COTA graduates showcase talent

Every year, the College of the Arts (COTA) holds an exhibition of work by graduates of the Visual Art Department. 'New Beginnings' is now in its eighth iteration celebrating yet another year of success in teaching, learning, thinking and making. After 14 years of tuition, the COTA Visual Art Department has become an established institution in the field, producing some of Namibia's most exciting and innovative artists. Their accredited three-year Visual Art Diploma programme teaches a variety of art and craft skills and allows students to major in a technique of their choice in the final year.

With each passing year, the 'New Beginnings' exhibition takes on a different identity, influenced by the concerns of the present day and shifting with the addition of new minds and ideas added to the pool of graduate artists. These personal histories are often present in the work that they create, as is evident in the work of Laimi Mbangula whose textiles are patterned using motifs derived from traditional utensils and tools. Similarly, the works of Elisia Nghidishange and Innovandu Katuuo draw heavily on their culture and traditions; in the case of Nghidishange we see a questioning of the role and place of these traditions in contemporary Namibia.

This contemporary and deep investment in the present moment is clearly evident in the works of Sem Amuthitu, Jeremiah Haihambo, Sidney Lamberth, Viola Rantsch and Vaughn Riekert. Their works, which stem from concerns with social issues prevalent in Namibia today, allow this exhibition to touch on the topics of alcohol abuse, malaria, land ownership and gender-based violence.

With this new beginning, the first exhibition of 2017, the NAGN welcomes new artists to the fold and looks to the future with optimism.

Staff reporter