The A.R.T Show exhibition will take place at the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg on 1 December…

2 December 2011
Make Art, Stop AIDS

The A.R.T Show exhibition will take place at the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg on 1 December. The event will highlight the current HIV/AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa and how it affects the lives of ordinary people.

The title of the exhibition is “Make Art, Stop AIDS” and is curated by international art curator Carol Brown together with American David Gere, an AIDS and art activist. The exhibition represents different artworks that will focus on both the triumphs and tribulations of the AIDS virus.

Professor Kate Wells, Masters in Graphic Design Programme Leader at the Durban University of Technology said, “The Siyazama Project was invited to submit an artwork, it was decided together with Carol Brown and Linda Rethman to create a Tower. Siyazama craftswomen have produced hundreds of small, beautifully beaded child-figure dolls which collectively make a strong statement about the statistics with regard to the AIDS orphans in South Africa. Our aim is to visually make sense of this data through The Tower exhibit which is covered in small child-figure dolls.”

Carol Brown said, “Art is a medium which makes information accessible in a non-threatening way it is able to connect with people and assist in healing and understanding.”

“We are excited to be part of this prestigious exhibition,” added Professor Wells.

The various artists exhibiting include South Africans William Kentridge and Andrew Verster, Sara Anjargolian from Armenia, American Daniel Goldstein and Gideon Mendel from the UK.

The exhibition will move to the KZNSA Gallery in Durban from the end of January to March 2012 and will travel internationally.