Botanical Art Worldwide: South Africa to be held on May 18, 2018
A worldwide collaboration linking people with plants through contemporary botanical art.
Note: This is version three of this document and all amendments have been highlighted in red text for your convenience
Over a dozen participating countries have joined together to link people to plants through botanical art. Hundreds of artists around the world will capture in paint, ink or pencil, plants native to their home countries to raise awareness of wild plant diversity.
PROJECT CONCEPT
Exhibitions of original contemporary botanical art will be curated
by participating countries around the world based on an indigenous plants
theme. Each country’s sponsoring organisation will schedule events for a
Worldwide Day of Botanical Art to be held on May 18, 2018. This 24-hour, around the world event will
maximise focus on the message: linking people with plants through
contemporary botanical art. All exhibition dates will include May
18, 2018. A digital compilation of images from all exhibitions worldwide will
be shown at each participating venue, alongside that country’s original artworks.
Participating
countries include Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, South Korea,
United Kingdom, and United States.
PROJECT GOALS
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To present a cohesive message about the ability to link the
world’s people with plants through botanical art.
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To build partnerships and educate the global community about the
worldwide renaissance in botanical art.
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To increase appreciation and understanding of the world’s precious
plant diversity and its interconnectedness.
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To acknowledge and build upon the increasing connections between
artists worldwide.
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To maximize all these messages on an international stage.
SOUTH AFRICAN EXHIBITION
The South African exhibition will be held in Johannesburg under
the auspice of the Botanical Artists Association of Southern Africa, BAASA, in
May 2018 at the
Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg. The
official opening will take place Thursday 17th May and the show will
run for a month.
VENUE
The Everard Read Gallery is the oldest commercial gallery in
Africa and celebrated their centenary in 2013.
Built on this proud heritage is the present day contemporary gallery
which represents the finest South African and international artists.
The hosting of the Worldwide Botanical Art Exhibition at this
prestigious venue presents exciting opportunities for botanical art in South
Africa and our botanical artists.
EXHIBITION LOGO
The
image chosen for the exhibition logo is Mandala
mundii by the Cape botanical artist Christiaan Lochner. This beautifully painted specimen was
exhibited on the Plant Exhibition.
STEERING COMMITTEE
The
Steering Committee for this exhibition comprises two representatives from each
region.
Gauteng:
Gillian Condy and Karen Bryden
Western
Cape: Vicki Thomas
KwaZulu Natal: Snooks Cole and Elsa
Pooley
Many other BAASA members will
have the opportunity of working on this project in conjunction with the
Steering Committee as the tasks are many and varied.
ELIGIBILITY
This
exhibition is open to all BAASA members in good standing, residing in Southern
Africa. Each artist may enter only one
country’s exhibition, that being the country of residence. If you are
aware of talented botanical artists working in South Africa or our neighbouring
countries, they may be given a special invitation to participate.
CRITERIA FOR ENTRY
Each country’s artworks will showcase its own unique
flora of the country, depicted through
individual artists’ chosen two-dimensional media.
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All
artworks must have been executed within the past three years and not exhibited
before in a major gallery in Gauteng.
-
Botanical
accuracy, composition and handling of media will also be considered during
selection.
-
Artworks
need not form a theme, but should have a cohesiveness and wall appeal.
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All
artists must guarantee that their work was executed by themselves and has not
contravened copyright.
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Any
two-dimensional media will be accepted including watercolour, oils, acrylic, gouache,
ink, graphite and coloured pencil.
-
All
works must be for sale
MINIATURES
The following criteria apply to miniature artworks:
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Works may not exceed 170 mm x
170 mm (or equivalent areas e.g. 180 mm x 160 mm) including the frame, which
may not exceed 25 mm in width on mounted work and 30 mm on non-mounted work
-
Subjects should be 1/6th
of life size, or if the specimen is particularly small it should be rendered in
the spirit of miniaturism
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No overpainting of printed
images will be permitted.
And after
successful selection:
-
No non-reflective glass will
be permitted
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Works must be archivally
framed and ready for hanging.
Should you submit miniatures
for selection, they will not be counted as part of your four larger
submissions.
Subject
matter
Artists
may depict any indigenous botanical material including all types of plant
material from shrubs and trees to grasses, flowers, lichen, mosses and fungi.
-
Subject matter must be indigenous to
southern Africa, from within the boundaries of: South Africa, Lesotho,
Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Not including the islands off the
mainland.
-
No cultivated hybrids.
The international requirements state: “Definition of a Native plant: Any wild
plant indigenous to a country, including natural hybrids, but excluding any
cultivar, man-made hybrids and naturalised exotics”.
-
Full plants and/or all parts of plant
morphology - such as flowers, leaves, fruits, seeds and root systems - can be depicted.
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Plant pollinators such as bees,
butterflies and birds may be included, provided they do not form the main
subject of the work.
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Containers such as pots or vases should not be included.
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Full botanical names
of all plants must be given on the submission forms. (If you are not sure,
please ask Gill Condy for an identification and she will ask a colleague for
assistance).
FRAMING
In order to bring
cohesion to the exhibition the following frames will be admitted:
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Antique white frames
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Natural light wood frames
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Black or natural dark wood
frames, especially for graphite work and pen and ink.
No gilt frames
will be permitted.
It will be the
artist’s choice whether single or double mount boards are used, whether the
mount board is scored or left plain, or whether inlays are used.
Framing of
canvases will be optional for artists working in oils on canvas.
SUBMISSIONS
Submission
of intent to exhibit will be required by 1 July 2017. This date may seem very early, but it is so we can judge
whether we have an exhibition and whether we need to motivate further.
Artists
may submit between one and four artworks. The regional Selection Committees may
select any number of these works. Artists may bring six works to selection of which four will
be chosen.
All
artworks must be framed, with a moulding that does not detract from the
art. The Steering Committee reserves the
right not to hang works if deemed unsuitable. Artworks must be ready to hang
(with eyelets and hanging wire/cord in place) when delivered in May 2018.
The
Steering Committee reserves the right, on request, to use material for
publicity purposes.
No
price changes will be considered once artworks are accepted, as it leads to
confusion.
DIGITAL SUBMISSION
A high resolution image of all selected artworks will be required
from each artist by 11th
December 2017 for dissemination to all participating countries so that a
selection representing South Africa can be shown at
their venues.
These
images will also be used for the production of a catalogue, subject to the
availability of funds for the production, and an online catalogue.
SELECTION
Selection of artworks will take place regionally in Johannesburg,
Cape Town and Durban in November 2017. Each region of BAASA will be
responsible for organising selection of artworks for this exhibition from their
regional members of good standing.
Regional
Committees will assist artists with couriering the selected artworks to Gauteng
as one consignment.
FEES
A
registration
fee will be payable.
-
R150
for one painting
-
R200
for 2 paintings
-
R300 for 3
paintings
-
R400
for 4 paintings
Works
will be excluded if the registration fee has not been paid.
COMMISSION
A 30% commission will apply - 25% commission will be levied
on sales by the Gallery and 5% by BAASA.
The BAASA commission may be waived subject to sponsorship.
BAASA will be allowed to have a sales table for cards on the
opening evening. Cards will be sold at R20.00 each, of which BAASA will take
R5.00 for facilitating the sale.
communication
This
communication and subsequent ones will be sent to all BAASA members directly
and will be available on the BAASA blog.
A dedicated newsletter will be set up to showcase the
exhibition and inform interested parties of the relevant dates and activities. We
will also use the BAASA Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/botanicalartsa/ to communicate any relevant information.
WORKSHOPS
Workshops
and critique sessions will be part of the BAASA calendar for 2017 to ensure
support for all artists aiming to submit works for this exhibition.
Important
dates IN 2017 AND 2018
Submission
of intention to exhibit - 1 July 2017 (Intent to Exhibit Forms available here.)
Regional
selection – 17/18 November 2017 – Gauteng
07 November 2017 – W. Cape
…… November 2017 - KZN
Artworks
need to reach Johannesburg approximately one week prior to the exhibition date,
between 07 – 11 May. Artworks will be delivered to the gallery, as one
consignment, three days before the exhibition. No late artworks will be
accepted.
Post exhibition, all unsold artworks will be removed from the
gallery as one consignment to a safe space, to be packed and collected by
couriers for the other regions, or collected by the Gauteng artists.
INSURANCE
All efforts will be taken to protect the artworks. BAASA
Gauteng, the Steering Committee and the Gallery will not take any
responsibility for loss or damage. Artists are responsible for insuring their own
works.
CONTACT DETAILS
Gillian Condy
June 2017
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