Baker’s Bay retreat offers creative rehabilitation for artists

The StArt Art Gallery is hosting the 2023 Baker’s Bay Artists’ Retreat at the Namibian Arts Association (NAA).

The retreat will run until 29 February next year.

For this iteration of the retreat, artists focused their thinking and creative processes on the theme ‘Creative Rehabilitation’.

Cofounder of StArt Art Gallery Helen Harris says the artists’ retreat is part of the ‘Art Can Transform’ project initiated by the agency at Oranjemund, with proud sponsorship and support from Namdeb Diamond Corporation.

“This is the third iteration of the project,” she says.

“The first retreat saw six artists living and working at the deserted mining town of Bogenfels in Tsau //Khaeb National Park in 2021, and in 2022 it was held with 13 artists at Baker’s Bay, also in Tsau
//Khaeb National Park,” she says.

This year’s theme encourages artists to consider how their work could help to rehabilitate the former mining area and envision new uses for its existing infrastructure.

“Rehabilitation is an important part of post-mining land use and artists were encouraged to explore the potential role that creativity and art could play when mining eventually stops in the area,” she said.

Artworks on display in this exhibition are by artists from Namibia, including Wil-Merie Greyling (Swakopmund), Immanuel Chiete (Oranjemund), Julia Hango (Swakopmund), Elisia Nghidishange (Omaruru), Ismael Shivute (Windhoek), Natache Iilonga (Windhoek), Tity Tshilumba (Windhoek), Nicky Marais (Oranjemund), and Lila Swanepoel (Windhoek).

Artworks by Anita Sambanje (Angola), Jeannette Unite (South Africa) and Line Krom (Germany) are also on display.

Some 12 artists attended an artists’ retreat at Baker’s Bay in Tsau //Khaeb National Park from 9 to 21 September.

The exhibition features a wide range of artworks in traditional and new mediums, including sculptural works made from recycled metals from a nearby dump.

“In various ways, paintings respond to the landscape, drawing from topographic imagery and, in some cases, using pigments from the earth. Photography and collages incorporate archival images and documents,” Harris says.

She says the exhibit features imaginative architectural plans that explore new ways of living in the landscape.

“The remote environment of Baker’s Bay provided artists with a chance to pursue their creative practice in an uninterrupted, dedicated manner.

“They used this opportunity to learn from each other and be inspired by the incredibly unique environment and its social history,” she said. – unWrap.online