Interviews

• ‘A Year in the Life of an Artist’: in conversation with EAS community member Nathi Khumalo | Johannesburg, South Africa

  April 8, 2020 |   by EAS   

   It has been a productive year for South African artist Nathi Khumalo, actively engaged in artists collectives, art incubators, residencies, exhibitions, as well as curating, including co-curating a show of South African artists in New York. Congratulations, and thank you for sharing the news!

  

  How has your work evolved in the last year?  What new influences,  interests or themes are you exploring?  

  Yes, my work has certainly changed, as I'm doing a project based on identity and how fluid it is, rather than a solid form. Through the Modzi Arts Experimental Residency , that I was invited to attend in Lusaka, Zambia, I created a project called "Iphakathi Ripple Effect", a continuation from the 2018 "Iphakathi" ("in between" in Zulu). This one was influenced by the recent xenophobic attacks that occurred in South Africa in September 2019.  To the multiple questions that the locals were expecting me to have answers, like "Why is this happening? How can this happen?", the only way I could respond to address the issues that came up was through photography.

  

  Tell us about any exhibits you have recently been involved in.

  My work was showcased in a recent international group show Building Bridges Yangon, promoted by Emergent Art Space, which took place  in July 2019 at the Old  Tourist Burma Building in Yangon, Myanmar.

  During August and September '19, I was in a residency with three other visual artists in Lusaka, Zambia, and the outcome was showcased at the Modzi Gallery.

  Recently I was invited to a local festival in Soweto--Makhelwane Fest, where I showed the work Ripple Effect for the first time in South Africa since returning from Zambia.

  

  I worked on different projects for the BLD [Between Life and Death] Collective and the Market Photo Workshop (MPW), including a family archive which was part of the photography incubator -- Edition Four that launched on 30 March 2019.

  Between Life and Death Collective (BLD) is an organization of photographers, multi-media and post-production artists. Our vision is to shape critical thinking, create our own narratives by employing photography as an educational tool.

   

  

   

  

  I understand that you co-curated a show in New York City this year.  Tell us about the show, how you got involved and what the experience was like.

  Yes, I did co-curate a photography group exhibition with Khona Dlamini (KD), Lekgetho Makola (LM), Michael Kamber and Cynthia Rivera. I was approached by LM, head of the Market Photo Workshop, and KD, Manager of Public Programming, about a show that the school was invited to bring to the Bronx Documentary Center. The show was the result of a collaboration between a team from the Bronx Documentary Center and Market PhotoWorkshop. My role was to bring about a concept and selecting the artists and artworks to present to both institutions.

  

  The title of the exhibition was Transitions: South Africa. I must say that putting together this exhibition was really challenging, since time and space were a huge factor. But we managed to pull together something special, that also celebrated thirty years since Market Photo Workshop was founded.

  

  The exhibition in fact honored three decades of photography, multimedia training and public programming, to help bring photography to the forefront of social consciousness in South Africa and around the world. Photography was introduced to Africa via the colonial gaze, but Market Photo Workshop  has helped shift the dynamic to new stories that challenge former degrading and racist perspectives.

  The feedback was great and I learned a lot during this process. Going to New York was certainly like a dream. The art scene was amazing. The highlights were definitely the Bronx Museum and the Brooklyn Museum. The work I saw there was incredible.

  This is the second exhibition that I curated. The first show I did was at the U-care Center in Park Station Johannesburg.  That too showed works by alumni of Market Photo Workshop. What was different was that this was not a gallery space, but a medical facility.

  

  

  What are you learning from these recent experiences?  Is it shifting your thinking and influencing your work in new ways?  If so, how?

  My experience keeps shifting, as I am always, too, trying to find new methods in my processes. I am also working to create a new community of visual artist who are interested in showing their work in alternative formats, through the FStop Club SA, a company that I co-founded in late 2018 with Sipho Gongxeka and Siphosihle Mkhwanzi. We are interested in self-publishing photo-books and zine-making, as a new and innovative way to showcase our art works.

  What are the next steps for you? What new projects are you working on?

  This year I look forward to continuing the work I've done with the collective and Club respectively. I also want to grow my own projects and, hopefully, finally get a solo show that I can present to the public.

  ......................................................................................................................

   

  

  Nathi Khumalo is a visual practitioner from Johannesburg, South Africa, His work varies from personal works that interrogate his home and the different relationships and spaces in his life, to social commentary on a variety of topics, including consumerism, and issues of representation. 

  He is a member of the collective “Between Life and Death”. In 2018 he co-founded FSTOP CLUB SA, a company focused on promoting self publishing ideas and innovative ways to display artworks, through Zine making and photobooks. 

  Khumalo’s work has also been exhibited in South Africa, Zambia, India and Myanmar.

   

  For more updates, you can follow Bhande_Nathi on Instagram, Facebook and Emergent Art Space.

   

• ‘How Are We Showing Up in the World?’ | Oakland, California

  March 6, 2020 |   by Uji Venkat and Jasmine Brown   

  EAS correspondent Uji Venkat in conversation with American emerging artist, Jasmine Brown. 

   

  Jasmine and I discussed her journey as an emerging artist and the development of creative, socially cognizant work. In the past Jasmine found herself frustrated by employment opportunities that did not place her in proximity to her dreams. Her new mantra is, “How am I showing up in the world?”  Instead of trying to fit into prescribed roles she currently strives to carve out space for creativity in her work, drawing inspiration from poets like Nayyirah Waheed, and activist organizations such as Essie Justice Group and the BlackFemaleProject.  

  

  Jasmine Brown
  Artist: @visual_lit
  Title: Ascension
  Medium: Photography
  Model: Jenné Afiya @left_thigh
  Quote: “You can have powers all day, many of us have powers, most of us have a power whether that is the gift of being able to be clairvoyant, hearing spirits, most people do, they ignore that or they use them to manipulate people that’s just big facts.
  Use your power wisely. “- Jenné Afiya
  Description: check out @visual_lit ‘s blog for the full story and if you aren’t already following please follow @sugarwater_gallery

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Uji: Tell me a little bit about your background. Where did you grow up and go to school?

  Jasmine: I am from Oakland, California. As far as my background, I was raised by my mother who, at the time, “forcibly” made me listen and watch things pertaining to black cultural iconography. Anything she felt I needed to know. I recall being very agitated by her insistence when I was younger. I would always ask why these things were important. I did not realize until I got to college how much my upbringing shaped how I saw and navigated the world. I really did not grasp how much these cultural lessons from my mother would come to influence my decision to pursue a degree in African American studies with an emphasis in Film and Television from UCLA.

  To backtrack, I was in undergraduate school, planning to graduate. I’m not sure when I decided to pursue a degree in sociology and pre-law. I think it was in my aunt's kitchen when I told my cousin I wanted to pursue art, as it was my favorite subject in high school. I remember him saying that art would not make any money and that I should pursue law. Mind you, I only saw this person once a year. I’m not sure why I took his word for it. I think I was embarrassed by his comments. I think it shamed me a bit socially. So there I was in the counselor's office pursuing what would “make money”. I believe it was my 19th birthday. I was not feeling the coursework, and I could barely get into the required classes. I really enjoyed the African American studies and film classes. Tears just started flowing in that office, that day. The counselor asked, “If you could do anything and you didn't have to worry about anyone else's opinion, what would you do?" I said, “I'm going to go into film. I'm going to go into television. And I'm going to be an African Studies major…” Film spoke to me in ways that allowed me to transcend whatever I was going through and wherever I was in life. Suspension of disbelief allows one to insert themselves into the narrative and live vicariously through the characters. Film helped me to compose my dreams and aspirations.

  

  Jasmine Brown
  Artist: @visual_lit
  Title: Mystical
  Medium: Photography
  Model: Jenné Afiya
  Date: 2018
  Description: This is the first part of a series of conversations with women of color and their transformational
  healing practices. The series located within @visual_lit ‘s blog space.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Uji: What experiences made you realize that you wanted to be an artist? 

  Jasmine: 
I’ve had many realizations along the way.  I realized I wanted to be an artist in film class. Our instructor provided examples for our final projects. One of the shorts followed a Black woman in a blond Nicki Minaj-esque wig culminating at Applebee's. Everything has its place, but I began to question 'How are we showing up in the world?' For my own project, I searched for footage of people who fought for our right to representation in the world during the Civil Rights Movement. That was the only place I knew to start. I asked 'What would they say if they could see us now? Would they put up the same fight? What is the continuation of that legacy?' At the time, it was the early 2010s. I titled the piece Hindsight is 2012. I really could not listen to rap music for a while. I could not tolerate our representation in the media. There was an awareness I could not ignore after my studies. So the piece Hindsight is 2012 mixes images from the Civil Rights era with more derogatory images. Comparing and contrasting the eras with music from the Pointer Sisters and the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. Representations of a golden era I grew up hearing a lot about and aspiring to return to in many ways at the time.

  Uji: When did being a woman become a crucial part of the identity you express in your work?

  Jasmine: I distanced myself a lot from being a woman, which is a really crucial part of my identity. I felt it made me more vulnerable and weak. I am currently nestled somewhere between the distance and the getting to know. In much of my current work, I fellowship with women who are also coming to know just how much womanhood is crucial to who we are, through activism and storytelling, which is activism in my communities.

  I grew up with a lot of toxic masculinity from both men and women, and there was also the issue of my father’s absence growing up. I felt like I disassociated with my body. I could walk into situations and be totally absent within my form. There was clearly a part of myself I cut off in order to exist and function in the world. In my family, community, at work, on the creative path, all of these things became disjunctive by default. At work, I felt my body and labor were not valued. I was good enough in conventional workplaces to do all the tasked assigned but not good enough to be more creative at work. To do the things I wanted to do, were outliers to my job description but integral to my interest in working for the organization(s). I think many come to understand that their gender and/or race is an inhibitor in an ill-suited workplace. My work with the BlackFemaleProject, that aims to positively impact the wellness and professional experience of Black women and prepares younger women for the realities of the workplace, affirms so much of what I’ve stated.

  If I can cite a moment for when I came to understand how crucial womanhood was to my identity: it was at my first Essie Justice Group^[1] retreat. On my bed there was a message from the founder Gina Clayton-Johnson under a Nayyirah Waheed quote. I took a long breath and replied ‘I have been waiting my whole life for this.’ I broke down crying. I had never felt safe in my own form. My truest form, my light, has always been stamped out trying to fit into certain spaces. I am much more committed to just allowing myself to be me.

  

  Jasmine Brown
  Artist: @visual_lit
  Untitled
  Medium: Photography
  Model: Jenné Afiya @left_thigh
  Quote: “I became more comfortable with my magic. More comfortable with receiving signs and
  messages from spirit, not viewing it as scary, viewing it as an essential part of life. “ -Afiya

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Uji: What does safe mean to you?

  Jasmine: Safe means being allowed to show up, fully present, not on the defensive. Who would you be without your guard up, not at war? Growing up in Oakland, I felt my life never presented an opportunity to walk up and down the street smiling, wearing what I wanted to wear, being my truest self. Truly. Real or imagined. Being allowed to love the things you love. The ability to be creative. That is safety.

  I work now to create safe spaces for myself. Someone told me, you are your greatest resource. Self-reliance within the community is where it’s at. Spaces, where you benefit and are encouraged to grow, are beautiful. My work with Essie Justice Group was a big part of my ability to create a safe space.

  Uji: In what direction would you like to expand your work?

  I am leaning towards photography and returning to film editing. I will continue to write. I have an Idea Wall at home. I learned how to make an Idea Wall at the Brioxy Executive Leadership Bootcamp in Baltimore. The idea wall contains six tenets I orient my life around. These things keep me on track and feeling like there's some rhyme to my reason. The six tenets are women, writing, visual art, the earth, travel, and healing. As long as what I do ticks off or connects to these boxes, I will continue expanding in ways I feel good about. I know that in the next six months I will travel to a few countries. Spaces that I am interested in living long-term, not just to see. Now is the time for me to explore. I also would like to continue the series on my blog around the women in my network and their healing practices.

  Uji: Do you have any advice for young artists at Emergent Art Space?

  The first thing that comes to mind is: do your thing. Even if someone else is doing the same thing, still do it your way. There’s a Black woman entrepreneur on Instagram called @supacent and she talks a lot about this. Your tweak and your voices are unique. I just want people to raise their voices, to be present for who they are called to be. If ninety-nine people do the same thing and you want to add to the conversation, be that hundredth person.
  Nobody can contribute for you, like you.

  Speak to everything you feel compelled to speak about. Put your two cents in; add your life’s work to the world. In Black/African culture there is a request for “permission to speak.” Give yourself permission. Tell your story. I am a Black woman and I am going to tell my story.

  

  Jasmine Brown
  Artist: @visual_lit
  Title: Untitled
  Medium: Photography
  Model: Jenné Afiya @left_thigh
  Description: This is the first part of a series of conversations with women of color and their
  transformational healing practices. The series located within @visual_lit ‘s blog space.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  THE PATH FORWARD

  As an artist integrating visual imagery and writing, Jasmine created a blog space. Blogging is an enriching, multidisciplinary and expansive practice.  It has given her a platform to explore, reflect and share her vision, thinking, experiences and stories.  She has also used this as an opportunity to conduct interviews with other artists of color about self-care and healing.

  To hear more from Jasmine, check out her Visual Literacy blog.

   

  ^[1] Essie Justice Group is a nonprofit organization of women with incarcerated loved ones taking on the rampant injustices created by mass incarceration. Their award-winning Healing to Advocacy Model brings women together to heal, build collective power, and drive social change.

   

  

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  

  Jasmine Brown is a writer, editor, and activist from Oakland, California. As a creative much of her work centers around social advocacy
  for the overall wellbeing of people of color. She is a logistics and programming guru who loves lending her organizing capacity to heart-centered work. She is a graduate of the University of California Los Angeles, where she received a degree in African American Studies
  with an emphasis in Film and Television. She has worked with and continues to work with a number of non-profits in and beyond the
  Bay Area as a consultant. Including the BlackFemaleProject, Essie Justice Group, the Museum of the African Diaspora, Out of the Box Projects, GirlFly, and CatchLight. The tenants that govern where she goes next are: writing, the earth, travel, women, healing,
  and visual art. She records her journey on her website: www.visualliteracy.me.

   

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   

• Looking Back to ‘Building Bridges – Yangon’

  February 28, 2020 |   by Emergent Art Space   

  Looking back at the now famous exhibition 'Building Bridges -Yangon' we are happy to publish here clips of interviews with some of the artists who were part of that special event: Aung Thu Phyo, Bay Bay, Kaung Swan Thar, Pho Wa, Shun Wint Aung and Bo Bo talk about their works in the exhibition, what inspired them, and how they interpreted a theme that encouraged reflection on divisions, conflicts, separations, and the effort to move beyond, to find ways to communicate across social and cultural divides.

   

  Many thanks to all of you for your participation!

  The exhibition ‘Building Bridges -Yangon' took place in the historic Tourist Burma Building
  in Yangon, Mynamar, in July 2019. You can read more about the exhibition here.

• ‘Game Changing Faces’: in conversation with Kolapo Kingdiah | Abuja, Nigeria

  January 22, 2020 |   by Valerie Amani   

  EAS correspondent Valerie Amani in Tanzania catches up with artist Kolapo Kingdiah from Nigeria, talking about his motivations and evolving art practice, and reflecting on how emerging artists are now creatively using both physical and online spaces to share and give exposure to their works.

   

  

  Young emerging artists are increasingly creating for themselves the spaces they need. Artist collectives being one of the driving forces in changing how communities perceive and engage with younger artists. Social media has transformed into a hybrid ecosystem - acting as portfolio, website and business front for most emerging artists. In the face of this apparent independence from traditional art spaces - what role do galleries and exhibitions play? I caught up with Kolapo Yemi, an emerging artist from Nigeria who exhibited in the international "Last Image Show"  [an international art exhibition co-produced by Emergent Art Space in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in September 2018]  to discuss this and his own journey as an artist.

  Valerie (V): When did you first experience art?
  Kolapo (K): Growing up as a kid, I had few friends who loved drawing comics and playing with clay; my older siblings were also making artistic lettering. I was thrilled and I tried what they were doing, and took it more seriously than them, even though I was just copying. That, I will say, was my first experience. Unfortunately, amongst those friends and siblings, I am the only practicing artist now.

  

  V: How did you begin to create your art (apart from the copying, haha)?
  K: I remember telling my mum to buy me a sketch pad and she refused; so I used up all my exercise books to make a comic story I called “Thwart” which I will call my first body of (art) work.

  V: What was ‘Thwart’ about?
  K: Thwart... it's a superhero comic about domestic accidents children go through at home and a super hero character coming to rescue them before the accident happens 🙂

  V: Are there other artists in your family?
  K: I am the only practicing artist, but my two brothers were artists growing up, until they choose another profession as they grew older.

  V: And are you a full time artist right now?
  K: I have always been a full time studio artist, even before university - although I studied physics at the university.

  V: Why do you choose to focus on peoples faces?
  K: I use charcoal and oil paint majorly to create abstract, realistic and hyper realistic art to illustrate the connections that human beings make (or don’t make) through language, gesture, look, expression, physical placement, cultural values, standards, emotions and desires, which can be seen vividly with portraiture.

  

  V: With this in mind, what do you want to say with your art?
  K: With every work I make, my intention is to take you on a journey and make you see more than what I myself can see. The only artist that inspires me to the bone is Dirk Dzimirsky. I am not always thrilled by super hyper realistic works but [I am inspired] by the strong interpretation of messages which I find in Dirk.

  V: Let’s talk about the Nigerian Art scene, what has been your experience?
  K: It took decades for art to be appreciated in Nigeria, but the value for art is increasing everyday now in Africa as a whole. It takes extra talent and connections to stand tall in the industry and also the masters (leaders in art) here are not giving space to emerging artists.

  V: What is the biggest challenge you've faced?
  K: My first challenge was my parents. It took them two decades to accept my choice of occupation, as they wanted me to be an engineer. After I was able to get their support, surviving was so hard, as I wasn’t selling; but I kept on working to be better and different, which was my escape route.

  

  V: Are there any events/spaces available to emerging artists in Abuja that offer support?

  K: We have a lot of events/exhibition spaces in Abuja city. Unlike Lagos [which is much larger city], Abuja doesn’t have many galleries and art promoters; so artists individually or in groups organize exhibitions. For instance, I belong to an art movement of which I am the leader. We do live painting hangouts and also exhibitions in both art spaces and alternative spaces; and our aim is public sensitization. Our last exhibition was in October, on breast cancer awareness, with the theme “Let’s Go Pink”. We are working on more to come and, hopefully, in the future [we will] be able to collaborate with EAS [Emergent Art Space].

  V: Talking about Emergent Art Space, why did you apply for the Last Image Show?  

  K: A friend sent me the call poster. Before then I had been working on showing my work to the outside world; so when I saw the call, I saw an opportunity. Before then, I had exhibited in few countries like Belgium, Malta, Dubai, New York and most cities across Nigeria.

  

  V: Why do you think exhibitions are important?
  K: Even though the new generation of artists sell mostly on social media, exhibitions are still very important for every artist, as they are the main way to showcase your body of work with a traceable record, and get [to be] known for a style of art. Art exhibitions are archival objects in their own right, important indicators of perception and appreciation of art and artists at a certain point in time.

  V: And what kind of art have you made since Last Image Show?
  K: After the Last Image Show exhibition, I decided to put charcoal works on hold for a year, and decided to marry my physics experience with art using oil paint. Since then, I have been creating a body of work I call “equation and dialogue”.

  V: What keeps you motivated?

  K: Talking about motivation, I always have one thing in mind.

  

  The world has a lot of BESTS (best in all professions); so being the best is not enough. The world is looking for the exceptional and those with the difference. [I want to] be the game changer.

   

  The structure of the art industry preserves the relevance of art shows and exhibitions. As Kolapo so brilliantly put it, exhibitions are a key indicator of perception and social context - however, it is still important for young artists to create their own spaces with their own rules as Kolapo has done. What does it take to be a game changer and cross from emerging artist to established artist? Well it seems the only way to be the game changer is to be yourself. Kolapo's recent work incorporating physics is so unique to him because of what he studied. Emerging artists must keep on claiming space online, offline and within their communities. A gallery show or exhibition should just be a part of the journey, not the final destination.

   

  

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