“The Wiles Gallery”, Bathurst

I have long been an admirer of Lucy Wiles’s fresh watercolours of South Africa’s people, so you can well imagine my delight at discovering the Wiles Gallery at Bathurst on my recent visit to Grahamstown. Bathurst is a quaint little town just outside Grahamstown, where time has stood still and well known by students for the legendary “Pig and Whistle”, where many a Rhodes student has stopped off to quench his or her thirst.

The “Wiles Gallery” is a relatively new addition to the area, having been built only seven months ago. This was an obvious stop for me and I was not disappointed. Jane Wiles, owner of the gallery and daughter of Lucy Wiles was in the gallery herself as it was the week of the Festival. Jane is a highly recognized artist in her own right and the gallery boasts a number of her magnificent seascapes. Her interest lies in light, nature and water and so it is no surprise that Jane sees the sea as her “most nurturing subject”. Jane chatted warmly with us and spoke nostalgically of her time on the Kwazulu Natal coast. Based in Mtunzini for some years, she lectured in literature at the University of Zululand. Only when I arrived home did I remember having received an invitation to one of her exhibitions many years ago and made the connection.

Jane is the fourth generation of artists. Henry Wiles was one of the youngest gold medallists of the Royal Academy at the University of Cambridge. He was a sculptor who studied in Rome and Naples. His son, Walter was best known for his interpretations of the seashore, so it is no wonder that Jane shares a love of the sea and coastline. Walter’s son, Brian was determined to be a writer. He, too, became a renowned South African artist and married Lucy Mullins – now so well known to us as Lucy Wiles. Lucy studied under Nils Anderson. So with both parents being artists Jane’s decision to open a gallery and her desire to spend time painting, which she describes as “doing what she wants to do” is hardly surprising.

Her mother still lives in Knysna, but will be moving to Port Alfred shortly. In her eighties, she is still painting to supply the gallery and if her most recent flower painting is anything to go by, the standard of her work continues to amaze.



Certainly, my discovery of the “Wiles Gallery” at Bathurst was a memorable highlight of a week spent at the Grahamstown Festival.

Sculptor Maureen Quin

Maureen Quin is no stranger to the Grahamstown Arts Festival, having started exhibiting at Rennie Hall in the Albany Museum in 1992. What is, however, very refreshing about Maureen’s approach is the interactive nature of her Festival exhibitions. As she puts it: “I wanted to break away from the stereotype of exhibitions which are basically empty, silent and intimidating spaces for viewing art.” Her approach is to encourage interaction, communication and participation.

So it is that one enters Rennie Hall with a sense of anticipation. We found Maureen busy working on a portrait of a friend. She had taken numerous photographs of the model and these were displayed on a board in front of where she was working. She was deeply involved, building up the form with small pieces of clay. Viewing the original bronzes on display, however, made one instantly aware that what was happening was far more than just capturing the physical features of her model, for Maureen has a rare ability to capture the essence and spirit of her subject. Her bronzes have a presence that stays with you and leave an indelible impression on your mind.



Maureen was born and schooled in the Bloemfontein district. She studied sculpture in Durban and then went on to further her studies in London. She is a professional sculptor with numerous public and private commissions to her name and she has had more than 40 solo exhibitions and has participated in more than twenty group exhibitions. She is represented in most art collections in South Africa. She received the silver medal of the University of Pretoria for her outstanding contribution to art and the Premier’s award for promoting sculpture in the Eastern Province.

Maureen’s husband, Etienne, is obviously one of her greatest admirers and he was quick to engage in conversation and supply us with details of her working methods, past commissions and an extremely important project that she will be involved in the months ahead.

Maureen and Etienne live in Alexandria in the Eastern Cape and her sculptures are permanently on display to the public in the “Sculpture Garden” at her home. This would obviously be well worth a visit, but the exceptional quality of her work ensures that we will no doubt be hearing a great deal more about this extremely talented sculptor in the not too distant future.

Kwazunva (KZN Visual Arts) Assessment workshop

Entering the workshop venue at Danville Girl’s High, and seeing the interesting and extremely varied selection of artwork on display aroused one’s curiosity as to what was ahead. Having attended last year’s “Judge’s Workshop”, I knew already what standard to expect and I was not disappointed.

It seemed obvious to revisit the point method of judging that had been formulated at last year’s workshop early in the programme and to assess its effectiveness and the discussion that followed was such that it became apparent that there was a need for a separate workshop for selectors and judges to explore these issues in greater depth. A follow up workshop specifically for selectors and judges is planned for February of 2007.



A wide spectrum of the Durban Art industry was represented at the Assessment workshop, including representatives from art groups, galleries and art suppliers. This made for extremely interesting dialogue and the discussion benefited from input from a variety of viewpoints. Ingrid Smith was again the facilitator and she ensured that it was a very interactive workshop.
There were a number of very searching questions asked and John Smith, President of Kwazunva and well known Durban artist, who is also known for his strong views on many art related issues helped keep the discussion lively.

Participants were set a practical judging exercise – assessing three of the artworks on display. An unusual Adrian Boshoff landscape caused much interesting debate. The groups also tried their hand at report writing on an exhibition and we were surprised by the impressive talent amongst our number.

After lunch, topics such as: “The purpose of Art”, “Décor vs sales”, “How cheap imports will affect the art market?” and “How do we educate the public about cheap substitutes?” led us into some very interesting debate.

We left with a sense of having been greatly enriched by the interaction amongst participants. Thanks to John and Ingrid Smith for making this workshop possible.

The Arts and Culture Imbizo with Dr. Z Pallo Jordan

It is not often that one has the opportunity to address issues on the Visual Arts directly to the Minister of Arts and Culture, himself, but the Imbizo called by Dr. Pallo Jordan on 13 April at the Playhouse provided just such an opportunity. The Minister encouraged a direct and frank approach toward bringing the concerns of the artist in Kwazulu Natal before the government and he assured those present that their concerns would be taken seriously.

Representatives of the Arts addressed their questions to the Minister and his panel. A “Feedback Form” was given to those that did not get an opportunity to voice their concerns, giving them the opportunity to submit a written query to which they were assured of an answer.

After a request for more regular engagement with the government, the Minister explained that the Imbizo was only one such form of engagement and that the process is ongoing. Many committee meetings both at Municipal and National level are open meetings and the public are welcome to attend. He encouraged the representatives of Arts and Culture to familiarize themselves with the channels that are available to them. He also encouraged citizens to be involved in the making of policy and to address issues through these channels. Dr. Jordan drew attention to the Government website where one can find the government’s policy statements on these issues.

Questions from the floor clearly revealed unrealistic expectations of the government with regard to Arts and Culture – cries were heard for more theatres, grants for filmmakers and promotions for music and dance groups. Dr. Jordan set the record straight with directness and clarity: The government is not a promotion agency or an agency to create work for artists. Its role is rather to create an environment in which the artist can work. Artists must establish themselves by their own efforts and he encouraged them to “improve their bargaining power” by uniting and forming unions. Government has established many art centers throughout the province, but how they are used will depend upon communities.

On the matter of finance, Dr. Jordan was clear and practical: all money available for spending was public taxes. The demands on the government purse were from all sectors including basic needs such as clean water, hospitals, housing, roads etc. Obviously money had to be allocated according to priority.



Dr. Jordan admitted that many artists and craftspeople are being exploited and that government was seeking to address this issue. He disagreed that the visual arts was being sidelined and made reference to a number of exhibitions that the government has facilitated – including the recent Picasso exhibition. Apparently this is to be followed by an Egyptian exhibition, which is due to take place next year in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Why is it that these exhibitions are missing Durban? Come on, Durban, perhaps we should “muster some bargaining power” and ask the Minister.