Thando Mama wins 2003 MTN New Contemporaries Award
by Brenton Maart
The biennial MTN New Contemporaries Award is justifiably a highlight on the South African arts calendar, and forms an integral part of MTN's support and development of arts and culture. The aim of the event is to promote young, emerging artists who have not yet received widespread recognition but have potential to excel in their field.
This year, curator Kathryn Smith selected five artists working in installation, video and new media. Finalists Matthew Hindley, Alison Kearney, Thando Mama, Hannes Olivier and Lolo Veleko all received a commissioning fee to produce a new work. Installed in dialogue with an existing piece, the exhibition at Museum Africa gives a clear indication of the emerging trends in South African contemporary art.
At the exhibition opening at Museum Africa on August 7, Thando Mama was chosen as the overall winner. In addition to receiving a finalist's prize of a mobile phone, Mama also walked away with R25 000. "I was quite surprised," he commented. "I wasn't expecting to win. I was really intrigued by what I saw in the other's work, the energy, resources and time that went into their work."
Speaking at the award ceremony, Michelle Constant said much the same thing, commenting that the works exhibited were both exciting and intriguing. "They raise issues about self and the positioning of self in South Africa today," she said, also calling for a higher profile of the arts in everyday life.
This year's panel of judges comprised Nessa Leibhammer (Portfolio Manager: Arts and Culture, MTN Foundation); Marialda Marais (Technikon Witwatersrand Department of Fine Arts); Themba Ka Mathe (arts journalist); Professor Colin Richards (Wits School of Arts); Bernice Samuels (General Manager: Marketing Communication, MTN); and Usha Seejarim (artist, educator and joint winner of the MTN New Contemporaries 2001).
The exhibition, currently on at Museum Africa, is accompanied by a full colour, 28 page catalogue featuring an introduction by Yvonne Muthien (MTN Group Head: Corporate Affairs); a curator's statement and interviews with the nominees by Kathryn Smith, as well as artists' statements and biographical details.
