30 - 31 AUG 2022
MAKING AND INTERPRETING ART IN 2022
A CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION FOR HONOURS AND MASTERS' STUDENTS IN THE VISUAL ARTS
Hosted by the South African Research Chair in South African Art and Visual Culture, University of Johannesburg
Detail image of "660 Fragments of doubts" by Chrisél Attewell, courtesy of the artist
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
Making and Interpreting Art brings together current work by postgraduates and artists in Southern Africa as they explore and contend with many of the urgent issues of our times.
This virtual conference and exhibition, focusing exclusively on Honours and Masters’ students in the Visual Arts and Art History, is hosted by postgraduates and postdoctoral research fellows with the NRF Research Chair in South African Art and Visual Culture at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
The conference is designed to allow Honours and Masters' students to experience and participate in an academic conference while receiving guidance, feedback and support in navigating these spaces.
The exhibition offers postgraduates an opportunity to develop professional skills for proposing and exhibiting their artwork.
PROGRAMME
TUESDAY 30 AUG 2022
14:45
Online meeting room opens
15:00 – 15:15
Welcome and introductions
PANEL 1
Practice-based Reflections
15:15 – 15:45
"Betraying the Sitter"
Odette Graskie (University of Johannesburg)
15:45 – 16:15
“MaseKINDers: a practice-based exploration of 'Kullid' identity through language and childhood games"
Angelique Bougaard (University of Johannesburg)
16:15 – 16:45
“Creative reflections of anxiety in the glass art of Sindisiwe Molefe"
Sindisiwe Molefe (Tshwane University of Technology)
16:45 – 17:00
BREAK
17:00 - 18:15
EXHIBITION OPENING and WALKABOUT
With the curator and participating artists
WEDNESDAY 31 AUG 2022
09:00
Online meeting room opens
PANEL 2
Perspectives on Visual Art in Secondary and Tertiary Education
09:15 - 09:45
“Unofficial censorship in visual arts education: A contemporary case study”
Jani Mills (University of Pretoria)
09:45 – 10:15
“Exploring the development of formal and conceptual skills of visual arts learners within the online environment”
Clinton Fourie (University of Pretoria)
10:15 - 10:45
“Exploring First-Year Visual Arts Education Students' Perceptions of Creativity”
Jean-Marie Willemse (University of Pretoria)
10:45 – 11:00
MORNING TEA BREAK
PANEL 3
Trauma, Witnessing, Healing: Past and Present
11:00 – 11:30
“Notions of Disappearance in African Artists' Responses to Postcolonial Traumatised Landscapes”
Chrisél Attewell (University of Johannesburg)
11:30 – 12:00
“The Suturing of Colonial Wounds in Discovery by Alexis Preller”
Sienta Human (University of Free State)
12:00 – 12:30
“Positioning the Body as an Archive: Tracing Violences against Women in South Africa”
Rabia Abba Omar (Stellenbosch University)
12:30 - 13:30
LUNCH BREAK
12:30 – 13:30
LUNCH BREAK
PANEL 4
Beyond Ornament: Jewellery Design and Meanings
13:30 – 14:00
“The use of the Zulu 'braille' Love Letter to diffuse the communication barriers between the visually impaired and individuals with vision”
Lwandle Ngwenya (Tshwane University of Technology)
14:00 – 14:30
“Tech-jewellery: Using Computer-Aided Design and SLS 3D printing technology to produce jewellery"
Hesti Wade (Tshwane University of Technology)
14:30 – 14:45
CLOSE OF CONFERENCE
VIRTUAL EXHIBITION
Exhibiting Artists
Alexandra Gerber
Amy Jane van den Bergh
Angelique Bougaard
Chrisél Attewell
Hesti Wade
Katherine Dewar
Louiza Combrink
Odette Graskie
ABOUT THE SARCHI CHAIR
Prof Brenda Schmahmann is the South African Research Chair in South African Art and Visual Culture (or the SARChI Chair in South African Art and Visual Culture). Hosted by the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA) and integrated with its work, this prestigious position is funded by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and administered by the National Research Foundation (NRF).
The SARChI Research Chair serves as a forum for initiatives in research by not only Prof Schmahmann but also postdoctoral fellows, postgraduate students and others working with her.
The spacious facilities of the SARChI Chair, including a small art gallery, are located at 33 Twickenham Avenue, Auckland Park, 2092 (opposite UJ Kingsway Campus).
The SARChI Chair hosts annual conferences as well as exhibitions and events.
Research falling under the ambit of the SARChI Research Chair in South African Art and Visual Culture is primarily in art history. Work included here is also, however, in disciplines and fields which are cognate to it, such as design history, fashion theory and visual communication. Some postgraduates associated with the SARChI Chair are pursuing postgraduate qualifications in only theory while others involve art or design practice as well as theory.
The SARChI Research Chair in South African Art and Visual Culture is particularly interested in research and projects within the following three rubrics:
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Gender and Visual Culture
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Public Art, Curation and the Political of Representation in the Public Domain
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Art and Design in the Context of Community Projects
Contact Prof Schmahmann brendas@uj.ac.za for information on MA and PhD Scholarships with the SARChI Chair: South African Art and Visual Culture. Prof Schmahmann is interested in supporting and supervising visual art candidates whose envisaged research fits broadly within the Chair’s three rubrics.
Click ‘Scholarships and Fellowships’ to go through to the SARChI website where you may find further necessary information on NRF eligibility criteria, the different award valuations, and application forms.
