Tatham Art Gallery
“What a cultural gem! If you find yourself visiting Pietermaritzburg you cannot afford not to visit this gem of a museum. The Tatham Art Gallery has a cross-cultural permanent collection, and hosts regular temporary exhibitions relevant to its mission of providing a bridge between the colonial past and the new democratic dispensation and its idealistic future. Grounded in the KZN ethos but speaking to an international set of artistic ideas, this museum will surprise you with the depth and variety of its offerings. The museum shop is well-stocked with unique items of interest and the restaurant offers suitable well priced fare.”
Review from Tripadvisor
Write a review on TRIPADVISOR! Follow us on FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM too!
TATHAM ART GALLERY IS OPEN
Entrance is FREE
Tuesday to Sunday 09h00 – 17h00 Monday closed
The Coffee Shop will be open as follows: Tuesday to Sunday 09h00 – 16h00
Gallery closed to the public on Mondays
Closed on 25 and 26 December, 01 January, Good Friday, 1 May
EXHIBITIONS
JEAN ELWORTHY ARTIST’S STATEMENT --
FRUIT, FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE EXHIBITION TATHAM GALLERY 2024
Botanical Art has an important part to play in the heritage and preservation of our plants. Exploring and depicting intricate details and their variety brings an awareness and reverence for creation, which inspires and creates a desire to imitate and conserve. And with that comes a responsibility – by painting natural flora, we draw attention to what might be regarded as commonplace to the notice of others. To bring the so-called “ordinary or simple” to the public’s notice is our task as botanical illustrators.
In gardening, there has been a significant shift from exotic to indigenous plant material to utilize our country’s various biomes. We have great inspiration from designers such as the renowned Dutch Piet Oudolf, who has brought grasses to the fore. Botanical artists are now also encouraged to include plants’ pollinators and natural habitat. One can’t have the butterfly without the caterpillar. We can’t have the food without the pollinator. And perhaps there is a message for humans too, we need the diversity and symbiosis of both the “butterflies and the caterpillars” in our lives.
I don’t believe anger and anguish are the only authentic human experiences. The future must be about hope and education. While much is spent on purchasing works of art, it is a pity that not enough attention is drawn to the source of inspiration, our natural habitat. The joy of discovering perfection and alignment of petals, or symmetry of veins, draws one in closer to an appreciation of the natural world. Founding and funding botanical gardens, educating and exciting through lectures and walkabouts, would create an awareness, a desire to learn more. Commenting on a bloom, recording it’s glorious detail, uplifts and nourishes the soul. It enables us to look at the wider picture, a respite given to us from worldly woes, something eternal that appears season after season.
We are fortunate in South Africa to possess a wide variety of plants in all regions. And the most wonderful characteristic of plants is that there is no waste product- for the artist, a plant is fascinating to record from seed to dried seedhead.
Mark Twain: “Training is everything, the peach was once a bitter almond, cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.” ( this always makes me laugh! )
PROPOSED BOTANICAL 2 DAY ART COURSE WITH JEAN ELWORTHY
This will be a 2 Day course from 9.30 to 4.00pm.
Students to bring their own materials and equipment.
DAY 1
Brief discussion of materials, subjects, shapes , composition and tonal values.
How to measure, foreshortening, veins.
Lighting, and pencil drawing on cartridge paper.
Transferring drawing onto watercolour paper.
DAY 2
Colour charts, short demo on paint application and glazing.
Building up glazes, dry brushwork.
A brief walkabout.
Final glazing.
I will supply more detailed notes to prospective students.
“Ordering Chaos”
an exhibition of sculptures
by Carl Roberts
Main Room, Tatham Art Gallery
Opening on Sunday 10 March 2024 at 11h00
Closing Sunday 21 April 2024 at 17h00
“Ordering Chaos” an exhibition of sculptures
shows the development and growth of this artist (Carl Roberts) over a number of years. From a student and lecturer to a full-time artist. The body of work which consists mostly human figures and which varies in mediums; from wood and stone to bone and bronze finds unity in that that works are made from chaotic natural materials that are organized (modelled, assembled, carved and cast) into expressive works. The exhibition shows the process of chance and discovery that this artist has used to find a uniqueness and one that articulates himself and his world.
Enquiries:
reena.bhoodram@msunduzi.gov.za or 033 392 2823
Anything and everything:
A self-portrait: Mary-Ann Hartley
Schreiner Gallery
Sunday 3 December 2023
Sunday 28 January 2024
Mary-Ann Hartley’s exhibition is built on the premise that all art is a self-portrait. Her artworks capture not only her physical being but also reflect objects, spaces and landscapes that have been a meaningful part of her life. In this, way her work is a visual diary, a visual memory, a self-portrait. She explores this theme in a variety of media such as oil painting, etching, lino and mono printing, drawing, collage and mixed media. She takes some of her images through a series of transformations, pursuing the idea that abstraction is arrived at when we approach the real meaning of things. She sees her work as a continuous self-portrait and her way of making sense of the world.
Workshop
Mono printing and mixed media workshop with Mary-Ann Hartley
Thursday 07 December. 9:00am to 12:00 noon
Students over 14 years and adults.
Cost: R300 including materials
The workshop will enable participants to explore the medium of mono printing in a few different ways. This will include 3 mono printmaking techniques and the chance to ‘play’ and experiment with the techniques and explore their own creativity. It will be fun and very productive in terms of the volume of work each participant will produce and the skills learnt. It’s a useful process for both teachers and students to learn.
PLEASE CONFIRM YOUR BOOKING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND THIS WORKSHOP AS SPACE IS LIMITED.
For bookings and enquiries relating to this workshop, please contact Reena Bhoodram (reena.bhoodram@msundusi.gov.za or 033 392 2823)
UKZN Fine Arts Honours Degree Exhibition 2023: Exchange of Breath
Schreiner Gallery
Opens Sunday 19 November 2023 at 11h00
Closes Sunday 25 February 2024 at 17h00
This group exhibition showcases the work of postgraduate students who have completed an Honours in Fine Arts at the Centre for Visual Arts (CVA) in 2023. The Honours programme involves creating a body of practical work, and a written research paper on a topic that emerges from the creative process. This practice-led methodology recognises that knowledge exists in many forms, including the non-verbal, and is capable of igniting processes that extend artists explorations into new territory. The Honours programme introduces students to research methods, in preparation for further study, and/or enhanced creative practice.
The title of this exhibition, Exchange of Breath, expresses the dialogue that has emerged through the practice of the Honours group. Our explorations of identity have intersected, leading to a discovery of unexpected commonalities. We have found ourselves reflected in each other’s work, despite our individually nuanced experiences, subjectivities and the different modes in which we choose to represent them.
Artists: Georgia Settler; Londeka Duma, Muzi Ndlela; Naledi Maboee; Ndlovukazi Ngilande; Saskia Dorland, and Siphokazi Mlangeni
Enquiries/Bookings:
reena.bhoodram@msunduzi.gov.za or 033 392 2823
Workshop Julia Arbuckle (booking essential)
Concertina Flag Book - Bookbinding Workshop: One day workshop.
Date: Thursday 02 November 2023
Time: 09h00 – 15h30
Course Fee: R250
This workshop will allow participants to learn the skill of bookmaking and bookbinding .It will also introduce the medium of book art and paper.
This style of book is a great basic book structure that makes for an exciting sculptural artist’s book or sketchbook.
This course will be useful to a wide range of artists, teachers and librarians.
Course Topic
Introduction to paper
Introduction to bookbinding: Concertina Flag Book
Book cover techniques
Book content
All materials required for the workshop will be provided .
NB. Please carry your own packed lunch and snack.
Please confirm with me as soon as possible if you would like to attend this workshop as space is limited.
For more information contact( reena.bhoodram@msunduzi.gov.za or 033 392 2823)
Hands Become Voices for Our Planet
by Mapula Embroidery
Main Room, Tatham Art Gallery
Opening on Sunday 06 August 2023 at 11h00
Closing Sunday 01 October 2023 at 17h00
The Mapula project was initiated by Janetje van der Merwe, Karin Skawran and others from the Pretoria Club of Soroptimist International. Mapula is now administered through the Mapula Embroidery Trust, a registered non-profit organization in South Africa.
Mapula has created an intricate system involving design, production, and artistic business skills which the women in this organisation benefit greatly from. The women of Mapula Embroidery seek to impact the world with their art, just as art has positively impacted their lives.
Started in 1991 in the rural area of Winterveld, 70 kilometres outside of Tshwane, the Mapula Embroidery initiative has built up more than 150 women in 30 years of embroidery. Through it, the women of Winterveld, an area marred by socio and political injustices resulting in unemployment, underdevelopment, and poverty, have produced outstanding artworks gracing global museums and private collections.
The Hands Become Voices For Our Planet exhibition is Mapula’s way of paying forward the impact. Using embroidery, Mapula has created a significant textile work, raising awareness about the global climate crisis and our collective global responsibility.
A reimagining of the future where global temperatures sustain life and a future for our planet, is the inspiration behind this exhibition taking place at the Tatham Art Gallery from the 6th of August 2023 to the 1st of October 2023.
MAPULA EMBROIDERIES WEBSITE: https://www.mapulaembroideries.org/about
Enquiries: Pinky.Nkabinde@msunduzi.gov.za or 033 392 2811
Aspects of Abstraction
an exhibition by
Hussein Salim
Opens: Sunday 16 July 2023 at 11h00
Closes: Sunday 17 September 2023 at 17h00
Venue: Schreiner Gallery
The exhibition will be opened by Dr. Louise Hall on Sunday 16 July at 11h00.
The artist will conduct a three day abstract painting workshop where he will share his art making experiences and skills in working with mixed media paints.
Workshop: Wednesday 2 to Friday 4 August from 09h30 to 12h30 daily
Enquiries Pinky Tel: 033 3922 811 or Pinky.Nkabinde@msunduzi.gov.za
Sudanese artist Hussein Salim is one of the great abstract artists to emerge from the African continent. For the past 25 years, he has exhibited his work globally, with more than 40 featured and solo exhibitions. Fleeing his home country, Sudan, in 1997 to escape political unrest and economic upheaval, Hussein Salim has sought to tell the story of his complex life as a refugee. Themes such as his Sudanese culture, dislocation, love, and death are prominent in his artworks, expressed through layering and vibrant colours that are symbolic of his African heritage. With a Master’s Degree in Fine Art from the University of KwaZulu Natal, Hussein Salim’s artworks are academically informed yet artistically expressive for a global audience.
His journey as a refugee and being part of the diaspora whilst a tumultuous war rages in his homeland Sudan, have informed the artist’s creative process and the works on this exhibition. He has brought together his deeply rooted African heritage, his training as a fine artist and his many years of exploring themes of dislocation, to produce a profoundly contemplative and moving body of work.
Hussein Salim, Twilight, acrylic on canvas
Hussein Salim, Aspects of Abstraction, acrylic on canvas
WORKSHOP WITH HUSSEIN SALIM
Tuesday 29, Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 August 2023
Due to unforeseen circumstances the three day workshop organised by The Tatham Art Gallery with the highly-skilled practising artist Hussein Salim has been rescheduled for 29/30/31 August 2023 from 09h00 to 12h30. We would like to invite you to participate in this workshop.
Please see details of the Workshop below.
Title of Workshop: Uncommon (work with recycled paper and everyday paints: a three day workshop.)
Workshop with Hussein Salim
Tatham Art Gallery
Tuesday 29, Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 August 2023
09h00 – 12h30
Course Fee : R600
Hussein Salim, a resident of Pietermaritzburg, is a highly skilled practising artist originally from Sudan.
In this hands-on workshop in the Gallery, Hussein will share his art making experiences and skills and show participants how to be creative with basic, inexpensive and recycled materials. This course will be useful to a wide range of artists and teachers who are hindered by the high cost of art materials.
Previous experience will be advantageous but not essential.
You will need the following equipment
1. Apron/old painting shirt
2. Any paints, pastels ,crayons , you have at home
3. Any brushes, rags you have at home.
4. Two water containers.
A selection of recycled materials will be provided by the artist.
Please confirm with me as soon as possible if you would like to attend this workshop as space is limited.
For more information contact Reena reena.bhoodram@msunduzi.gov.za or 033 392 2823
EDUCATION
The Tatham Art Gallery has an extensive Education and Outreach programme, including art classes for the youth, Art Educator training, an Artist’s Forum and Lectures and Talks. Continue reading →
Tatham Art Gallery
The Tatham Art Gallery is one of the major art museums in South Africa. This art museum is funded by the Msunduzi Municipality and belongs to the residents of Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu-Natal. The Tatham Art Gallery serves the Msunduzi region through the Visual Arts.
A core function of the Tatham Art Gallery, established in 1903, is to display art. This is accomplished through the hosting of a range of art exhibitions. These include travelling and researched exhibitions as well as exhibitions initiated by the Gallery, and based on art works in the permanent collection.
The Permanent Collection
A selection of the Tatham Art Gallery's permanent collection is always on display. Work by South African and European artists is displayed upstairs. The work of KwaZulu-Natal artists is displayed downstairs. A selection of ceramics is displayed in the Ceramics Room.
The Main Exhibition Room
The Tatham Art Gallery displays major exhibitions in the Main Exhibition Room downstairs. Exhibitions change on a regular basis. These include travelling and researched exhibitions showing the works of groups or individual artists of significance. There are also exhibitions organised by the Gallery that draw on the works in the permanent collection or from artists of KwaZulu-Natal.
The Schreiner Gallery
The Schreiner Gallery is an exhibition space dedicated to smaller temporary exhibitions. Artists may apply to use this space for solo or group exhibitions. Visit the EXHIBITIONS page here for more and for requirements if you wish to apply.
Education
The Tatham Art Gallery has an extensive Education and Outreach programme, including art classes for the youth, Art Educator training , an Artist’s Forum and Lectures and talks. Continue reading →
Current Exhibitions from the Collection
Making Conversation
This eclectic display of European and South African art works spans more than three centuries. Each art work has its own story to tell.
Detail: Hussein Salim, Somewhere in Africa, acrylic on canvas
Diana Stanley and Hussein Salim use materials in different ways, and their art works show differences in style and technique, but on observation make for an interesting dialogue.
Diana Stanley, Resurrection of Thought, mixed media on canvas
Preller’s painting, Still Life with Pomegranates (1951), is a typical assembly of objets trouvé used by the artist in his still life paintings. The patterned vase, fruit and wooden fruiterer’s box are all talismans to which he frequently turned for artistic inspiration. The patterned Persian vase becomes a central object. This vase, given to him as a boy by his mother, was cherished and was often referred to by Preller as one of his 'household gods', a collection of modest but important objects that were to inspire works throughout his lifetime.
Alexis Preller, Still Life with Pomegranates, oil on canvas
Brendan Bell’s art work, Meditation: Avalon Springs (below) , is a gouache work on paper, with elements of collage. It was created after a family holiday at a holiday resort. Viewers are invited to make their own interpretations of this complex work, which is structured like a medieval altar piece, by considering texture, water, landscape, religious icons, multicultural figures and even furniture.
Brendan Bell, Meditation: Avalon Springs, gouache & collage
Conversations are created by juxtaposing art works created in different places or at different times, but which have interesting visual connections. The display also invites the viewer to make other comparisons, whether stylistic or symbolic.
Thami Jali, ...Cato Crest doesn't rock. Fact, collage and acrylic on board
Paintings on display by Siyabonga Sikosana and Thami Jali consider South African township life. The artisits’ use of materials and differences in style and observation, make for an interesting dialogue.
Perimeter Gallery
Containers for Liquid
The glass cabinets in this venue are filled with a variety of liquid-holding containers from the Gallery’s permanent collection. They represent different cultures, purposes, designs and materials. On show are vessels made from materials as diverse as earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, glass wood and bronze. Their designs vary according to the liquids they are meant to hold. They could contain water, milk, beer, wine, tea or coffee, from functional ware to those designed as containers for flower arrangements.
Porcelain originated in the East and has been widely used to hold hot liquids. René Lalique (1860-1945) was a famous French designer of glass containers, often used as vases. The Nala and Magwaza families are renowned for their exquisitely decorated burnished earthenware forms, based on traditional Zulu beer vessels.
Clive Sithole, Uphiso, earthenware
In classical pre-colonial Zulu myth, Unkulunkulu brought human beings and cattle from an area of reeds. He created everything, from land and water to man and the animals. He is considered the first man as well as the parent of all people. He taught the Zulu how to hunt, how to make fire, and how to grow food. Unlulunkulu is the creator God in traditional Zulu culture. In isiZulu the name means “the very great/high one”.
Bonisiwe Magwaza, Ukhamba, earthenware
The vessel by Hendrik Stroebel (below) is too large for a cabinet and is mounted on a free standing wrought-iron stand. The design represents different cultures and religions, and is a surprizing combination of metal, clay and embroidery.
Hendrik Stroebel, Pleasures and Treasures (detail), mixed media
On show are vessels made from materials as diverse as earthenware, porcelain, glass, wood, and bronze. We challenge you as the viewer to compare the various forms and functions.
There are a number of earthenware vessels. Some are high fired, but the bulk are low fired and burnished. The vessel by Maggie Mikula has been embellished with a beaded design, rendering the vessel more sculptural and decorative than functional.
Maggie Mikula, Pot, terracotta and beads
Ceramics Room
This display, selected from the Gallery’s permanent collection, features landscape paintings by South African artists. For concert goers they have become a serene background to the world-class music performed in this room. While listening, the audience could focus on a painting and ponder on the meaning of land from different perspectives. One could ask: Who painted this landscape? How has the scene changed over the years? What impact did the changes have on people’s lives?
Landscapes by South African artists can stir up different associations with the land for different viewers, such as elements of memory and place.
This display, selected from the Gallery’s permanent collection, focuses on landscape painting by South African artists, but makes room for some exceptions. To a greater or lesser degree, all these artworks deal with abstraction.
Terrence King, Wind Pump, acrylic on board
Terrence King’s painting, Wind Pump, is founded on the collapsed, scattered blades of utilitarian farm implements, a reminder of the constant presence of these structures in, particularly, the more arid parts of this country. Something of this resistant terrain is suggested by his choices of colour and the manner of paint application.
Walter Battiss, Boys' Swimming Pool (1984), oil on canvas
Human figures are often completely absent from landscape paintings. When they do appear, they are often dominated by their surroundings. Figures can play various roles to enforce the artist’s view of the rural or urban environment. Images can range from detailed observation to simplification or even distortion, often to enhance a mood or express feelings. You are invited to ponder the depiction of figures in these two paintings on display.
Siyabonga Sikosana, Siyaya Tuck Shop (2004), acrylic on board
Virginia MacKenny, Absence/Presence, oil on canvas
The title of the painting Absence/Presence by Virginia MacKenny raises more questions than answers. The composition is strange with the focal point being a draped green cloth on the left side which dominates the painting. There is absence of water in the dry dam with the jetty standing exposed in the middle section of the composition. A post with a sign only known by the artist is facing away from the viewer. Three boats lie abandoned on the sand.
Lorna Ferguson Room
Friends of the Tatham Art Gallery
June 2021 - June 2022
FOTAG Membership Subscriptions
For FOTAG to continue publicising the Gallery activities, we need your support. Please join the Friends of the Tatham Art Gallery by subscribing and paying an annual membership fee of R150.
Subscriptions run from July until the end of June . If you join now, your subscription will be valid until the end of June 2022. The subscription form can be found here!
You can also join the free e-mail lists to receive updates and news from FOTAG. And don’t forget to follow us on FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM too!
Visit the Tatham Shop for gifts, crafts, ceramics and artworks
The Tatham Shop
Tuesday to Friday from 10h00 to 16h00
Saturday from 10h00 to 13h00
The Tatham shop stocks a wide and interesting variety of hand-made crafts, primarily sourced from craftsmen and women in Kwa-Zulu Natal. These include traditional baskets and ceramics as well as contemporary ceramics. We also stock intricate beaded animals, jewellery and eye-catching embroidery. If you have any interesting items or crafts you may be interested in showing us, please call or email to make an appointment. Continue reading →
Enquiries bryony.clark@msunduzi.gov.za or 033 392 2825
Visit the Cafe Tatham
Tuesday to Friday from 10h00 to 16h00
Saturday and Sunday from 10h00 to 16h00
Café Tatham by Injabulo Foodworks is situated on the first floor of the Gallery. It is a great place to break a visit to the Gallery, or to hold a private function. Nonjabulo Nzuza looks forward to hosting your bridal shower, baby shower, or birthday celebration. Contact her to discuss possibilities or to book a table.
Keep an eye on Facebook for details of weekly specials and events.
Enquiries/Bookings
ssfoodsgroup@gmail.com Tel. 081 888 5844 or Whatsapp 061 233 1247
Facebook: Café Tatham by Injabulo Foodworks
