RMB TALENT UNLOCKED
ABOUT THE MENTORSHIP:
The programme consists of Business & Communications Mentorship which is focused on building on existing skills and knowledge of business and professional communications through engagements with industry and the business of art mentors;
In-Studio (creative) Practice Mentorship with mentor and curator support through face-to-face consultations and group critiques. Recipient artists will be provided with shared studio space throughout the duration of the Talent Unlocked programme where they can experiment, ideate and produce artworks in their respective mediums.
ABOUT THE PROGRAMME:
Talent Unlocked 2024 presents a unique opportunity for South African artists in Gauteng to engage in a comprehensive five-month mentorship program. RMB Talent Unlocked offers industry-specific training and one-on-one creative mentorship support, aimed at advancing artistic careers.
In conjunction with Bag Factory Artists' Studios and Artist Proof Studio, programme participants will benefit from studio space and ongoing support throughout the duration of the 2024 program. The culmination of the program includes exposure to various professional exhibition and marketing opportunities, strategically timed to coincide with Joburg Art Fair’s peak season and exhibiting platforms in August and September.
This programme serves those who are deeply committed to their professional development and eager to refine their individual brand, a pivotal opportunity. Supported by RMB, this initiative aligns with the institution’s commitment to nurturing and showcasing diverse talent for the development of the creative economy.
Participants will be tasked with developing and refining a body of work under the guidance of experienced artistic mentors and curators. The artists will show their works in a group exhibition aimed as supporting artists to network and promote their outputs through various curated Talent Unlocked opportunities.
RMB Talent Unlocked is designed to help equip participants with the skills and connections necessary to propel their artistic endeavours to new heights.
MEET THE BAG FACTORY PARTICIPANTS:
Sello Ronald Letswalo, from Limpopo South Africa, is a dynamic multimedia artist whose work explores personal narratives through the innovative use of found materials such as steel and Machangani bags.
Letswalo graduated from the Tshwane University of Technology in 2017 with a B-Tech in Fine andApplied Arts. His artistic process is deeply influenced by recycling and upcycling materials. By reinterpreting disregarded materials, he gives the object new meaning.
Fusing sculpture and paintings as a way to reveal the history and conditions of the materials. Letswalo's ongoing exploration of African identity, cultural rituals, and the role of women in South African townships continues to resonate through his powerful artworks.
Madimetsa Gambu Paena Galane, is a visual artist from Kalkspruit, Polokwane.
Paena is a published author and a visual artist who is currently based in Pretoria West.
He has been selected as a finalist in two competitions namely; the Gallery Art Bar Emerging Artist Competition and the 2023 Sasol New Signatures Competition.
He was motivated to pursue his art career, after the launch of the Hip Hop Museum in New York. His work makes commentary on the relationship that society has with sports and entertainment.
Tshepo Sizwe Phokojoe is a distinguished self-taught multidisciplinary artist with a rich background in visual arts and fashion.
Phokojoe's artistic journey includes participation in the 2017 peer mentoring program at Assemblage Studios under the guidance of Bronwyn Lace.
His professional experience is further enriched by his roles as a studio assistant to esteemed artists Nkhensani Rihlampfu and Nicholas Hlobo.
Phokojoe's talent and dedication have been recognized with several prestigious awards. He was honored with the 2017 PPC Imaginarium Merit Award for Fashion and more recently, the 2023 Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize. Additionally, he is the 2023 recipient of the Bag Factory's Young/Unframed residency.
His work is characterized by a dynamic fusion of mediums and an innovative approach that challenges conventional artistic boundaries. He currently resides and works in Johannesburg, where he continues to evolve his practice and contribute to the vibrant South African art scene.
Nazeerah Jacub born in the heart of Johannesburg spent her early life in a predominantly Muslim community, wherein the pursuit of art was inaccessible and discouraged. She began oil painting at fourteen and graduated with a Visual Art Honours degree from the University of Johannesburg in 2016.
She has received numerous awards including a Thami Mnyelemerit award and was selected as a finalist in the Sasol New Signatures competition. She has been elected as part of the top 100 artists to exhibit at the ‘Other Art Fair, in Australia.
Nazeerah is an independent artist, a mother of two girls and runs her studio from Auckland Park, Johannesburg. Nazeerah has just recently graduated from the International Sculpture-Painting School.
Johanness Nyokong is a visual artist from Evaton who spent time travelling between Gauteng and the Free State province.
At the age of 18, Nyokong was involved politically motivated accident in which he was shot. To recover from the incident, his community came together in support of his efforts to complete his education.
Nyokong completed his Fine art qualification at the University of Johannesburg, he has shown his work in various exhibitions and has competed in competitions. In 2016, he received an entrepreneurship grant together with the artists from Boipatong to aid the growth of his creative practice.
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, to Congolese refugee parents. Ilunga defines herself as an Afrofuturist Surrealist, continually pushing boundaries in her exploration of identity and existence.
Her spirited curiosity gravitated towards stories and ancient mythologies.
After pursuing art in high school, Ilunga delved deeper into her passion by studying Fine Arts at the University of Johannesburg.
Ilunga's work explores themes of collective consciousness, blackness, and the human condition, often morphing humanoid figures into alternative realities to create visually captivating imagery.
Known as Siphamandla Ex, a South African artist from KwaZulu Natal. While
His artistic focus revolves around gaining a deeper understanding of human conditions in villages and townships, with a particular emphasis on investigating issues of violence and abuse through portraiture.
His ultimate aspiration is to establish a non-profit organisation aimed at keeping children off the streets by providing them with shelter, nutrition, and recreational programs.
Through this initiative, Ex hopes to offer children equal opportunities in life and empower them to pursue their dreams. With a strong commitment to social impact through art, Siphamandla Ex remains dedicated to his mission.
Smiso Cele is a South African visual artist from Port Shepstone, KwaZulu Natal and is based in Johannesburg.
Cele has recently completed his BA in Visual Art at the University of Johannesburg. He categorises his practice as drawing, but it is inclusive of other mediums like printmaking, sculpture and an investment into curatorial practices.
Through his creative practice, Cele explores his interests in the manner in which events unfold concerning space, he is also navigating himself through the impacts of geology and biology and the other way around, speculating how that informs culture.
MEET THE UMHLABATHI COLLECTIVE PARTICIPANTS:
Viwe A.R. Madlanga is an independent film artist born in Sterkspruit, Eastern Cape.
In 2019 he was awarded a scholarship to study Cinematography for content creation at ORMS Cape Town School of Photography, since completing his studies he has made various independent experimental shorts including having been invited to participate in the 2022 Latent group exhibition at ORMS CTSP.
In 2023 he then participated in the Radical Hospitality exhibition at the Bertha House. Heavily influenced by the late 1960s-70s Hollywood New Wave cinema and the works of Andrei Tarkovsky, he is continuously pushing to see how far he can take experimental cinema while making it more accessible.
Nondumiso Shange is a photographer based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Shange's primary medium is documentary and editorial photography, she has been honing in on her craft professionally for the past three years after previously pursuing photography as just a hobby.
Mabel Cetu, in particular, has deeply influenced her with the
ability to portray vulnerability, as seen in her work on the everyday lives of Black communities in the 1950s. Since obtaining a book on South African photography, Cetu's images have resonated with Shange, fueling her desire to contribute to the broader dialogue surrounding African representation in the arts.
Through her photography, Shange aims to shed light on the diverse narratives of Africa and its people, challenging stereotypes and celebrating the richness of African culture, especially within the youth.
Bongani Zulu is a freelance photographer from Vosloorus, an area in the city of Boksburg.
Zulu is Leather Craftsman by profession who completed his Fine Art qualification at the University of Johannesburg.
Zulu left the corporate industry to pursue his career as photographer. His work has featured on Bona Magazine in the fashion section. He has been awarded the Online National Crafts Awards as 4th Winner in 2022. He has participated in many exhibitions including the Ekhuruleni Arts Show in 2023.
Mzwandile Mpaka is photographer from Soweto. He attended Boston Media House where his artistic journey began in 2016. Between 2018 and 2021, he was under Umuzi and March Media based in both Cape Town and Johannesburg and later obtained his Film and Television Production Certificate.
He worked on a self-project titled ‘To Live In CA’ which led to being featured in his first group exhibition at the Turbine Art Fair in 2023, with a piece titled Morning Shadows. As a documentary photographer, he desires to travel the world and build new relationships with strangers by learning about their culture and documenting their backgrounds.
Mzwandile is an artist inspired by shadows as he continues to chase shadows with his lens. Through his lens, he ensures to find beauty in the ugliness and stillness in the chaos. My photography is based on documenting the daily activities we encounter as we chase our dreams.
Gugulethu is a Johannesburg-based photographer. Soweto as a township plays a cultural significance in the stories he narrates. He is a creative director of a collaborative project called Brokenvilages aimed at storytelling. He is a storyteller of African narratives and the Black experience that he witnesses daily.
He creates work that shows a different perspective thus allowing his audience to draw new conclusions of what is commonly known. The stories he shares are often derived from matters he is impacted by in efforts to heal from the very issues that affect him.
