EXHIBITION:
Uthethathethwano by Lesego Seoketsa
2020 ORMS Circle Mentorship Programme Artist
First shown at Orms FORM building, Uthethathethwano travels to the Market Photo Workshop’s Gallery 1989. In further support of Seoketsa’s evolution as a photographer, the Market Photo Workshop will enable her to interact with and participate in sessions with photographers and visual artists to expand her visual practice.
This exhibition at the Market Photo Workshop forms part of an annual curatorial thematic at the Market Photo Workshop that focuses on questions of gender and sexuality, presented in partnership with the Open Society Foundation for South Africa.
Statement by Lesego Seoketsa developed during the 2020 ORMS Circle Mentorship
Uthethathethwano’ means ‘negotiations’ in isiXhosa. I have chosen isiXhosa because the work of this exhibition was done in Cape Town, a predominantly Xhosa speaking city, and also because it is my mother tongue. It is a reference to my maternal heritage. This exhibition began as a questioning about land ownership – when will black people get an equal share of land in South Africa? I focused on black women and the injustices of patriarchy which have led to socio-economic issues. They experience suffering the most, and my intention is to find solutions that empower them through land ownership. How do we alleviate poverty for marginalized people such as black women through land reform? As I went on to seek answers in Cape Town, I ended up feeling so naïve because my initial cause created a ripple effect where each question was answered by another bigger question.
Land reform is still a controversial issue in our country, and my mission was to understand the history of farming in South Africa in order to address the present struggles, and thus find hope for the future. The apartheid regime was meticulous in dividing people through racial segregation and spatial planning. Today, an imbalance exists, many black people are living in townships and informal settlements, and the white minority generally stay in suburbia. The core of my exhibition questions how land can be used for poverty alleviation and social equity. My main focus is on the farming sector, through the lens of black women.
Opening Date: Thurs, 8 April 2021 – 07 May 2021
Time: 18:00pm
Gallery 1989
Margaret Mcingana Street
Newtown
About Orms
From its beginnings as a photography gear and printing shop, Cape Town photography giant Orms has become an extensive creative franchise. The Orms vision has always been to provide South African professional and amateur photographers alike with the best and latest gear at reasonable prices, and to stock the largest range of products.
About Orms Cape Town School of Photography
With more than 20 years of experience in photographic training, Orms CTSP strives to be an incubator for photographic brilliance and a nurturer of an innovative generation of authentic story-tellers.
Situated in the upper east side of Cape Town’s city bowl, Orms CTSP is a school that delivers a selection of professional and instructive courses in photography and cinematography. Its location is intertwined with local histories and cultures which reflect the ethos of the school. At the place where Philip Kgosana’s 1960 march into the capital ended, bordering District Six, and down the road from the National Archives this area is one of the crossroads of the country’s intersecting narratives.
Our courses aim at developing technical expertise, drilling down into the details of cameras and lenses, the subtleties of lighting and the demands of software and post-production.
We grow a sense of community with our lunchtime lectures, regular exhibitions and evening seminars. Our institution has developed not only out of a school but from a commercial photographic enterprise. As such students have access to an extensive range of up-to-date resources and facilities. We provide an engaging place of learning where we can teach our students, and meet their needs and aspirations.
Orms Cape Town School of Photography offers a solid foundation from which to build both photographers’ and cinematographers’ careers.
About Orms Circle Mentorship Programme
Orms celebrates the importance of belonging to a strong professional network as a powerful means to share experiences, resources and establish invaluable relationships. This Woman’s Month, Orms welcomes back the Orms Circle Mentorship Programme which provides one young woman-identifying artist with the platform to break into the art industry! The selected artist will have access to the necessary facilities for the creation of a body of work to be exhibited in collaboration with Orms in December 2020.
Under the guidance of a select group of mentors, the selected artist will be guided through this transition and benefit from the expertise of Lekgetho Makola of Market Photo Workshop, Lauren Theunissen curator for Orms Cape Town School of Photography and Yonela Makoba Orms Circle artist 2019. With this inner circle of guidance, the artist will be supported with the necessary skills training, challenged through critical engagement on their practice and empowered to present their first solo exhibition hosted by Orms. The exhibition will be hosted at FORM, our new creative space, and curated with the guidance of these industry leaders. The addition of business guidance will be provided through the presence of Tziona Kerton of Conversation Capital and Toby Orford, art law expert. Together this diverse group of industry professionals will nurture the growth and guidance of the Orms Circle Mentee while Orms provides the use of dedicated studio space, photographic and lighting equipment as well as printing and framing services for the concluding exhibition in Cape Town.
For more information on Orms Circle Mentorship programme view blog:
https://blog.ormsdirect.co.za/category/form/orms-circle-form/
Contact: lauren@ormsctsp.co.za
About the Market Photo Workshop
For over 30 years, the Market Photo Workshop has played a pivotal role in the training of South Africa’s photographers, ensuring that visual literacy reaches neglected and marginalized parts of our society. World-renowned photographer David Goldblatt contributed vastly to the establishment of Market Photo Workshop in 1988 – 1999. Since then, the Photo Workshop has been an agent of change and representation, informing photographers, visual artists, educators, students and broader communities of trends, issues, and debates in photography and visual culture. Market Photo Workshop is the recipient of The Principal Prince Claus Award 2018.
For more information contact:
Candice Jansen
Manager: Research and Exhibitions Programming
T +27 (0) 11 834 1444
E-mail: candicej@marketphotoworkshop.co.za
Market Photo Workshop
c/o Market Square
138 Lilian Ngoyi St
Entrance: Margaret Mcingana Street
Newtown
Johannesburg
Facebook: Market Photo WorkshopInstagram: @_marketphotoworkshopTwitter: @_photoworkshopPhotoform Africa: www.photoformafrica.com
info@marketphotoworkshop.co.za
The Market Photo Workshop is a division of The Market Theatre Foundation
