‘Collecting the Nation’ visits Rundu

‘Collecting the Nation’, an exhibition of artworks from the National Art Gallery of Namibia’s (NAGN) Permanent Collection will be on display at the Maria Mwengere Culture Centre in Rundu from 24 March until 26 May.

As part of the NAGN’s mandate to serve the Namibian nation as a whole, the mobile exhibition will bring parts of the Permanent Collection to the regions as an educational resource and an opportunity to enjoy and appreciate art.

As 2017 hosts another year of the Bank Windhoek Triennial, a nationwide competition, ‘Collecting the Nation’ showcases reproductions of artworks from past Bank Windhoek Triennial participants and winners which have been collected by the NAGN.

The Triennial encourages national participation in Namibia’s largest visual arts exhibition, and has yielded exceptional results showcasing the best of Namibian arts and crafts.

The Permanent Collection houses a large variety of works collected from the inception of the gallery as an institution in 2005, whose mandate is to collect, preserve, study, exhibit and stimulate art appreciation.

From printmaking by Kabelo Kim Modise to sculpture by Erik Schnack, the selection of artworks in ‘Collecting the Nation’ reveals the variety of media embraced by Namibian artists. Paul Kiddo’s realist painting of the Christuskirche shows the merit and skill of the artist in rendering intricate detail, while Chris Snyman’s ‘Guardian Angel’ emotively gestures toward bold and abstract expressions. Ceramicist Sarie Maritz and basket weaver Elizabeth Modise reflect the Bank Windhoek Triennial as an exhibition thus far inclusive of exceptionally crafted products.

Like the Triennial, the Permanent Collection is as varied as our society is diverse, being made up of over 300 artworks, from works by around 150 artists. This collection is housed in the NAGN storage, and is shown throughout the annual schedule in sections in exhibitions in the gallery curated around various themes.

For the duration of ‘Collecting the Nation’, the NAGN will work with the Maria Mwengere Centre and facilitators to get artists from the area involved in workshops and school visits to the exhibition while it is on display.

For more information, contact ccurator@nagn.org.na, grncurator@nagn.org.na or pro@nagn.org.na, or phone 061 231160.