Through a long-term partnership with Strauss Education, the Cassirer Welz Award has helped its winners launch their careers and make a name for themselves within the South Africa art market.
Bag Factory Artists’ Studios in association with Strauss & Co Education and Fine Art Auctioneers, announces Joburg-based artist and writer Bulumko Mbete as the winner of the 12th Edition of the prestigious Cassirer Welz award at Strauss & Co.
The award was founded in 2011 by the late Nobel Laureate, Nadine Gordimer in celebration of her husband Reinhold Cassirer’s love of the arts. It has grown into a prestigious visual art award known for locating and acknowledging excellence in emerging local artists. After the passing of Stephan Welz, the following year, the Reinhold Cassirer Award was renamed the Cassirer Welz Award as a fitting tribute to the two men who contributed so much to the South African art world.
The selection jury, comprised of Bag Factory director Maria Fidel Regueros, Zinhle Zwane and young curator and researcher Boitumelo Makousu, Strauss& Co, Executive Director Susie Goodman, and Senior Art Specialist Wilhelm van Rensburg, who unanimously agreed that Bulumko Mbete, is an exceptional multifaceted artist, whose interest in materiality; through the use of textile, beading, natural dyeing and weaving to communicate generational traditions and gestures of love, will benefit from the opportunity for substantial creative and professional growth. With her award, Bulumko Mbete receives an intensive 3-month studio-based residency at the Bag Factory from 11 April – 10 June 2023 and funds towards a stipend, materials and production costs. The residency will culminate in a solo exhibition of newly created work at the Bag Factory with a public opening in July 2023.
This year’s award finalists included: Bulumko Mbete, Ciara Dunsby, Catriona Towriss, ivukuvuku, Kuln’Zu, ToscaNeena is, and Lusanda Ndita.
