art Alfresco can be seen at the Village Green in Umhlanga on November 1.

Part of the proceeds go to the National Cancer Association (Art Alfresco) and the Child Welfare Society (Art by the Sea).

BOTANICAL ART

One of the world's most important exhi-bitions of botanical art is on show at the Old Mutual Conference Centre at Kirstenbosch until November 15.

The Shirley Sherwood Collection is des-cribed as one of the finest collections of contemporary artists in private hands. More than 100 paintings from this col-lection, which now exceeds 300 works, will be on view.

KHWEZI GULE

This month, the BAT Centre's Demo-cratic Gallery will host an exhibition of prints, drawings and two-dimensional sculptures by third year Technikon Natal student Khwezi Gule. The exhibition opens on November 15 at 19h00.