The Lesotho Art Fair is calling on interested artists to submit their work for exhibition.
The event is set to take place on Sunday next week from 11.00am until 6.00pm at Machache Hardware Centre in Maseru.
The fair, the first-of-its-kind in the country, is aimed at putting them in the limelight.
Organised by the founder, Mphohlela Ralethoko, who also known as Uncle Donze, the art exhibition will enable artists to showcase their art pieces.
In an interview with theReporter this week, Uncle Donze said the idea of hosting the event came after being inspired by an art fair he attended in Cape Town, South Africa, which led to him thinking of hosting a similar event back home.
“What I am hoping to achieve through this fair is to make Basotho familiar with art as one of the growing industries in the country.
“The second objective of the event is to end up being international, inviting other artists from outside the country like neighbouring South Africa and others that are renowned for art and culture like France and Germany.
“We are therefore, calling on artists to submit their drawing portraits which we will view with my partner and if it’s presentable enough to be at the art zone, then we can take it in. As long as their work is good, they are welcome to submit. There are no entry fees,” said the fine artist.
Uncle Donze added that artists are going to benefit a lot from the fair through publicity. Apart from that, people who will attend the exhibition may be interested to buy their pieces.
It would also be a good opportunity to make new contacts, he noted.
Some of the challenges he encountered in organising the fair include struggling to find a big and suitable venue for an indoor event.
Apart from that, Uncle Donze struggled to get sponsorship as the event is relatively new. He believes that it is because sponsors are not keen to give out money or assist in something they have not seen before. As a result, he had to finance everything from his own pocket.
“One other challenge I encountered is that local artists are very reluctant to take part in the event; they expect me to invite them individually through their inbox, despite having made the post on social media calling on artists who are interested to come and display their work at the Lesotho Art Fair. And I know after the event they are going to complain that I didn’t invite them,” he expressed.
Uncle Donze’s enthusiasm in art began when he was young, following in his brother’s footsteps who used to influence him as he drew cartoons. Just like a younger brother he would follow up what his brother was doing and even gained more interest than him.
In 2019 when he got his first mobile phone, Donze started following other artists and he noticed that one can make a living out of art and become just as good.
Professionally, he started in 2020 by watching tutorials and putting what he learned into practice; he then started receiving orders from people.
He gained more popularity when he embarked on a project of drawing portraits of prominent people such as South African celebrities DJ Lamiez, Dj Maphorisa and Kabza de Small, as well as tennis great Roger Federer.
Last year he got an invitation to make a few art works to be exhibited at the Royal Palace for the King’s birthday. That’s when his career boomed and he noticed that a lot of money could be made out of art. His pieces were sold for up to M100,000.
“I urge Basotho to support all arts because it’s a source of livelihood for artists,” he concluded. Interested artists can contact Donze on +266 69513454
