Thami Mnyele Fine Art Awards winners announced

By CityLife Arts Writer

The City of Ekurhuleni has picked their artists for one of the prestigious visual art awards in the country, the Thami Mnyele Fine Art Awards.

The prize money totals R190 000.00 and the prize-winners are as follows:

The First Prize of R100 000.00 is awarded toTabang Lehobye from Johannesburg for his animated video titled Fragments of memories.

The Ekurhuleni Prize of R65 000.00 is awarded toSethembiso Zulufrom Vorsloorus, Ekurhuleni for a series of photographs titled NgithunyweYiS’thunywa.

The Lizamore and Associates Solo Exhibition & Mentorship Prize, which is a prize given in association with Lizamore and Associates gallery is awarded to Nono Morlhoki the work titledLenyalo. The prize includes a 6-month mentorship programme, which will result in the selected artist having a solo show in the end.

The August House emerging Artist Residency Artist Awardprize includes a 3-month residency at August House, Johannesburg. It has been awarded to Jessica Frohlich for a work titled Metamorphosis.

Another special award is The Honorable mention Award which is awarded to an artist who the Adjudicators have seen the potential. Sinead Fletcherfrom Boksburg was awarded the R10 000.00 prize money for an installation work titled Disassociation.

Over 460 entries were received online for the national competition,of which half of the entries were from the City of Ekurhuleni. Out of these, 100 artworks were selected to be in the virtual exhibition.

The adjudicators for the 2021 Thami Mnyele Fine Arts Awards competition were:

Sizwe Khoza – 2019 First Prize Winner

Molemo Moiloa Gapare – Artist and Curator

Colbert Mashile- Artist, Lecturer and Curator

Gordon Froud- Lecturer, adjudicated provincial and national art competitions and anaccomplished Curator and Artist

Aysha Waja- Independent Curator and Artist Mentor

Some of the criteria’s for the submitted works was that all works of art must have been completed in the 12 months before the competition and participants must be South African citizens over the age of 18.

The online exhibition will run from 8 October 2021 onhttps://tmfaa.ekurhuleni.gov.za | www.ekurhuleni.gov.za.