The Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG), situated in the Inner City Precinct of Johannesburg, has issued several pieces of its works of art on loan to be exhibited in 3 international and 1 local art exhibition.
The MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Art in Debrecen, Hungary, has requested a loan of Fifty Six (56) works of art from permanent collection of JAG to be exhibited in an exhibition titled “From Monet to Warthol: Masterpieces of the Johannesburg Art Gallery” for the period of 11th June 2018 to 18th October 2018.
The exhibition will open on Monday, 18th June in Debrecen Hungary and run until 18th October 2018. From Hungary the 56 pieces of art will be exhibited in the Palazzo Ducale in Genea, Italy in a similarly titled exhibition from 01st November 2018 to 30th March 2019.
The City of Johannesburg through JAG has previously entered into cultural exhibition projects with Vidi srl, where works of art from the collection of JAG are displayed in important locations around Europe, and are therefore made available to an international audience, many of whom may not have been exposed to South African art before.
The exhibitions will highlight some of the important international artists in the collection of JAG, such as Monet, Picasso and Andy Warhol. It will also showcase some important South African artists for the Italian audience, including George Pemba, Selby Mvusi and Maggie Laubser.
Thirdly, the Skissernes Museum in the Netherlands has requested a loan of the Soft Vengeance (Jan Van Riebeeck) 2015 sculpture by Harron Gunn Salie for an exhibition that will be held from 4th October 2018 to 17th February 2019 titled “Memory Matters”. The piece will be feautured alongside other recognised pieces of contemporary art from artists coming from all over the world including among others Egypt, Turkey, Angola, and Germany.
The local loan was by the Standard Bank Art Gallery in South Africa, which has requested 3 peieces of art by Christo Coetzee to be featured in the retrospective exhibition of the artist’s work towards the end of 2018.
The City of Joburg through the Arts, Culture and Heritage Directorate has entered into these and other agreements for inter-museum and gallery loans. This is done in an effort to foster relationships with accredited institutions both nationally and internationally. In keeping with International Museum Standards, the City does not charge the borrowers fees for the loans. Instead the City gains exposure through its artworks being featured in exhibitions all around the world.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development, Cllr Nonhlanhla Sifumba stated “By participating in such exhibitions the Johannesburg Art Gallery – one of the artistic treasures of the City establishes itself as a world class institution and gains further prestige in the art world”.
Cllr Sifumba further stated that the promotion of cultural assets in this manner is in keeping with the reputation and mandate of the Gallery and the City, as well as boosting the careers of young artists. Establishing good relations with international museums also ensures the potential for future collaboration and assistance.
To ensure the safety of the large consignment of the pieces of art going to the exhibitions in Hungary and Italy, 2 curators from JAG supervised the packaging, packing and transportation of the Artworks both in South Africa and the country of loan destination. The Curators will also be at hand in the destinations of the artworks to supervise the curating of the exhibition and to ensure that the space, lighting and climate control etc. for the artworks displayed is in line with the Museum Standards.
The City of Joburg will be credited for ownership of the artworks in each of these exhibitions and in any print material that may emanate from them. This will raise the profile of JAG as an attractive gallery for both local and international art lovers. The reputation of JAG as an attractive gallery has suffered in recent years due to the neglect that resulted in parts of the gallery being closed to the public, and some art work being moved from areas that were damaged by rain.
Most of the urgent work to fix the roof, and effect much needed painting in some areas has been done. However, the gallery needs funding to restore it to its former glory. With the budget constraints that are prevalent in the entire City, raising this amount of money becomes a mammoth task that can only be accomplished through partnerships with the private sector both locally and internationally.
Cllr Sifumba has been invited by the MODEM gallery to attend the opening of the exhibition, and to spend a few days in Hungary meeting with various stakeholders in the art and cultural space to explore further areas of collaboration.
“This is a welcome invitation that came at an opportune time when most of the City’s budget has been allocated for primary service delivery issues such as housing and the provision of basic services infrastructure and services in line with ‘Diphetokgo’ to deal with the massive backlogs that the City is working to eradicate in the face of diminishing budgets.
Forging relationships with the private sector to assist in the ‘soft services’ of the City therefore becomes crucial for the viability and sustainability of our art and cultural treasures in the City” stated Sifumba.
Cllr Sifumba further stated that she is confident that the attention the gallery will receive in these exhibitions will result in the flow of much needed footfall and investments that will not only contribute to financial vaibility and sustainability of the gallery, but equally important to the economic growth of the City as a whole.
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