Arterial Network Seychelles elects new steering committee |13 December 2021

Arterial Network Seychelles Steering Committee 2021: Front row (left to right): Mariaan Laubscher (secretary), Alex Camille (vice-chair), Laurent Alis (chair), Federico Lang (treasurer). Back row (left to right): Jude Ally, Emily Motu, Charles Dodo and Ew

Members of the Arterial Network Seychelles (ANS), the ‘go to’ NGO for realising major art projects in Seychelles, met recently for the much-delayed annual general meeting (AGM) of this important arts organisation.

Martin Kennedy, the outgoing chair, presided over the meeting with reports being presented on activities, finance and plans for the future. Having completed their maximum tenure, the treasurer and vice-chair also stepped down.                                    

The main item of business on the AGM agenda was the election of a new steering committee, with the following officers and members voted in: Laurent Alis (chair), Alex Camille (vice-chair), Federico Lang (treasurer), Mariaan Laubscher (secretary), Jude Ally, Charles Dodo, Emily Motu and Ewa Ossowska (committee members).

Our upcoming annual exhibition, the 7th Affordable Art Fair hosted throughout December 2021, will hopefully bring us back to a state of near normal leading up to the end of year celebrations.

The chairperson would like to take this opportunity to warmly invite any artists interested in showing work at the gallery to contact us and pitch for a one-person or two-person show. Alternatively they may show work at one of the thematic shows to be announced. We are also particularly keen to welcome new members from the music, photography, design, dance, drama and literature fields.

Membership is only R100 for a whole year and a simple application form can be obtained from either Shelly Mordon, the gallery manager on edenartspace@gmail.com or from the ANS secretary on arterialseychelles@gmail.com

A look back on six exhibitions hosted at the Eden Art Space from 2019-2021:

ANS operations were extremely curtailed due to the pandemic and the associated public health restrictions which, among other things, obliged us to have our gallery closed for extended periods in 2020 and, even when it was open, cancel private views and school visits etc.

Nevertheless, Arterial organised 6 exhibitions at the Eden Art Space Gallery during 2019 to 2021. Eden Art Space gallery is the face of ANS, and continues to offer the finest exhibition space in the country, showcasing the work of more than 40 artists.

The Affordable Art Fair, which commenced in December 2019, continued into January 2020 and, as with prior editions, this exhibition gave the public the opportunity to purchase original art works with a price ceiling of R8000. Commission charged by the gallery was also reduced, thus benefiting the artists who sold work.

‘In Sinus’, an exhibition by Birgitt Lubkemann (La Digue artist) which also featured works by Praslin artist Raymond Dubuisson, followed in late January 2020, a show which featured the largest single artwork ANS had ever exhibited.

‘The Motherwall’. 4.7m x 2.3m. This show was accompanied by a 38 page full colour catalogue.

ANS gratefully acknowledges financial support provided by the NAC in 2019 towards the continuation of our catalogue publishing programme, support which was repeated this year.

‘Vannswet’ followed, a group exhibition which featured the work of more than 50 Seychellois and resident artists.

‘Alain Samson’, a one-person show, took place in October and once again we were able to produce a full colour catalogue for this exhibition, which featured the work of one of Seychelles’ most respected figurative artists. Alain had his marriage ceremony in the gallery during the show.

We closed 2020 with the latest edition of the Affordable Art Fair, which this time featured a section of curated craft works. Arterial is committed to broadening the range of exhibited work. We had previously staged Seychelles’ first major photography exhibition, however a planned 2020 ‘Pop-Up’ photography show was one of the unfortunate casualties of the pandemic closures.

ANS also held its annual Big Draw event, which involved students from 5 (mostly state) schools. Creative workshops at the gallery followed school-based preparation and were followed by an exhibition in the gallery of the work produced.

This further consolidated Arterial’s support for young and emerging artists. We exhibited and sold – commission free – work by SIAD students during the year.

Throughout the year, in common with other associations, Arterial continued to operate online, utilising social media platforms to disseminate information.

Arterial also delivered training workshops for secondary art teachers on the new requirements for the Cambridge IGCSE assessment, which, having been significantly revised, now requires ongoing coursework to count for 50% of the final grade. Previously state schools tended to opt for the ‘two exams’ option and were hesitant about the new orders. ANS responded to teachers’ requests for assistance.

A major success for ANS was ‘The Future’ project, which saw 31 young Mentees paired with professional Mentors in their chosen fields. The Mentors met regularly with the Mentees over a 12-month period and educated, guided and supported the mentees in the pursuit of their career goals. ‘The Future’ was made possible with funds awarded by the Ministry of Finance National Grants Committee.

And the most recently held Synesthesia exhibition – where the viewer can immerse in an audio experience while viewing the work – has been very well received.

Contributed