14 Apr 2019

An official from Thapong Visual Arts Centre, Ofemile Montsiemang has encouraged Maun artists to produce extraordinary art works.

Montsiemang was speaking at the opening of a two-day workshop facilitated by Thapong Visual Arts Centre and BTC Foundation in Maun recently.

Artists, he said, ought to change their way of doing things by incorporating new ideas to produce art works of competitive standards.

He informed artists about the three-year Thapong Artist of the Year award sponsored by the BTC Foundation, which he said was open to artists across the country.

He said the BTC Foundation’s partnership with Thapong Visual Arts Centre aimed to develop visual artists in craftsmanship, adding that the winner of the competition pocketed P40 000.

Nonetheless, he said for one to win, their art works had to be unique and proof of hard work.

He encouraged those in attendance to join Thapong in order to benefit from invitations to workshops and exhibitions that would market their products at a joining fee of P150 per year.

The artists were also given insights on making artists profiles.

Commenting, Boipuso Nyoke, who is a basket weaver from Shorobe, said she kept on improving her basketry skills by incorporating her imaginary ideas and colours in order to be relevant to the now market.

Nyoke said she has three certificates from Nhabe Museum for her art works.

Another basket weaver, Manjodi Kameruka also said she came up with her own distinguished patterns from what she learnt from her parents.

An abstract sculpture, Malaki Sembumburu said he used logs from dead trees to make his works, adding that whenever he saw a log, he imagined his art works, which comprised mainly of river-based animal species such as fish, birds and other wild animals.

Sembumburu said he had realised the importance of unique products over the years since he managed to beat fellow competitors regionally, but failed at the national art competitions. ENDS