P30, 000 beckons for Taya winner

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Monday October 29, 2012 00:00

 

The prizes were announced last week as three sponsors were unveiled. The Diamond Trading Company (DTC Botswana), who have been supporting the award event since 2008, announced P100, 000 for prizes.  At the same event the French Embassy also backed the awards with P10, 000, while the Department of Culture on Friday revealed they were also supporting the TAYA awards with P50, 000. Mascom is putting P35, 500 into the TAYA, while four other sponsors are expected to confirm their participation before November 15.

Thapong Centre for the Arts director Reggie Bakwena also announced that the runner-up in the Artist of the Year Award would pocket P25, 000, up by P50, 000, from last year.  This year there is also a prize for the best young artist that will see the winner walking away with P20, 000. However, Bakwena warned artists that with the huge prizes comes even more stringent adjudication process. Consequently, Bakwena challenged artists to peruse the judges' comments in the annual TAYA review book and try to make improvements in their originality, innovation, mastery media, the subject matter, composition, execution of ideas and presentation, among others. Entries closed last Saturday (October 27).

Acknowledging the various sponsorships, Thapong's treasurer Mesh Moeti, speaking for the chairman of Thapong board of trustees, observed that the TAYA awards have grown by leaps and bounds as the inaugural event had P1, 000 as first prize. Moeti recalled that the inaugural event in 2004 did not have a sponsor.

The Thapong board member also observed that in the eight years the TAYA awards have been running, the participation by artists has been increasing, while the quality of works has also improved tremendously, backed by a growing interest in the awards from the corporate entities such as DTC.

In particular Moeti showered the DTC Botswana with praises for continuing to show interest in the TAYA for five years now. Moeti said continued corporate financing of the TAYA would allow Thapong artists to excel and take Botswana art beyond its borders. Moeti says they see artists as ambassadors capable of painting the world with Botswana art works, adding that it is Thapong's vision to see Botswana artworks decorating edifices in some of the world's leading cities.

Kago Mmopi, head of communications at DTCB and Tebogo Moribame-Setiko presented the cheque while Giles Roussey, deputy head of mission at the French Embassy, represented the embassy. The budget for this year's awards is P300, 000.