This came to the fore during a recent workshop held at the Thapong Visual Arts Centre. The workshop was organised by First National Bank Botswana Foundation (Riverwalk branch) through its Project-Kgodiso initiative to upskill artists’ business. While the workshop was an eye opener, it also shed light on the plight of visual artists in the country.
Fine artist and writer, Modirwa Kekwaletswe, who presented on The Brand as an Artist warned artists that their artwork represents their brands, as such they should create reputable brands in order to get return business. Kekwaletswe explained that when artists produce something great, the audience will be moved to accept it and likely to buy the product. He said in reinforcing one’s artistic reputation, artists are able to penetrate international markets and to ensure brand longevity on the market. “Often times, artists face a difficult choice of creating art to please themselves and creating art primarily for an existing market. But throughout this, artists should remember that your art is your brand, there is no separation. You are the brand. Be authentic and create the brand around yourself,” he advised.
Giving examples of renowned international and local visual artists, Kekwaletswe elaborated that the higher the quality of the art, the higher the brand. He also urged artists to consistently produce quality work for better brand proposition. While artists have complained of lack of market for their artworks, Kekwaletswe said there is room for growth in areas such as public art commissions, portraiture, and collaboration with interior designers/architects, film as well as illustrations. Meanwhile Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) copyright officer, Gofaone Siwela urged artists to register their artwork for copyright protection.
Siwela said they are currently working on amending the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act. She highlighted that among the positive changes coming into the industry include granting visual artists a resale right. This, she explained, would see artists benefit from the increase in value of their artwork over time by granting the artists a percentage of the proceeds from the resale of their original artworks. “This would be to ensure artists got their deserved fair share of royalties,” she said. The workshop was followed by a craft market day and exhibition, which saw participation by over 20 artists.
