South Africa and Leipzig
Encounters in a Space for Experimentation
For five years, artists from the Republic of South Africa came to Leipzig for three-month residencies. Here they collaborated with fellow artists from Leipzig. Language, background, and history were unfamiliar to both sides. Everyone was curious, willing to take risks and fail, and trusted one another enough to acknowledge cultural differences and turn them into something productive.
Two experimental art spaces formed a partnership for this exchange: the Centre for the Less Good Idea in Johannesburg, founded by William Kentridge and Bronwyn Lace, and the LIA – Leipzig International Art Programme, an international artist residency initiated by Anna-Louise Rolland. Both are located in former factories—one in Arts on Main in Johannesburg and the other in the Baumwollspinnerei (Cotton Mill) in Leipzig. They have many similarities.
Both locations are home to important printmaking workshops: Vlado & Maria Ondrej Atelier für zeitgenössische Radierung Leipzig (Studio for Contemporary Printmaking Leipzig) and the David Krut Projects workshop in Johannesburg. They, too, were part of the exchange.
These encounters gave rise to performances, installations, prints, paintings, films, and photographic series. Through them, the artists explored and tested new perspectives. Their works are now being exhibited together at the Mädler Art Forumin Leipzig.
Here you can download the exhibition catalogue:
In cooperation with
- Leipzig International Art Programme
With the friendly support of
- Vlado & Maria Ondrej – Studio for Contemporary Printmaking Leipzig
- Spinnerei – From Cotton to Culture
