Artist and curator Bongi Dhlomo, featured in new book Mihloti Ya Ntsako published by Javett Art Centre finally gets recognition

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor

Artist and curator Bongi Dhlomo has played an important role in art history in South Africa, dating back to the apartheid years when she was among a number of prominent black young people admitted to the iconic Rorke’s Drift art school in Kwa Zulu Natal to the years organising exhibitions at a number of places.

These include at FUBA and in later years other new places of art trading and exhibitions such as the Spark Gallery in Norwood. I first personally met her there and she was part of the gallery’s management this unfortunately short-lived gallery space that had a lot of promise. That was not all. She also played a role in the first Johannesburg biennale in 1997.

To date she is still active in art spaces. But all this information about her, you will not find in mainstream art history books, as her role for some reason seemed to have been deliberately erased and in fact the information you will find about her is about her administrative role. Important as that role is in the art trade, but to suggest that that is the only thing she did is to commit the same crime of both omission and commission that our sometimes gendered and racialised art history does.

But fortunately, there is a new book that was launched at the Javett-Art Centre at the University of Pretoria on November 25, 2022, that positions her as one of the main players in this country’s art evolution and revolution.

This is thanks to the revolutionary businessman-turned art philanthropist Michael Javett. He hand-picked Bongi to carry out an important assignment in art. Not only has this assignment positioned Bongi as an important figure in art history in South Africa, but also in many ways has distinguished Michael Javett as a businessman committed to collecting and preserving the art of South Africa, particularly produced by black artists dating to centuries back to the present.

Michael asked Bongi to collect art from the 20^th Century to the contemporary times by black artists. Through his Javett Foundation, which was instrumental in the founding of the Javett At Centre at the University of Pretoria, which houses a lot of his collection, he financially backed the collection and acquisition exercise.

But he never interfered with Bongi regarding how Bongi and whom she had to collect. This is a rare quality among those with the financial resources to act as patrons of the art. Usually they dictate the terms of collection behind the scenes.  IN this case, that never happened. Bongi was given free reign, and the only instruction given to her being that she needed to collect art that represented the feeling, perception on their life and environment of the artists. In short, there was a need for this collection to have some kind of discernible narrative. And that is exactly what happened.

All this information and more is contained in a new book titled Mihloti Ya Ntsako, which was launched at the Javett Art Centre in Pretoria on November 25, 2022. The launch happened within the auspices of the ongoing exhibition Yakhal’Ínkomo, the inaugural exhibition of the Bongo Dhlomo Collection, which runs till January 16, 2023.Unfortunately Michael did not live long enough to witness what should have been a great joy for one of the country’s loyal friends of South African art.

He died on November 17, 2022, just a week before the launch. He was 86. And fortunately his death came shortly before the book went to print, and as a result, it was possible to insert a sentence in tribute to this visionary.

This book is akin to travelling several journeys, firstly through Bongi’s own journey in art, the history of the collection, as well as the journeys travelled by the artists that from part of this collection. It is also an everlasting recognition and tribute to a man who loved South Africa art, the late art collecting visionary, Michael. I will resist telling you which artists form part of this collection, and therefore whose works and art practices are featured in the book as I do not want to spoil your own reading experience as you get your own copy.

But believe me you, you will find names of every artist you have ever admired and wished you had them in your collection. That is of course If you do not already have them in your own collection. However you will also discover very interesting artist that you may not have heard about before.

The author of this essential read, especially for those interested in the art history of this country involving especially black artists, dating back to the 20h century to the present, is art historian and senior academic at Tshwane University of Technology Dr Pfunzo Sidogi. There are also other contributing writers whose essays reflecting different aspects on this collection: Rhodes University art history lecturer Thembinkosi Goniwe, Tumelo Mosaka and Mmutle Kgokong.

.Mihloti Ya Ntsako, which in the Xitsonga languages means Tears of Joy, is published by Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria, in association with the Javett Foundation. The Yakhal’Ínkomo exhibition is on till January 16, 2023.