Barclays celebrates African art

The Barclays L’Atelier 2016 competition has come to a close and one African artist has walked away with R225 000 in prize money.

The competition, now in its 31st year, was last year extended to include neighbouring countries, and this year, the competition was opened to nine additional countries including Kenya, Uganda, Botswana and Mauritius, among others, to bring out all the talent the continent has to offer.

Dr Paul Bayliss, Barclays art and museum curator explained, “This competition aims to really give young and emerging artists a platform to showcase their work.”

Nourhan Refaat of Egypt has claimed top spot and the main prize of R225 000. She also wins a six-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris for her photographic work, July Tale. “Since I was young I would do sketches and drawings, and I was really good. Then five years ago, I got into photography and I had to explore all the different types to find that I was good at staged photography,” Refaat said of her journey into the arts.

While she is elated that she won the grand prize, she says that this is not the end and her work is ever-evolving.

South African Matete Motubatse from Cape Town has won the Gerard Sekoto Award and a three-month residency also at the Cité Internationale des Arts for his video, Moya. He noted that he owed his love for art and pursuit of his career to his father, a teacher, who always encouraged him.

The three merit awards go to Onyis Martin of Kenya, who has received a Bag Factory residency in Newtown for his mixed media piece, Does it matter who is speaking?

Donald Wasswa of Uganda has garnered the Kunst: Raum Sylt Quelle Foundation residency on the island of Sylt, Germany, for his work, Maali Ya Muswangali, utilising leather off-cuts in plastic bag and sisal thread.

South African Lebo Rasenyalo of Johannesburg has earned herself the Ampersand Foundation residency in New York City for her video, O mogeng lebo, Nomo.