The Summit had attracted the world’s most elite young entrepreneurs and game-changers to the capital city, Gaborone, as such the management of Thapong saw it as an opportunity to cash on the occasion.
A visit to the exhibition on Wednesday was not a disappointing one as I was intrigued by the immense talent on show. On display was an array of different yet brilliant artworks done on different mediums such as digital illustration, photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, contemporary sculpture, fine art, metallic sculpture and multimedia and portrait.
The artworks lightened up and breathe life into the Thapong Visual Arts Centre gallery. There was improved craftsmanship as artists went all out to impress. Thapong Visual Arts Centre Director, Reginald Bakwena explained that the idea was to capitalise on the international visitors that attended the Forbes Summit. He said the exhibition was open to all members of the centre. Bakwena also said the artists did not disappoint as they went out of their comfort zones to create impressive artworks.
He stated that the idea was to give the artists exposure as well as an opportunity to sell their artworks. “We wanted them to sell this time around and create market for their artworks and it did the trick. We encouraged them to do small works not large ones so that these people can easily pick them when they leave, that way it’s easy to sell because the people we were targeting are on the move. I’m happy to say the event was well attended and many of our artists sold something,” Bakwena said.
Still on the matter, Bakwena said the event mostly attracted young artists who needed exposure. Some of them included Tsaone Nthebolang who specialises in photography, Ndiye Chengeta with his digital illustration, Batshwanetse Kebalepile with his painting artworks and Zikode Vincent Kraai with his metallic sculpture to name but a few. He said besides exposing the artists, the exhibition also exposed the centre to local and international potential clients. “Young guys who need to take their work out there came in large numbers. They really need these types of exhibitions.
Another good thing is that Thapong is in a good space with rich history. We are in a monument therefore, we need to capitalise on that and use that to our advantage because people are always looking to come here when they visit. I must tell you that these guys were impressed,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bakwena thanked Forbes Summit organisers for the opportunity as he said local artists struggle to get such platforms. However, he encouraged Thapong Visual Arts Centre members to strengthen their marketing in order to expose their talent to the outside market. He said adopting digital marketing is the future for art as most art collectors have migrated to digital platforms.
