ON SHOW IN THE CITY

As Windhoek draws to the end of the 2021 arts season, the city still has some cultural events to add to your calendar. From a proudly Namibian moment on Showmax, a graduate exhibition at the National Art Gallery of Namibia as well as The Project Room’s final showcase for the year, here is what’s on artwise in the city.

COTA PRESENTS NEW BEGINNINGS

Let’s give a warm welcome to the College of the Arts’ graduates as they are officially introduced to the professional arts world. Currently on display at the National Art Gallery of Namibia, COTA’s New Beginnings continues its mandate of celebrating the research and creative scholarship of its alumni. While the effect of the pandemic can be seen in the exhibition’s relatively modest showing, it is also evident in the collection’s subject matter. The central installation and mixed media work by artist Taanyanda Matheus is particularly focused on the current crisis with C-19 Condolences both recalling and warning against the devastating trap of Covid-19 as we approach the socialising and merrymaking of the festive season. Also showcasing work by Michelle Isaak who builds striking, tiered, 2-D works from cardboard boxes to imagine multi-coloured cardboard cities and express interior states, New Beginnings presents a handful of intriguing artists and techniques but is, understandably, not as strong in its offering as before the pandemic. A watercolour by Lahiah Musimani is bold, beautiful and already sold while works by Petrina Mathews, Jade Tune, Bewise Tjonga and Lee Murangi impress with their focused exploration of technique and style.

Collective Productions Namibia

#LANDoftheBRAVEfilm hits Showmax

Following its success on the international film festival circuit, director Tim Huebschle’s #LANDoftheBRAVEfilm (2019) is now available to watch on Showmax. Written by Huebschle, who makes his feature film debut in the wake of acclaimed short films and documentaries such as Looking for Iilonga (2011), Dead River (2012), Another Sunny Day (2017) and Walking Forward (2020), the film tells the story of tough-as-nails cop Meisie Willemse whose investigation into a series of murders during the dry chill of a Namibian winter turns personal as she attempts to outrun her past. The crime thriller, which links events in modern Namibia to a tragic love story at the dawn of Independence, stars Elize de Wee, Khadijah Mouton, Armas Shivute, Muhindua Kaura, Pieter Greeff, Chantell Uiras, Joalette de Villiers and Dr Franz Schneider. A treat for Namibians who will recognise many sites in the city as well as the country’s inimitable and beautifully filmed landscape, #LANDoftheBRAVEfilm also draws inspiration from the local true crime story that is the notorious B1 Butcher. The winner of Best Narrative Feature at last year’s Silicon Valley African Film Festival and awarded Best International Film at the 2021 Uganda Film Festival, #LANDoftheBRAVEfilm is Namibia imagined through the lens of the cop-film genre but with a unique historical bent, bolstered by a talented cast and a series of striking locations. Discover it now on Showmax.

A treat for Namibians who will recognise many sites in the city as well as the country’s inimitable and beautifully filmed landscape, #LANDoftheBRAVEfilm also draws inspiration from the local true crime story that is the notorious B1 Butcher.

'The Frontline Reality' by Stephnie Mans

IN THE MEANTIME AT THE PROJECT ROOM

Artist Tuli Mekondjo is the first artist showcased as The Project Room readies its final exhibition. Opening In The Meantime with O’tee, Mekondjo’s arresting performance art piece is centred around the plight of domestic workers. The Project Room’s final showing will feature a selection of the gallery’s past collaborators. Thematically, the exhibition aims to make space in which to contemplate the present moment. “Over the last two years our focus has largely been on navigating life within the parameters and uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has shaped our lives, routines and the way in which we engage with our communities,” says The Project Room’s owner and curator Frieda Lühl. “However, life beyond Covid-19 has consistently been running parallel to that – much of which has not necessarily been shared because of the distance which Covid-19 has created between people and the dominance of pandemic-related experiences,” she says. “The exhibition In The Meantime aims to explore the tension between these two, and what life has been like whilst we attempt to adjust and readjust to life with Covid-19.” Among the exhibiting artists is a unique perspective from debut artist Stephnie Mans who is a physiotherapist working on the pandemic frontline. Mans uses her art to digest and relieve the trauma of working in the Covid-19 wards and urges kindness and a listening spirit as the pandemic continues to divide and wreak havoc on people’s lives. In the Meantime will open at The Project Room on 13 November.

Martha Mukaiwa is a columnist and writer based in Windhoek, Namibia in between spirited sojourns around the world. Her narrative nonfiction, personal essays, travel writing and short stories have appeared in Travel Africa, Quartz, Fields & Stations, Holiday, The Africa Report, Truthdig, Matador Network, Africa is a Country, The Namibian & The Kalahari Review. Martha is an honorary writing fellow at the University of Iowa. Read more at marthamukaiwa.com.

Photography: Martha Mukaiwa