PEOPLE, PRINTS AND PROCESS

("Journey of Inspiration" by Gabisile Nkosi)

People, Prints and Process – Twenty-Five years at Caversham is the title of an exhibition running in the Main Exhibition Room at the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg until April 9.

Twenty-five is a number with a history and a future. It invites us to review two and a half decades, interpret the past, examine the present and plan a future.

The Caversham Press, founded in 1985 by Malcolm Christian in KwaZulu-Natal, has a memorable history. This is being celebrated in an exhibition of over 100 works by more than 70 artists. People, Prints and Process – Twenty-Five years at Caversham tells a remarkable story about the processes of human interaction and empowerment generated through collaborative work underpinned by exacting design and printing processes (etching, lithography, screen-print, linocut).

The journey undertaken by Malcolm Christian was guided by his belief in human creativity, and summed up in the word 'Masabelaneni' (let us share). Christian has shared his technical expertise and inventiveness with the artists who have visited Caversham. In 1985, most of them were formally trained artists. Now they are largely black artists and students from KwaZulu-Natal who experience the joy of learning new visual communication skills from a dedicated teacher in the tranquil studios of rural Caversham.

Malcolm Christian will conduct a walkabout of the exhibition on February 15 from 14h30 to 15h30, during which he will explain the achievements of the centre in the last 25 years. The walkabout will allow the public to engage with him on the new role the centre has taken through its outreach programmes such as 'Masabelaneni' (let us share) and 'Gabisa-Indlela' which was initiated by the late Gabisile Nkosi and Vulindlela Nyoni, former printmaking lecturer at the Centre for Visual Art at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Early in 2011 artists from this programme took part in an international prints exhibition in the USA.

The artists from Caversham Press will conduct interactive workshops with not more than 10 participants. They will demonstrate various printmaking techniques and processes based on works on the exhibition. Participants have to bring with them protective clothes such as aprons, or an old T-shirt. Rubber or latex gloves are recommended. Printmaking materials will be provided booking is essential.

The programme will run from February 15 to 17 from 10h00 to 16h00. February 15 will deal with Monotype printing, February 16 with Lino: Interpreting a work on the exhibition, and February 17 Lino printing: edition making.

Contact Thulani or Pinky on 033 392 2801.