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Makwande l'Abondance brings together 42 emerging South African artists and 90 selected prints from institutions across the country, including the University of the Free State, University of Johannesburg, Central University of Technology, Tshwane University of Technology, University of Pretoria and others.The exhibition presents student printmaking across a wide range of techniques, including woodblock, linocut, reduction linocut, silkscreen, intaglio, etching and other forms of hand printed image making. The works are united not by a single subject or aesthetic, but by the shared experience of making prints by hand during the course of their studies. Together, they reveal the multiplicity of printmaking, where technical control and careful repetition exist alongside accident, chance and material unpredictability.
The title Makwande l'Abondance brings together two languages around a shared idea. Makwande is an isiXhosa expression meaning "let them grow" or "may they multiply", carrying the sense of a blessing or wish for increase and prosperity. For a printmaking exhibition, the phrase carries an additional resonance through the nature of the print as a multiple. L'Abondance, meaning "abundance" in French, acknowledges the exhibition's host, Alliance Française, while also describing the abundance of prints brought together in the exhibition.
Makwande was co-founded in 2022 by Linde Kriel and Sebotse Selamulela, then both Fine Arts students at the University of the Free State. The initiative emerged from a recognition that students were producing technically demanding and conceptually rich prints that often disappeared into portfolios and drawers after assessment. Makwande was created to provide a platform through which student artists could exhibit, sell and gain visibility for their work while their careers are still developing.
Makwande l'Abondance is the largest exhibition mounted by Makwande to date. Bringing together works made across different institutions, years of study and printmaking processes, the exhibition offers a collective portrait of the skill, experimentation and conceptual depth present within contemporary South African student printmaking.
At its heart, the exhibition is an act of making space. It recognises the importance of accessible platforms for young artists and affirms that work made during one's studies can be worthy of being seen, collected and lived with.
Curated by Linde Kriel, Makwande l'Abondance celebrates not only the individual print, but the abundance of artists, processes, ideas and possibilities that emerge when student work is given a platform.
Thurs 8 October 6pm | Everyone is welcome | Free Entrance
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Event venue
99 Rivier street, Sunnyside, 0002 Pretoria, South Africa, 99 Rivier St, Tshwane, 0002, South Africa, Pretoria
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