Innibos National Craft Awards 2020 go digital
The fourth annual Innibos National Craft Awards Exhibition and Prizegiving is going ahead – and you can join in from the comfort of your home. A virtual exhibition on Friday, 26 June, will showcase the 60 shortlisted works
Radio personality Carol Sanderson will introduce each piece to viewers – before the spokesperson for the Mpumalanga Department of Arts and Culture, Sibongile Nkosi, announces the winners and declares the online music and performing arts festival, Innibos Digital, open.
“Cancelling the 2020 National Craft Awards was not an option,” says Sandra Jacobs, one of the founders of the iconic Innibos festival. “We had to innovate and find a way to honour the entrants who invested their time and skill into the competition and who were prepared to have their work publicly scrutinised.”
“By moving to the digital arena, we are giving people who have been denied their fix of arts and culture since the start of the lockdown, something to look forward to,” says John-Anthony Boerma of ArtAid Africa, who curated the awards on behalf of Innibos.
Although organisers were concerned that the global pandemic would negatively impact the number of entries, a record 1 360 entries were received.
“What is exciting, is the number of newcomers – people whose names are not known in craft circles but whose work is so technically skilled and creative that they made it into the final 60. Just as heartening, is the number of entrants from far-flung areas of the country. There is little doubt that we have achieved our mandate of presenting an inclusive competition,” says John-Anthony.
This year, four categories were added, thanks to the support of the National Department of Arts and Culture. The categories recognise craftsmen who make a living from their talent and who use recycled or heritage material. Winners in the Corporate Gifts, Beaded Craft Products, Craft Produced Using Recycled Materials and Souvenirs categories will each receive R20 000 while the overall winner and the two runners-up will take home R50 000, R20 000 and R15 000, respectively.
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The 2020 judges, who will determine the seven winners out of the 60 shortlisted works, will be sent videos showing all aspects of the entry plus photographs showing size of scale and these will be used in the final adjudication process.
The judges are Malibongwe Tyilo, Associate Editor of Maverick Life and style consultant; Ayanda Bala-Nyamimba, Craft and Design Institute: Market Development; Maureen Waldeck, Brand Manager of Tourvest Destination Retail; Anton Bosch, master ceramicist; and Niel Nortje, MTN SA Foundation’s Art Collection Manager.
Online exhibition
The craft exhibition opens at 4:30pm on Friday, 26 June. The winning works and the names of their creators will be announced immediately after the online exhibition
The link to the event will be shared on the Innibos National Craft Awards Facebook page – an hour before. Tickets won’t be sold – the event is free to all.
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Innibos National Craft Awards 2020 co-organiser John Anthony Boerma says it has been an absolute joy to curate the online exhibition of the 60 works that were shortlisted for final judging.
This week, the judges finalised the adjudication process and are thrilled with the seven winning entries. These include the overall winner, first runner-up, second runner-up and the winners of the four new categories: Corporate Gifts, Beaded Craft Products, Craft Produced Using Recycled Materials and Souvenirs.
The standard of work deeply impressed the judges, as did the number of lesser known crafters who reached the final stages.
