The exhibition, titled “Resilience: The Unbreakable Human Spirit,” is curated by Thabo Kgatlwane in collaboration with the Embassy of Ukraine in Botswana. It opened for public viewing on Tuesday and will run from September 1 to 13 bringing together visual art, photography, sculpture, fashion and costume in a multidisciplinary showcase shaped by stories of struggle, survival and strength. The exhibition was conceptualised by Kgatlwane four months ago after he began reflecting on the state of Botswana’s creative industry and the resilience required of artists to keep creating despite its challenges. “I looked at the state of the creative industry in Botswana, and then I realised that nobody is as resilient as artists are,” he explained.
That observation became the foundation for an exhibition spanning several creative disciplines. Kgatlwane selected three visual artists, three photographers, two fashion designers and two sculptors, with each artist challenged to create work specifically for the exhibition. The collaboration with the Ukrainian Embassy added another dimension to the project, allowing the participating artists to learn more about Ukraine, the ongoing conflict and the everyday resilience of its people. The artists were provided with stipends to start developing their pieces, with each work carrying its own story. Materials brought from Ukraine, including gun shells, bullet fragments from the front lines and soil, were incorporated into some of the artworks, connecting the creative interpretations in Gaborone to the realities of a people living through war. For fine art photographer Goleba Baitse, women became a central symbol through which to explore strength and hope. Her photographs incorporate an actual bombshell from the war, creating striking juxtapositions between beauty and danger.
