The African Leipzig group exhibition features 20 etchings made by artists from Africa and Germany.
Commenced in February 2022 and concluded in January 2023, African Leipzig is a project between The Centre for the Less Good Idea, David Krut Projects, and LIA-Leipzig International Art Programme which saw 10 multidisciplinary African artists (nine from South Africa and one from Addis Ababa) embarking on a collaborative print-making residency in Leipzig, Germany for three months each. They were supported by ten German artists.
African Leipzig is primarily a residency about developing new ways of working and collaborating across continents and cultures. Knowledge of the printmaking process was not a prerequisite. Rather, artists were encouraged to bring their own disciplines and ways of working to the process, with a particular focus being placed on ways of working within the digital realm – video, performance, media art, and sound art.
Among other things, the residency involved attending an etching workshop and learning about the print-making process at the Vlado & Maria Ondrej Studio for Contemporary Etching, in cooperation with David Krut Projects in Johannesburg.
The etchings exhibited in African Leipzig bear the markings, gestures and reflections of the 20 artists who took part in the residency programme. In this way, each artwork functions as a record of engagement – a collaborative and free-spirited experimentation with the generative process of print-making.
Participating artists are: Katherine Bull, Freshwoyen Endrias, Bongile Lecoge-Zulu, Roxy Kaczmarek, Hemali Khoosal, Motlhoki Nono, Natalie Paneng, Oupa Sibeko, Tzung-Hui Lauren Lee, Xhanti Zwelendaba, Sebastian Burger, Silke Koch, Bjørn Melhus, Maria Ondrej, Vlado Ondrej, Ramona Schacht, Jana Schulz, Maria Schumacher, Raul Walch & Angelika Waniek.
This project was made possible with the kind support of the German Federal Foreign Office.
EXHIBITION DATES | MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS (from 12pm – 4pm) UNTIL 31 MAY 2023.
(Entrance is free. View by appointment. Booking below)
VENUE | THE LESS GOOD LOUNGE, THE CENTRE FOR THE LESS GOOD IDEA, ARTS ON MAIN, 264 FOX STREET, MABONENG
Photos by Zivanai Matanyi
Project partners: