2019 Exhibitions

Tatham Art Gallery:
Our Choice

Main Gallery
Opens Sunday 08 December 2019 at 11h00
Closes Sunday 19 April 2020 at 17h00

Our Choice is an eclectic exhibition of art works selected from the Tatham Art Gallery’s permanent collection by the people who are currently working at the Gallery. Both full time staff, and volunteers who serve on the Board of Trustees and its Committees have been invited to participate.

Some of the art works displayed have been in storage for many years, others are old favourites. Displayed with each art work is the name of the person who chose it, and a motivation for their choice. This could be a favourite work from the collection, or one that reminds the person of something. It may even be a work that is disliked for a certain reason. Texts vary from short sentences to longer explanations, and all of these contribute to the charm and magic of this exhibition of personal choices.

Mending the Scars:
A Group Exhibition

Schreiner Gallery
Opens Sunday 08 December 2019 at 11h00
Closes Sunday 09 February 2020 at 17h00

This exhibition, consisting of a variety of mixed media art works, deals with issues of pain and healing. Concerns about common issues around their families and the broader environment bring this group of four artists together. Sue Akerman, Phumzile Dlamini,  Corina Lemmer and Annette McMaster all belong to the National Fibreworks Group. The common thread that runs through the work of these individual artists   is empathy with their subjects and with their home country, South Africa.

The artists will conduct a two day workshop on 04 and 05 February 2020 where they will share their hand embroidery skills with participants.

Contact Reena Bhoodram for more information. reena.bhoodram@msunduzi.gov.za or 033 392 2823

Flowers in Art

Schreiner Gallery
Opens Friday 20 September at 09h00
Closes Sunday 01 December at 17h00

This exhibition, drawn from the Gallery’s permanent collection, centres around images of flowers. Works on this exhibition include paintings and objects with flower themes from South African and international artists, who were inspired by flowers. We are showing this display over the period when we celebrate Spring in our country, in order to remind everyone of the possibilities of renewal and energy in our lives. Flowers have the ability to lift the spirits, charm us with their beauty and fragrance, and speak of the mysteries and wonder of creation.

BIG: Large Works from our Permanent Collection

Main Gallery
Opens Friday 02 August 2019 at 09h00
Closes Sunday 10 November 2019 at 17h00

This exhibition, a selection of large South African art works from the Gallery’s permanent collection, was displayed recently and drew much comment from visitors. Some of these works are too large for our store rooms, and are stacked in passages. We are giving them air once again to speak their powerful messages. During the process of selection we came across surprising juxtapositions, and the exhibition gathered a momentum of its own. Visitors are challenged to find their own meaning and context in the display.

FOTAG’s Fabulous Picture Show 2019

Main Exhibition Room
Opens: Sunday 17 November 2019 at 10h00
Viewing hours and silent bidding: Monday 18 to Friday 22 November, 09h00 to 16h00
Auction: Friday 22 November at 18h00 for 18h30

Every year, in order to raise funds for new acquisitions for the permanent collection, the Friends of the Tatham Art Gallery (FOTAG) invite artists to donate small art works for the Fabulous Picture Show auction, which takes place in November. The sale of your donation will ensure the continued growth of this world class art museum collection.

The donation of small art works (no bigger than A4) provides for a wide and diverse selection of works for sale on the auction. The small scale creates a focus and an intimacy with the art work, both from the artist and the viewer. Smaller works are often more introspective and demand attention as viewers have to look closely to fully appreciate these miniature gems.

Hermine Spies Coleman: The Power of Loss and Gain Schreiner Gallery

Opens Sunday 21 July 2019 at 11h00
Closes Sunday 15 September 2019 at 17h00

The artist has drawn and painted over existing paintings, obliterating segments. This takes courage, as one does lose what is held as precious; however, in the process one may gain a new image with fresh meaning. It is discovery, but not without the discomfort of losing and letting go.  Life is like  that: destruction in the process  of continually shaping the significance of the whole, a process symbolic of loss and gain. The artist will conduct two workshops, on Wednesdays 07 and 21 August. Between these times the artists will take turns to work on a collaborative art work in the Gallery to explore over-drawing in search of meaning.

Enquiries/Bookings
reena.bhoodram@msunduzi.gov.za or 033 392 2823
pinky.nkabinde@msunduzi.gov.za or 033 392 2811

Igshaan Adams:
Standard Bank Young Artist 2018 When Dust Settles

Main Gallery
Opens Sunday 09 June 2019 at 11h00
Closes Sunday 21 July 2019 at 17h00

Igshaan Adams (b 1982), the winner of the 2018 Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Visual Art, presents a body of work titled When Dust Settles. Drawing upon the material and formal iconographies of Islam and coloured culture, Adams’s cross disciplinary practice is an ongoing investigation into hybrid identity, particularly in relation to race, religion, and sexuality. Adams presents an eclectic and multi-sensory large-scale   installation, bringing   together   aspects of sculpture, textiles, found objects, furniture and performance to create an immersive environment.

Jaap Jacobs: Recent Work

Schreiner Gallery
Opens Friday 24 May 2019 at 09h00
Closes Sunday 14 July 2019 at 17h00

This exhibition consists of art works recently produced by Jaap Jacobs, some in fulfilment of his present Honours course in Fine Art at the Centre for Visual Art, University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg. The artist is interested in the biographies of objects and their power as conveyors of personal history. He experiments with a variety of unusual materials and methods. At the same time he challenges the relevance of traditional methods of conservation in museum practice.
Education programmes around this exhibition include discussions and workshops.

Enquiries/Bookings
reena.bhoodram@msunduzi.gov.za or 033 392 2823
pinky.nkabinde@msunduzi.gov.za or 033 392 2811
kobie.venter@msunduzi.gov.za 03 033 392 2819

KZN Midlands Matric Art 2019
Main Gallery
Opens Wednesday 06 March 2019 Opening speaker: Brendan Bell Closes Sunday 26 May 2019

The KZN Midlands Matric Art  exhibition  will  take  place earlier than usual this year. The exhibition is a combination of the best art works from the previous year, produced in about 18 schools in and around Pietermaritzburg that teach art for Matric, and includes a school for the deaf.

This exhibition is one of the Gallery’s annual highlights. It always produces fascinating ideas and new methods from our young artists. Most of the works are pre- selected at the end of the previous year, when education staff go around to the different schools to see their Matric works on display. The final selection is made by an external selector.

Enquiries/Bookings pinky.nkabinde@msunduzi.gov.za or 033 392 2811

Siyabonga Ngubane:
The Suffering of the People

Schreiner Gallery
Opens Sunday 31 March 2019
Closes Sunday 19 May 2019

Siyabonga Ngubane is a young artist who is passionate about making linoprints. He draws directly onto  the lino and then carves out intricate designs in different textures. He is a quiet person who thinks deeply about life, and is interested in people and their reactions. He is also grateful to his mother and grandmother who taught him good values in life. They are both deeply religious supporters of the Christian faith. However, Siyabonga is tolerant of all religions, and other religious groups, such as Muslims, Zionists, Shembe, Buddhists, etc , are also represented in his work.

Siyabonga will be artist-in-residence from Tuesday 09 to Friday 12 April 2019. He will also conduct two workshops on Tuesdays 07 & 14 May 2019 where he will share his printmaking skills and show participants that Linocut is an easy-to-learn method for making prints that requires only a small amount of space and just a few tools and materials. Once you've learned the basics you can easily do this at home. Join this fun printing workshop.

Contact Reena Bhoodram for more information. reena.bhoodram@msunduzi.gov.za or 033 392 2823

The Schreiner Collection:
A Recent Bequest

Schreiner Gallery
From Friday 01 February 2019
Closes Sunday 24 March 2019

This exhibition honours the legacy of Deneys and Else Schreiner, who were staunch supporters of the arts. The Schreiner Gallery was named after them many years ago. Following Else’s death in August 2018, the Gallery received thirty two art works from their collection as a bequest, some of which are on display here.

Else said there were no decisive factors in their collecting habits, apart from fun. They often bought items because they were beautiful, affordable or made them laugh. Scattered throughout the house were portraits, etchings, watercolours, drawings, sculptures, ceramics and weavings. Each piece had a story, but their collection wasn’t planned.

BIG: Large works from our Permanent Collection
Main Gallery
From Friday 7 December to Sunday 17 February 2019

A new exhibition, selected from the largest works in the Gallery’s permanent collection, will be on display in the Main Gallery from Friday 7 December. There will be no official opening. 

Some of these works are too large for our store rooms and spend their days stacked in passages. It is time to give them air and let them speak their powerful messages. 

As we were looking at size in the first place, we did not consciously choose a theme or country of origin. During the process of selection we came across surprizing juxtapositions, and the exhibition gathered a momentum of its own. Visitors are challenged to find their own meaning and context in this display. The exhibition will run over the Christmas period, and end on 17 February 2019.