Gordon Froud at Nirox Sculpture Park
Gordon Froud at Nirox Sculpture Park
Image: Supplied

On November 2, The BMW Art Generation returns for its second edition, this year at the Nirox Sculpture Park in Kromdraai, Krugersdorp. The innovative showcase kicked off last year with a programme at Arts on Main in Maboneng, hosted and driven largely by William Kentridge’s studio complex and arts incubator the Centre for the Less Good Idea.

An initiative founded by BMW and FNB Joburg Art Fair director Mandla Sibeko, the BMW Art Generation extends the work instigated in 2020 by the BMW Young Collectors Company. The Young Collectors is intended to change the age and race demographic of art collecting in South Africa. The BMW Art Generation, with support from both BMW and FNB, the name sponsor of Art Joburg, is a major event focused on expanding the drive to engage a younger, black demographic in arts and culture.

The 2023 iteration was designed to offer a platform for the exchange of culture and ideas while highlighting contemporary African art and lifestyle. 

“BMW South Africa exemplifies why patronage is vital in sustaining art. We are privileged to benefit from their support, which not only enhances our initiatives but also strengthens the social fabric we need to foster a rich exchange. Through their investment, we are reminded that culture thrives when shared,” said Sibeko. 

The move to the beautiful and tranquil outdoor art spaces at Nirox enables a packed programme of art and academic engagement, art walkabouts in the park; studio visits; a laid-back live music line-up, as well as food, wine and fashion offerings that demonstrate the depth of art and lifestyle engagement and excellence South Africa has to offer.

Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi
Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi
Image: Supplied

An important positioning of the BMW Art Generation initiative is to offer a platform for younger collectors and art enthusiasts to engage with ideas and critical discussions about art – an educational approach that helps understanding and appreciation for art, which can sometimes seem elitist and exclusionary. To this end a major feature of the Nirox event will be an intergenerational conversation that looks at the medium of painting as a practice of liberation, between Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi and the doyenne of South African modern art, Mmakgabo Mapula Helen Sebidi.

This important conversation will be moderated by Janine Gaëlle Dieudji, curator of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. Sebidi has an amazing exhibition at Johannesburg’s Everard Read Circa gallery, so the opportunity to hear her share her thoughts on painting and collecting is timely for Joburg audiences.

Mmakgabo Mapula Helen Sebidi
Mmakgabo Mapula Helen Sebidi
Image: Supplied

This headline event is embellished by a full programme of the best South Africa has to offer in terms of food, music and fashion. Food stalls will be available throughout the central lawns at Nirox, in addition to the park’s in-house restaurant, the celebrated and then there was fire. Fashion shows will entertain the local stylistas, with collections from Boyde, local fashion Renaissance woman, designer Lezanne Viviers, Nao Serati and UNI FORM by Luke Radloff. A live music programme is also scheduled, with virtuoso performances from Kopano Jazz Collective, South African Music Award nominated Kujenga and headlined by multi-award-winning artist Thandiswa Mazwai. 

Tickets and event information 

Inclusive of live music, talks and full access to the Nirox Sculpture Park, tickets for The BMW Art Generation cost R400. To purchase tickets, visit https://tickets.tixsa.co.za/event/the-bmw-art-generation

Get more info on the programme here

 

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