By Nangamso Mabindla
17 January 2006

ART will feature prominently on Buffalo City's entertainment calendar this year.

The Ann Bryant Art Gallery has announced its planned exhibitions for the year, kicking off with the annual now Walter Sisulu University (the former Border Technikon) exhibition on February 2. Gallery curator Leon du Preez says this exhibition will give the institution's young graduates an opportunity to showcase their work.

"We want to give them a chance to expose their work before starting their careers in art. Here they have chance to have their work viewed by the art loving public of East London.

"This is an attempt to introduce them to potential customers," Du Preez says. The exhibition closes on Monday, 13 February.

The gallery is also planning an exhibition by one of the city's oldest and most respected artists, Ivan Vincent. "We're planning on having some kind of retrospective on [his] work. We haven't yet decided on the date but it should be between January and February."

Hot on its heels is the annual Absa Atelier Art Competition, which gives South Africa's most exciting young artists a chance to exhibit their work at the gallery.

The competition, which started in 1985, is open to artists aged 21 to 35. "I am looking forward to seeing what's on offer this year, especially after last year's successful exhibition," Du Preez says.

That's not all, though. On 12 May the gallery will open its Slavery Exhibition - and Du Preez is very excited about this exhibition.

"It talks about the slave trade and also celebrates the abolition of slavery - the whole history and consequences. I really am looking forward to having this exhibition in our gallery. I really couldn't believe my ears when I was told that we would be having this exhibition."

Other exhibitions include a retrospective on Hastings Mqhayi's work in June and the annual Santam Child Exhibition in July. "We still have other exhibitions on the pipeline but we need to confirm with the artists."

For more information on these and other events, contact the gallery on 043 722 4044.