After receiving many requests to take his art elsewhere, Bale has decided to take the exhibition to Maun. He said the success of the Gaborone one inspired him to take it on tour.
He said he got motivated when he realised how his audiences connected and related to his life experiences. Bale explained that he had been working on tour since the previous exhibition but the process was not easy because of funds.
The Maun exhibition is hosted at Duck Café bar and it is a month long event. It started on August 27, 2022 and it will run until September 30, 2022. “So far the tour is self sponsored but I have approached a couple of possible sponsors hoping they come on board because I still have four more cities and or towns to go like Kasane, Gantsi, Francistown and Gaborone.
I chose Maun, so I figured they deserved it and this goes to all the other chosen cities. The opening was great and I managed to sell two paintings on the day,” he proudly stated. He also stated that he managed to apply new art techniques that has received positive feedback.
He explained that the initial exhibition was birthed after his session where he had a particular painting dedicated to his mom, which got everyone intrigued at the studio. He added that people wanted to know the story behind painting so he later on decided to go deeper by trying to share more of his mother's story. “I had to make 10 more as a continuation of the Isabel story line.
The inspiration for me always comes from what I am feeling deep inside, but this one was fueled by the 20 attendees for my open studio dialogue session who were able to relate and have a connection with the art piece I made for my mother.
Isabel Kakale Bale is my mother whom I lost while I was young. She was a Math and English lecturer at Francistown Teachers Training College and also a contemporary artist,” he said.
“Since she died while I was young, I would not say much from what I have seen myself but rather what I heard. My mother was an inspiring soul, always there for who came to her for help. She was compassionate, understanding, family oriented and career driven lady. Her strengths were that she was a quick learner and adaptable to work in any environment.
Always focused and her weakness was that she had a tendency of taking things personal,” he explained. Furthermore, Bale explained that the exhibition was so important to him because it was about the loss of someone he dearly loved and wished she were there to witness his talent and growth in the arts industry.
He also added that the exhibition also made him tap into his deep feelings that made him realise that some things were beyond his control. He also pointed out that his biggest challenge in arranging the exhibition was the fact that he had to open up and explore feelings of something he had been trying so hard to go back to.
