Thapong Visual Arts Center has sponsored an art workshop at the Nhabe Museum in Maun. The purpose of the workshop is to find talented painters in the remote areas on Ngamiland and offer them the wonderful opportunity of art education, contact with other artists, networking with Thapong and above all showing them that their dreams can come true in that it is possible to make a living from their passion.
Boifang was accepted into the workshop, and was kindly allowed to leave the program for an hour each morning to attend his business course at Katlego Tutorial College.
Ivy Radipodi, hailing from Molepolole, Botswana was the fabulous facilitator for the week long program. Currently teaching Art and Design at Gaborone Senior Secondary School, Ivy has a BA (Honors) in Fine Arts from the University in Capetown, S.A. Ivy gave the participants the theme of HIV/AIDS in Botswana and Boifang and his fellows used their imaginations to produce their work which included an oil on canvas. This was the first opportunity for Boifang to explore this media.
Workshop topics wisely included a seminar focusing on the importance of saving money during which a local bank offered the participants a chance to open a bank account. Also highlighted was the importance of originality in art and developing one’s own concepts and style.
On Saturday, 19 June the work of the workshop participants went on display at the Nhabe Musem and a program celebrating both the workshop and the opening of Basket Show found representatives from Thapong, the American Embassy and Nhabe Museum. Boifang’s mother, Gladys attended the opening with me and she was thrilled with the whole program.
I met with Boifang (still walking on clouds) later in the day, and I have never known him to be so talkative. Thanks to the wonderful program, he is now able to utilize space at the Nhabe Museum as a place to go and paint and Thapong will sponsor art materials for him to work with.
I wish I could remember all the names of the people involved in the whole program so that I could properly thank them in print. By name I remember of course Ivy Radipodi, Reginald Bakwena the Coordinator of Thapong Visual Arts Center, Joyce and John from Nhabe. Also Mr. Mohabe, the Senior Teacher at Maun Secondary school and Gurudev Kovi, the Art Teacher at Maun Secondary School who also participated in the workshop.
Mr. Mohabe and Mr Kovi have asked me to ring them when I next come to Maun so that we can meet and discuss some of their programs. Boifang is excited as they have invited him to assist in teaching drawing to the students at Maun Secondary School.
No comments:
Post a Comment