Namibian Gallery Shines at SA Art Fair

Booth L7 at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair (Ictaf) comes to life like the fictional Embassy of Namibian Art in the Mother City.

The Project Room, an esteemed Windhoek gallery, sets up shop to showcase the work of artists Maria Mbereshu and Anne

Lacheiner-Kuhn in a burst of bright, spoon-themed textiles and vivid, fever dreamlike collages alongside 120 plus fellow exhibitors.

Over the prestigious fair’s three days, a combination of curators Frieda Lühl and Laschandré Coetzee’s down-to-earth charm, Lacheiner-Kuhn’s blue hair, eccentric outfits and even wilder collages, as well as Mbereshu’s mesmerising motifs draw steady visitation.

Many of those who pass by, peering in and stopping to clink a glass of champagne, are Namibians.

All eager to witness what Coetzee supposes is the first Namibian booth at Ictaf, exhibiting Namibian artists and fair alumni such as Stephané Edith Conradie, Tangeni Kambudu, Lynette Diergaardt, Tuli Mekondjo and Nicola Brandt come to pay their respects, as do notable local artists and curators Margaret Courtney-Clarke, Nashilongweshipwe Mushaandja, Nicky Marais, Heidi Louw, Ismael Shivute, Elizabeth Shinana, Actofel Ilovu, Jaimee-Lee Diergaardt and Jo Rogge, among many more.

“So many Namibians came to get their passport stamped,” says Coetzee.

The Project Room, which has exhibited at Ictaf in collaboration with Rogge’s NJE Collective, had previously attempted to get into the show on its own steam, but was unsuccessful.

“This year we got in and I think we’re the first Namibian gallery to exhibit at Cape Town Art Fair, which is quite nice,” says Coetzee.

CELEBRATING NAMIBIAN ART, STORIES

“For me, what was significant about this art fair is that, three years ago, The Project Room did some strategising and we decided our main focus would be to celebrate Namibian art and stories and take them beyond our borders,” she says.

“It’s nice to see the commitment we made three years ago grow. Each year we’re able to add yet another layer to it, another experience and another opportunity for Namibian artists to have Namibian stories and voices be a part of global culture because at the moment we don’t have much of that.”

This year’s Ictaf curatorial theme was ‘PLAY’, and with around 30 000 visitors attending each year, the fair is certainly a site of colour, conversation and spirited interaction.

Particularly playful is Lacheiner-Kuhn, whose artfully clashing exotic animal-themed Ictaf outfits are an exhibition all their own. Making her Ictaf debut after a bit of a creative block, the Swakopmund and United Kingdom-based artist dives in with her signature enthusiasm.

“It’s been a lot of talking and a lot of energy,” says Lacheiner-Kuhn.

“I gained a lot of satisfaction from interaction and also some self-worth. It’s also been amazing how people look at the work and comment on how queer it is, although it’s pretty safe given what my work is normally like,” she says.

‘PUSH THE SALE TOO’

Excited about the contacts she’s made throughout the fair and thrilled by the number of Namibians who visited the booth, Lacheiner-Kuhn’s takeaway from the experience is to “push the sale, not just the story”.

“I’m very good at telling the story, but not so good at pushing the sale. Of course, that aspect normally goes to the gallerist,” she says.

“But every day of this fair I had a different, bright outfit on. I was out there, in character. Because what I learnt during London fairs is that you need to be memorable. People will recognise your work because they remember you as a person as well.”

Beyond the significant commercial focus of Ictaf, Lacheiner-Kuhn was also incredibly inspired.

“I love how people build and make things. There have really been some incredible works. Whether they’re made with toothpicks or beads, it is really inspiring and you think: Oh, maybe I need to push what I do to another level,” she says.

“It’s hard to be at a fair. It’s a very commercial space, but the exposure you get to other artworks, other people’s ideas and their working methods, that’s something special.”

Mbereshu, who is also making her Ictaf debut, echoes Lacheiner-Kuhn’s sentiments about being inspired.

“It’s been overwhelming. There are a lot of people and a lot of galleries,” she says.

“I’m learning and I’m enjoying the networking, especially in terms of future projects. I met a diplomat’s wife and she says she’s organising something for African lady artists. She took my details so I’m excited, even though I didn’t sell much.”

Mbereshu may not have sold much, but she did sell a piece to South African celebrity and former Miss South Africa Jo Ann Strauss.

The beauty queen and businesswoman, like many of Mbereshu’s admirers, loved her work’s vibrant colours and her spoon motif.

“When people come to dinner, they might see my piece in her house,” she says.

“She said she collects and every time she buys an artwork, she takes a photo with the artist. So we took a picture and she took my name.”

MENTORS

Certainly a thrilling first Ictaf sale for Mbereshu, she says she couldn’t have done it without The Project Room.

“It’s really so good to have a gallery because, for the longest time, it was just me. With The Project Room, I’ve gotten to meet and sell to private collectors and I feel like my career is moving because of them,” she says.

“The way they mentor you, I’m confident about my future, that this could be my career, that I can actually live off my art,” she says.

Reflecting on her long journey with The Project Room, Lacheiner-Kuhn is looking forward to many more years together.

“They really look after their artists and they really push for opportunities like getting Maria a sponsored flight here. That is so important because Maria’s experience of this makes her grow as an artist. Not every gallery does that,” says Lacheiner-Kuhn.

“The Namibian art market is extremely small and there’s only so much you can sell there before it’s saturated,” she says.

“As one work of mine says, ‘it takes a community to make an artist’. The Project Room is really pushing Namibian art to a different level where it is taken seriously.

“It may not yet be recognisable, but it’s taken seriously. And that’s why I’ll always work with them if they’ll have me.”

Having completed a residency at The Project Room in Windhoek, exhibited with them at home and standing shoulder to shoulder with the gallery at Ictaf, Mbereshu puts her sentiments simply.

“For me, The Project Room is home.”

– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com