Bakwena gives thumps up to Khama�s initiatives
Tom Ketlogetswe | Friday June 30, 2017 17:06
When President Khama ascended to the highest office in 2008 he declared the President Day holidays a period to celebrate the country’s arts. He further set aside an annual budget for government to purchase works of art from local artists for its various departments.
To Bakwena, Khama was a messiah sent to save the arts because his predecessors showed little interest in the sector. He said the initiatives uplifted the artists’ living standards and showed that government appreciated the work done by artists.
“Through buying artworks government created employment. Government created an enabling environment for talent development such as the grant they offered us to build the studios,” he said.
He said through the President’s Day Art Competitions a platform was created where even those who were not aware that what they were making is art managed to see that. “I am talking about crafts such as woodcarving, lekgapho, leatherwork and others. These people did not know that it was art and let alone compete with their creations.” He said these once utilitarian crafts, which were on the brink of extinction, came to the fore to claim their rightful place as creative expressions.
He said the initiatives made a positive impact in the development of the visual arts. He said visibility was created, which led to the numerous murals around the country, the buying of art by government departments and the elephant sculpture made out of ivory at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport lounge. “People started to use art and promote things like tourism, created awareness in issues like HIV, therapy, income generation and used it for lobbying and advocacy,” he said.
Bakwena is of the view that there has been positive progress despite the complications that come with initiatives of this nature. He however said the complications should not deter us from progressing but should be a platform to make things better in future. He said artists benefited a lot with some building houses through the sale of their artworks. He further said artists formed interest groups, which are important for the arts moving forward.
“Government has to be congratulated and appreciated. Before these initiatives we relied mainly on tourists and expatriates to purchase artworks. They were not buying enough to sustain our livelihoods,” he said. He said Botswana’s population is small and worse still those with money have their interests somewhere else.
He said the initiatives have also seen students taking art seriously in schools because they can see the rewards it brings. He said in the past a lot of emphasis was put in subjects such as mathematics and sciences but now there is a shift towards the arts as a new engine of economic growth. “Look at countries like Zimbabwe. The arts are driving the economy,” he said.
Regarding the collection that is being amassed by government, Bakwena felt it is not properly protected in terms of security and copyright issues. He said anybody could walk in and steal the artworks, and they are not looked after very well. He further said in the current arrangement he does not see artists benefiting any royalties from their work.
He feels strongly that those who were tasked with the responsibilities of buying should have been trained first in various aspects of the visual arts such as proper handling, storage and display. “Artwork is a special commodity and should handled with the utmost care because it is an investment. These should have been brought to their attention through training. All these affect the value of the artwork in the long run.” He believes it is the responsibility of all concerned to address these issues.
He said some artists, especially those who work in an abstract style feel their work was overlooked. He said this was because there was a serious lack of understanding from those who were charged with procurement. “Procurement should have been handled by a committee of experts working closely with government officials.”
Bakwena said the challenges of leaning towards a particular type of style, would place artists at a disadvantage when competing against the world. “The purchasing should have embraced the art for art sake notion, not just leaning towards realism.”
On way forward regarding the competition, he said there is a need to sit down and review the comments that the judges made over the years. “We need to implement their recommendations through workshops. There should be a budget for that. Otherwise the artists would continue repeating the same mistakes in every exhibition.”
He further said those who get awards during the competitions should be awarded scholarships as an incentive because training is important for the sectors’ development. “Most of the people who win do not have formal training.” He also suggested exchange programmes such as residencies. He said more centres similar to Thapong should be opened in different parts of the country or turn regional museums into arts and culture centres.
He said Thapong can do more but there is a challenge of resources. “Workshops could have assisted self taught artists. Initiatives such as these will sometime come to an end and if there were workshops in place skills from such could propel artists in the future.” He however said it is not late to organise the workshops.
In a parting shot he said Thapong benefited a lot through studios, artists sales and art appreciation. “More people now come to the centre to engage our artists for portraits and others buy for corporate.” He said the bigger picture now is the long promised national arts council to address other challenges such as funding and training that are bedevilling the arts.