Page 29 - JUNE2019

SOUTH AFRICAN ART
BRIDGES TWO CONTINENTS
By Atiba Rogers
Left: Artist Leila Fanner speaking with HFAS guest about her work. Above: Artwork Isak Fourie, titled Malebong (be thankful) and is made from recycled tin can.
l Home of ancient rock art and San Bushmen, the South African art world has no known boundaries of self-expression. What’s so special about creating art is that it gives artists the freedom to build universal narratives. Four of the 14 South African artists coming to Washington, DC to exhibit at the Harlem Fine Arts Show (HFAS) multi-city tour shed some light on their creative journey.
The artists embody facilitator Melanie Mahona’s vision of unity and diversity: They are men and women, white and black from different parts of the “rainbow nation.” The country’s racially divided past has not stopped these individuals from coming together to embrace its multicultural art scene. It was Nelson Mandela who set out to build the “rainbow nation” in 1994 when he became president of a post-apartheid South Africa and started a new beginning for his people and generations to come.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF WOODROW NASH
HARLEM FINE ARTS SHOW MAGAZINE PAGE 29