By Matṧeliso Phulane
The annual African Woman Art Exhibition is in full swing at Café What?, a restaurant in Maseru. The event organised by Runfree is a month-long affair which kicked off on Saturday and is expected to run until the end of August.
Runfree is a platform established to enable young people to express themselves through artwork. It also helps to promote local visual art for the local market.
In an interview with theReporter, RunFree curator and organiser of this year’s edition of the fair, Puso Maliehe, said the exhibition is an opportunity to celebrate women, and they are doing so by showcasing the creative works of the youth.
“We seek to empower women, with a series of artworks created specifically for this event. We acknowledge their contribution to society.
“The stories behind every piece depict what it means to be a woman,” Maliehe noted.
Artists in the line-up include Litṧitso Nthabi, Mamello Sello, Khotso Makoetlane, Hlasoa Lenoesa, Leloko Kumi, Motake Mofeli, Thabo Qhobosheane and Thabo Selibo.
The theme for this year’s edition is ‘Mosali ke tṧiea’ (a woman is a bedrock of society).
Maliehe said they consulted cultural and Sesotho language guru Mathethebala Pitso to break down the phrase ‘Mosali ke tṧiea’ because the aim of the event is to also be educational. The theme pays tribute to a woman’s role in birthing and nurturing a nation.
“A real Mosotho woman is entrusted by the family members to pass through cultural values from generation to generation.
“As a result, there can never be a family foundation without a woman, hence properties belonging to a man who is not married are considered as non-existing inheritance.
“Our recruitment of artists this year is different from previous years when we would invite everyone who wished to showcase their craft. This year we carefully handpicked them from a list of artists in our database,” Maliehe indicated.
He pointed out that the delivery of the artworks to the venue is a challenge as some of the artists are based as far as Thaba-Tseka, Botha-Bothe and Leribe, and they all expect their artworks to get to Maseru in good shape.
Some of the drawings and sculptures are huge and difficult to handle, and this leads to delays in delivery.
This notwithstanding, Maliehe is excited that the exhibition has grown in stature since its inception in 2019.
“Awareness and appreciation of visual arts in Lesotho has grown significantly. The reference point would be last year’s edition where about 95 percent of the exhibits were sold.
“Of the 20 artworks we will be exhibiting, we already have three pieces reserved for sale. We have added one visual artist to the seven we had last year,” he concluded.
