Afronova
Along with artist and performer Billy Zangewa, curator HenriVergon is the man behind Afronova, a new Pan-African art galleryopposite the Market Theatre in Newtown. While Zangewa was oversees, I
caught up with Vergnon to discuss the venture, which is clearly a
labour of love for the pair, who unlike most gallery owners are driven
by a deep-seated desire to develop African artistic talent, rather than
their own bank balances. Vergon's passion is infectious, and over a
glass of wine we chatted about this exciting new gallery and venue,
where local painter Samson Mnisi is currently exhibiting alongside
Ethiopian artist Gera Mawi Mazgabu.
JHBLive:Afronova is a contemporary Pan-African gallery, exhibiting artists from
all over Africa alongside local talent. What is the importance of this?
Henri Vergon:South Africa has been isolated from the rest of Africa for many years
and only now is this starting to change. While many people from the
rest of Africa have this innate desire to learn about South Africa,
people here seem to lack curiosity about the rest of the continent. Our
perception is one of war and disease there's ignorance, not a lot of
South Africans could name many African leaders or even countries. One
of our missions is to reintegrate South Africa into the rest of Africa.
It's natural for Billy and I to travel Africa and try and understand it
and get an idea of the socio-political environment, in order to have a
better understanding of the art. At the gallery we have artists from
all over Africa. We include the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean, and
artists in the African Diaspora. That's our concept and it's quite a
unique profile in Johannesburg. Other galleries exhibit African artists
but we will only feature African art, making us perhaps the only
Pan-African gallery in Jozi.
JHBLive: How long has Afronova existed as a concept?
Henri Vergon:The idea has been incubating for about ten years. Billy and I had been
discussing it from a few years back, so when we found the right setting
it was almost immediate. After two minutes of talking to Malcolm Purkey
(Creative Director of the Market Theatre) we'd convinced him, and we
have to thank him for that. Without him we wouldn't be here. And then
it took about a week to get it going, even though it was closed for a
year, doing nothing but gathering dust and big cockroaches. It smelled
of cooking oil at first, but now we've transformed it into a gallery.
It's been amazing seeing the idea turn into a reality.
JHBLive: Why did you choose this space opposite the Market Theatre?
Henri Vergon:It's the ideal venue; I had my eye on it for quite a while. The
dimensions are perfect, it's a comfortable and elegant space, it's
contemporary but also full of heritage, I even kept the original
windows and doors from the Yard of Ale, the legendary restaurant that
used to be in this space. The place is full of history, and what we're
doing now reminds a lot of people of the golden era at The Market
Theatre during the 70's, when it was the most vibrant centre for
intellectuals and artists in the country, whether you were from an
academic or visual arts or musical or film background, all the thinkers
were gathered here. People have told us with emotion that the space
reminds them of those days, and for us it's a huge compliment.
The
space inside the gallery is fantastic and well suited, but the actual
location makes it even better, it's the only gallery in the inner city,
I think a lot of gallery owners thought we were crazy when we started
because of the reputation of inner city Joburg, everybody told me you
won't sell anything, there are no buyers, and fortunately we've proved
them very wrong in two months. We always wanted to set up in Newton,
there's an incredible mix of people coming here, and the interaction
with our neighbours is amazing. That's why we open late at night, all
the people coming to the theatre and the restaurants and then to visit
us.
JHBLive: I've heard about your commitment to unifying the art world. Tell me about that.
Henri Vergon:We aim for a diverse crowd of creative types, film-makers, playwrights,
poets, artists of all kinds, rather than just the visual arts
intelligentsia. The arts here have become very segmented, as opposed to
10 years ago when everyone was collaborating. I don't know why that's
changed, maybe because the industry has become more structured and now
art is more a point of business rather than of liberating the spirits.
10 years ago there was a synergy and I'd love to bring it back. This
will happen by getting people together, to work and think and exchange
points of view. Through the gallery we want to encourage interaction
and debate, not in a high intellectual way, but in a practical way.
That's
why we book Gramadoelas restaurant and invite people from every sphere
of the arts to interact without the boring aspect of forums or official
meetings. There's good food, good wine, good company. Get people
together and after a couple glasses of wine ideas start to flow.
JHBLive: You've been in Newtown for ten years. How has it changed?
Henri Vergon:We have a new generation of people coming into Newtown, when I arrived
it was a big squatter camp, and people didn't even know where it was
because hanging out in the inner city was still unheard of. I've had
people phoning me from their cars shouting because they're lost and
they can't find the city, people who hadn't left Sandton for 15 years.
Now, it's becoming trendy to hang out here. It's becoming cosmopolitan
again. It's like a flower blossoming. It's both a human and an economic
factor. A few years ago property owners would get rid of their
buildings as soon as possible. There were plenty of empty buildings,
and now the owners of these buildings are sitting on a goldmine and the
prices are going way up. If you check the parking there are lots of
expensive cars here now.
Historically the Market always had a feeling of cultural mixing, and now that this is being revived, Afronova is just one more addition to this landscape. And we're very happy to be here!
To find out more about Afronova call Henri on 083 726 5906, e-mail afronova@tiscali.co.za or visit www.afronova.com.
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