Speaking during an event dubbed the Art Talk held at Thapong Visual Arts Centre Tuesday evening, the multifaceted visual artist said artists should be adventurous and explore other avenues to sustain their craft. He warned against being short-sighted as the globe has a bigger market which could be an antidote for the saturated market. “I am encouraging you today to be versatile as much you can and the solution to Botswana’s atmosphere is that they need to go out there. They need to be seen and be known because we do not know a lot of artists from Botswana,” Muskwe explained. Muskwe elaborated that the first step for them is to be brave and cross the borders, which can turn out to be their niche. He stated his journey is exemplary of what exactly he is advocating for.
Muskwe is in the country as a resident at Thapong where he is on an exchange programme for two months. He says this is part of his growth as an artist. “When I say they should be international, I mean they should not only try access the international market remotely, but they should move out of the country and sell Botswana to the world,” he said. Muskwe further stated that as the world moves towards digitalisation, artists should use social media to their greatest advantage as it can be a tool to penetrate the international market. “The social media and the internet have everything there and you need to go out for those art residences, workshops and art exhibitions. This is my encouragement to you,” Muskwe explained.
The top Zimbabwean artist highlighted that when artists pick up their brush, pencil, or their art materials, money should be the last thing that crosses their mind. He believes that this is where most artists lose it. “Art and money are a challenging one and if you want to do art and you are money-centred, you will not go anywhere. You will be painting or drawing for the wrong motives. You need to understand yourself first and paint,” Muskwe emphasised. He warned local artists about jumping into the bandwagon, which can be destructive. He, however, maintained that if artists are real to themselves and evoke their zeal, the money will come in at a later stage. The event was the first of a two-series event, which included the Art Talk and an Art Exhibition, which was scheduled for yesterday. The exhibition featured Muskwe and another local artist, Uhuru Kgope. Muskwe has close to 30 years of experience as a career visual artist.
