Bale hails Art Residency Centre
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Sunday May 22, 2022 04:19
Bale revealed that he has gained valuable experience at the centre, and intends to host his art exhibition when his three months stint at the centre comes to an end.
ARC is an art residency centre based at the Gaborone Club in Gaborone, and offers work residencies to creatives in the community.
“Since this is my last month as a resident artist at the ARC, I will be hosting an exhibition titled Isabel Experience Exhibition dedicated to my late mom. The exhibition is personal hence the paintings tell my story. The exhibition will be at Gaborone Club on June 4, 2022,” he said.
The young man boasts a diploma in Architecture Technology and Social Media Marketing. He is famed by his colourful, expressive, emotional yet beautiful art pieces. He said he tries to apply colours like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music and colorful neo-expressionism.
“I have been with the ARC since the beginning of March and my three-months contract ends this month end. I met Ann Mary Golifer last year at my exhibition. We had a chat and she told me about the residency centre and how I can apply, which I did as soon as possible. This year February it was approved, signed the contract, given a fully equipped studio office, a laptop and access to use the Gaborone Club premises like their lounge for exhibitions,” he explained.
Bale also said the opportunity was very beneficial since he had been painting from his room but presently he has proper tools to make a good piece of art. He added that he was also introduced to a mentor based in Los Angeles, California Yrneh Brown whom they had one on one meeting on zoom. He said through that mentorship, he found himself as an artist and what he wanted his brand to be associated with unlike last year where he was all over the place.
He pointed out that he no longer just made beautiful art but considers the message he wanted to reach the audience. He explained that he thinks about why he uses the materials he uses and what ideas it can portray. He puts real emotions in all his artworks. He said he would be showing that elevation in his upcoming exhibition happening next month. He also said his brand has grown big saying he added doing mural paintings where he did one in Francistown at Sunshine Plaza Mall.
“I see growth in my art in terms of my composition, storytelling and techniques. Consistency is now effortless. This opportunity gave me the wisdom, inspiration and knowledge I need to move ahead. Both Golifer and Brown are artists at an international level so I am learning from the best. In the long run, my craft will be more effective, more relevant and mostly expressive yet beautiful. I have a few but the most outstanding one is the open studio session I had last month because it was an eye opener, having public come openly discuss, critic, advise me”
“It was hard to take criticism but it worked well for me because now I am able to look my art with other people’s perspectives, which is key in the growth of my craft. Brown and Golifer made me realise that I have a long way to go; yet I am far from where I was two years back. Golifer taught me to be unapologetic with my craft, the making of paints both oil, watercolours and acrylic and Brown taught me to be focused on one topic, getting into depth about what I'll be addressing in the artwork,” he said.
Brown is Jamaican-born but raised in the United States currently based in LA. He is also a renowned all round artist, painting, filming, photography who does art on topics like race, nature and political issues whereas Golifer's art is more about nature and feminism. What sets her apart is she makes her own paints using soils all over Botswana especially more especially from Mochudi.
Bale added that he dreamt of touring Botswana with his vibrant, colourful series of works. An international exhibition is also one of those endeavours he would like to achieve in the future. He advised aspiring artists to work hard on their craft, believe and never stop working, stay humble and they will win.
He further pointed out that the reactions, feedback he gets from the public was amazing especially from strangers. He said he found it overwhelming for people to interpret and relate to his paintings and see their similarities in his stories. He ended by saying he was grateful to everyone showing his art support saying he appreciated them.