[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Bag Factory Artists’ Studios and Strauss & Co. announce that the Cassirer Welz Award 2019 call for entries is NOW OPEN.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”3747″ img_size=”2048 x 1684″ alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Bag Factory Artists’ Studios is proud to host the annual Cassirer Welz Award, in partnership with Strauss & Co. Now in its ninth year, the award honours two doyens of art auctioneering in South Africa: Reinhold Cassirer and Stephan Welz.
The award acknowledges excellence in emerging artists (under 35) specialising in sculpture, drawing and painting, and provides an opportunity to showcase their talents to a broader audience. The winner receives a ten-week residency at the Bag Factory Artists’ Studios, culminating in a solo exhibition of newly-created work at a leading commercial art gallery.
“Since its inception, this award has helped the winners launch their careers and really start making a name for themselves within the South Africa art market,” says Susie Goodman, Executive Director, Strauss & Co Johannesburg. “This award is an important part of Strauss & Co’s ongoing and substantial commitment to young talent in southern Africa – and is a powerful example of the company’s investment in the art of the future.”
Previous winners of the Cassirer Welz Award include Olivia Botha, Blessing Ngobeni, Asanda Kupa, Nompumelelo Ngoma, Tshepo Mosopa, Thato Nhlapho, Richad ‘Specs’ Ndimande and Keneilwe Mokoena.
The winner of the award receives studio space, a contribution towards material costs and a transport stipend, as well as the opportunity to interact with the resident artists at the Bag Factory. Through the exchange of ideas, mentorship and skills development, the artist has an opportunity for substantial creative and professional growth.
The Cassirer Welz Award was originally founded as the Reinhold Cassirer Award in 2011 by Nadine Gordimer, one of South Africa’s most celebrated authors and the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, to celebrate the life and work of her late husband Reinhold Cassirer, a renowned collector and dealer. In 1968, Cassirer founded Sotheby’s South Africa. When he retired in 1980 to pursue other interests, Stephan Welz, his key protégé, inherited the mantle. After more than 26 years at the head of Stephan Welz & Co, Welz sold the company and founded Strauss & Co in 2009 with prominent figures from the business world, Mrs Elisabeth Bradley and Dr Conrad Strauss. Strauss & Co has since become the largest fine art auction house in South Africa.
After Gordimer’s passing in 2014, Strauss & Co pledged its support to the award – a partnership that has continued to this day. Sadly, Stephan Welz passed away in 2015. In 2016 the Reinhold Cassirer Award was renamed the Cassirer Welz Award, as a fitting tribute to the two men who had contributed so much to the South African art world.
Deadline for entries: Midnight, Sunday 6 October 2019
The winner of the award will be announced on 25 November 2019 at a function at Strauss & Co’s Johannesburg offices.
Programme Dates: 2 December 2019 – 7 February 2020
The artist is expected to:
- Work from the Bag Factory, interacting with Bag Factory and local artists.
- Attend the Bag Factory’s events and participate in the Bag Factory’s community ethos of learning and sharing through exchange.
- Produce new and exciting work for a solo show at a contemporary commercial gallery.
- Complete a written report on the programme on completion of the residency.
- Arrive on time and stay for the full period (10 weeks).
What will the award recipients receive?
- Studio space at the Bag Factory for ten weeks.
- Small materials budget for art production while in residence.
- Small stipend towards transport costs.
- Solo exhibition at the end of the ten week residency.
Applicants should not expect to profit financially or expect to be able to fully sustain themselves financially from or during the residency as this is a cultural development programme. Applicants will NOT receive accommodation or transport to Johannesburg to participate in the award.
What must Applicants submit?
A SINGLE PDF document, no more than 10MB in size including the following information:
- Representative portfolio of work produced in the past five years of at least 20 works.
- An exhibition outline / project outline, indicating what you will be working towards during your residency. Remember to also please include a timeline for your planned project.
- A substantial Curriculum Vitae with full names, references, addresses and contact numbers.
- A brief letter of motivation, not more than one A4 page long, outlining reasons for wishing to join the programme and why specifically you wish to come to the Bag Factory.
- Please state whether you have attended any previous workshops such as Thupelo, Artist Career Boot Camp, RMB Unlocked etc.
*Incomplete applications will NOT be reviewed.
How are the applications assessed?
Applications are assessed by the Bag Factory’s Programme Selection Committee and representatives from Strauss & Co.
Shortlisted candidates ONLY will be contacted for interview by Monday 28 October 2019. Interviews will be conducted in the first week of November 2019.
TO APPLY, EMAIL: applications@bagfactoryart.org.za (with Cassirer Welz Award 2019 as the subject heading)
Deadline for entries: Midnight, Sunday 6 October 2019[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]