17 Nov 2024

 Women in Kuru: The Gathering art exhibition celebrates indigenous heritage, culture and practices of D’kar, especially San women.

The exhibition which is being held at the National Museum from November 14 until December 27, has on display different art works of 10 women from the San people, with the artworks conveying a deep relationship with nature, vegetation, families and homes in D’kar.

Speaking at the exhibition opening on Thursday, Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) CEO, Professor Alinah Segobye said the exhbition celebrated and recognised women with different stories about the life and environment of the Kalahari.

Therefore, Prof. Segobye said it was important for the artistic work to be protected so that it benefitted owners without being copied.

“Thankfully, Botswana has moved many steps ahead. We now have COSBOTS, which protects the right of artists so that their work can be protected and be paid what is due to them,” she said.

Recurate Art Consultants & Curators director, Renee Eisen-Khonat, who is the exhibition organiser, said the Women of Kuru: The Gathering, was an evocative art exhibition dedicated to the remarkable creativity of Botswana’s indigenous San artists.

Eisen-Khonat said the exhibition showcased the roots of all artists’ practices and called upon the public to support exhibitors who came as far as D’kar to showcase in Gaborone.

An exhibitor, Ncaote Thama aged 51, said she was passionate about art because it allowed her to share who she was and where she came from.

People who buy her work, she said were mostly tourists.

Thama said she joined the Kuru Art Project in 2010 and had made paintings and linocuts that conveyed her love of art and knowledge of the Kalahari.

The Kuru Art Project, established to support and promote the artistic talents of the San community in D’kar, serves as a platform for artists to share their stories, traditions and perspectives with the world. ENDS