Xwalacktun
At NIROX in Johannesburg
In residency from May 25th to June 30th, 2024
Xwalacktun, image courtesy of Brian Dennehy
An International Exchange between Canadian and South African Artists
Co-curated by Lisa Baldissera, Usha Seejarim and Karen Tam
Griffin Art Projects is thrilled to announce the participation of esteemed artist Xwalacktun in a two-part residency in Johannesburg, South Africa, as part of the Future Worldings exchange! This residency will take place from May 26 - June 30, 2024 and is produced in collaboration with the Bag Factory, Johannesburg, and NIROX Residency and Sculpture Park, and is coordinated by guest curator Usha Seejarim and artist Kate Swart. During his five-week residency, Xwalacktun will visit key Johannesburg and South African sites and meet artists, curators, academics and gallerists.
At NIROX, Xwalacktun will work onsite in a residential studio experience throughout June. Located in the Cradle of Humankind, the NIROX Residency and Sculpture Park offers residents access to the expansive 1,000-hectare Khatlhaphi Private Nature Reserve, a haven of hills and valleys teeming with diverse local wildlife. During this time there, Xwalacktun will share his knowledge by mentoring and working collaboratively with South African artists Collen Maswanganyi and Ben Tuge, members of the collective Carving X. During a guided journey to Limpopo, Xwalakctun will meet South African Master Carvers Mam Noria Mabasa, Johannes Maswanganyi and the late Jackson Hlungwani grandsons. Limpopo is renowned for its bushveld and wildlife reserves, including a section of Kruger National Park.The residency will culminate in the group exhibition Relief at NIROX, organized and presented by NIROX curator Sven Christian, which will include work produced by Xwalacktun during his residency.
Future Worldings is an exhibition, residency, conference and public program series that will bring together three South African artists, Lebogang Mogul Mabusela, Pebofatso Mokoena and Wezile Mgibe Harmans, and three Canadian artists, Nura Ali, Sun Lee and Xwalacktun, to consider the parallel processes of the TRC in both countries and how it might be possible to approach creative work collectively, while retaining the specificities of site, body, history, access and cultural understandings, in order to “world” together. The Future Worldings conference will be presented in partnership with the Aboriginal Gathering Place and Jake Kerr Faculty of Graduate Studies at ECU while a week-long residency this August, produced in collaboration with the Similkameen Artist Residency, will host all 6 artists in a retreat workshop experience in Keremeos. Stay tuned for our Fall events for more details!
https://www.xwalacktun.ca/
