Shadow lines on the GFI Art Gallery

I was invited to be the speaker at the first Port Elizabeth #TravelTalk event hosted in Port Elizabeth by Urban-Econ which took place at the GFI Art Gallery this week.  The GFI Gallery, previously known as the Ron Belling Art Gallery, have recently seen a big renovation and expansion and is looking stunning.  If you haven't been recently then it's worth the visit.

Share the Bay through your lens exhibition

I did a presentation at a SACCI meetings at the Athenaeum in Central this morning and grabbed the opportunity to go and have a look at the Share the Bay through your lens exhibition currently on in one of the exhibition rooms.  Share the Bay through your lens is an exhibition hosted by Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism and Colours of You SA and features photos taken in the city by local photographers and Instagrammers and runs the length of September as part of Tourism Month.  I couldn't find any of my own photos although I'm sure I used the tag during the entry period.  Perhaps not.  Who knows.  You get to see my picture here anyway. *Big grin*  Anyhow, if you have a few minutes on your hands, do pop in at the Athenaeum for a look.  The pictures on show are stunning.

Have you ever visited the GFI or Ron Belling Art Galleries?

Do you know any of these two art galleries?  The Ron Belling Art Gallery and the GFI Art Gallery. Perhaps the former sounds familiar.  Not sure about the latter? Well, they are one and the same thing.

The gallery is housed in a landmark Art Deco style building across from St Georges Park on Park Drive.  The building, named "Ridgewood", was commissioned by Axel Stockelbach, then managing director of Ford South Africa, in 1936 and was designed by Gertruida Brinkman, the first woman Architect to qualify in South Africa.  In 1988, Port Elizabeth businessman Philipp Rowland Gutsche bought the house and it was converted into an art gallery to house the Ron Belling Military Aviation Collection of paintings.  Mr Gutsche passed away in 2000 and the Gallery Board is now chaired by his daughter Dorothea Moors.

The gallery was initially called the Ron Belling Art Gallery and the majority of what was on display was part of the Military Aviation Collection.  Two or three years ago it was decided to change the direction of the gallery and not just focus on Ron Belling's art.  The name of the gallery was also changed to GFI (Gutsche Family Investments) Art Gallery.  I made a quick visit to the gallery the other day and had a look around a excellent exhibition that is on at the moment.  My biggest disappointment though was that there wasn't one Ron Belling on display in the whole gallery except for a few prints behind the reception counter.  I really hope that once the additions being made to the gallery is done that a permanent Ron Belling display area will be set aside.

artEC shop

The artEC (EPSAC) Gallery in Central recently opened an art shop selling local art and craft.  Over the last couple of years the gallery has really seen a turnaround with new exhibitions happening just about every few weeks as well as workshops and other activities geared towards the local art community.  The new art shop just adds to their offering and I'm sure I heard a little birdie tell me that there could be a coffee shop opening there at some stage as well.

artEC wall

The colourful and vibrant side wall of the artEC Gallery in Central has really

become one of Central's new landmarks

War Memorial plaque

There are a couple of war memorials around St Georges Park commemorating those from Port Elizabeth who have died in various wars over the years.  A number of them refer to the two World Wars with the most prominent one being the Cenotaph in front of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum.  One of the lesser known ones is a plaque on the front wall of the art museum.

Dessie's at the Tin House

Port Elizabeth has some wonderful art galleries and some outstanding coffee shops, so what would be better than to find a combination between the two.  Dessie's at the Tin House on Cuyler Street in Central is one such a place.  Its a delightful little coffee shop which allows local artists to exhibit (and hopefully sell) their work there.  The shop is situated in an old corrugated iron house which came to South Africa from England in kit form during the 1800's.

artEC exhibition

The EPSAC Community Art Centre, artEC, is the best place to go to see some of the top local established and emerging artists.  They exhibits change every couple of weeks so return visits will always bring you something new.  The gallery can be found in 36 Bird Street, Central.

The guy in the dress

A couple of visitors to the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum trying to grasp an interesting art piece with an old man wearing a dress. Mmmmm, perhaps I should have read the tag to see what its about.

Eye on Art

I was part of a very delightful and well supported art walk which visited a number of art galleries around Central.  The Eye on Art television crew accompanied us on the walk to film it as an insert. Eye on Art is a weekly interactive, lifestyle magazine show on Bay TV, specialising on the art scene through the artist's eye.  It broadcasts on Saturdays at 17:30 with repeats on Sundays at 12.30pm, Tuesdays at 7pm & Wednesdays at 11am.  Bay TV can be seen free to air around Nelson Mandela Bay and on Dstv (Channel 260).  Here they are interviewing on of the ladies who went on the walk at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum.

67 Mandela quotes in beads

The Atheneaum is currently playing host to 67 beaded works of art. The art was commissioned by the Mandela Bay Development Agency and each of the 67 pieces represent a year and a quote by Nelson Mandela. The MBDA is also going to publish a book with pictures of the artwork and the quotes and is also still deciding where the beaded pieces will find a permanent home.

ArtEC mural

The ArtEC gallery in Central is one of those institutions that really go out of their way to support local artists and they have a new exhibition just about every two weeks.  The mural of locals that has been done on the side of the building has become a bit of a landmark in the area and many visitors and passersby stop to have a look at the colourful art piece.

Ron Belling paintings

Visiting the Ron Belling art gallery is always a highlight for me.  His nautical and aviation paintings are absolutely amazing and what makes it even more remarkable is the fact that he was self taught.  Most of his aviation paintings were done against a historic Port Elizabeth background and I love travelling back in time with them.  We are really fortunate that we have such a fantastic collection of his paintings on display in the gallery in Park Drive.

Cafe Ruwach

Richmond Hill has truly become one of the "in" places around Port Elizabeth and looking at the restaurants, cafes and pubs in the area it isn't hard to understand why.  A week or so ago a friend asked me if I've ever been to Cafe Ruwach and on answering no we headed over there straight away for a look.  Cafe Ruwach isn't just an ordinary... Well, it isn't ordinary.  As you enter they have a sign stating the following: "We are not a restaurant, nor a steakhouse or a coffee shop.  We are a cafe'.  A place to socialise with good friends and good food.  Our menu and tastes change often".  And that is what it is.  Actually I would say its so much more than just a regular cafe.  Cafe Ruwach is also an art and craft gallery, boutique and a bit of an antique shop.  I don't think you will ever get bored visiting Cafe Ruwach cause there is always something new to see.

Thobeka

The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum consist of two buildings flanking the main entrance into St Georges Park.  In the foyer of the right hand building the figure of Thobeka welcomes visitors to the gallery.  Thobeka is a work of art by artist Willie Bester and consist of welded recycled metal.  She was purchased by the museum in 2002 and has been on permanent display in the foyer.

Fisher's Gallery

The old Fisher's building in the Port Elizabeth city centre may have close links to Fischer's Jewellers in the city, but isn't used as a jewellery shop anymore.  The old jewellery showroom has been revamped by the owners and is used as a gallery and shop for art, ceramics and glass ware.

Coastal City art exhibition

The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum (previously the King George VI Art Gallery) currently has a very interesting exhibition going called Coastal City.  The majority of the pieces on display are historic and fairly old, but that is what I loved about it.  My favorite painting on display is one done by Thomas Baines in 1853 called "The British Settlers of 1820 Landing in Algoa Bay".

Aya's Ceramic Studio

A lot of artists like to settle somewhere close to the coast, in the mountains, a forest or a little town in the Karoo to draw inspiration from their environment to channel into their art.  Then there are people like Ayanda (Aya) Mji who lives in the heart of the New Brighton township of Port Elizabeth and who draws her inspiration from the African landscape around her.  She uses animals, birds and even her dreams to create some of the most interesting ceramic art you will find anywhere in the beautiful country of ours.  Aya owns the only ceramic studio in Port Elizabeth's townships from where she sells a large range of ceramic art works.  Aya's Ceramic Studio is situated in 90 Gunguluza Street close to the Red Location Museum in New Brighton.  Just in case somebody wants to contact her for more information, her contact number is 041 4543350.

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum

As today is National Heritage Day here in South Africa, I want to feature the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum which is situated at the entrance to St Georges Park. The museum was opened in 1956 and was formerly known as the King George VI Art Gallery. The collections are housed in two buildings flanking the entrance to the park and consist of South African art (particularly that of the Eastern Cape), British art, international printmaking and Oriental art (including Indian miniatures and Chinese textiles).
Limited exhibition space requires the museum to constantly rotate it's Permanent Collection which is also supplemented by an active programme of temporary exhibitions. As the facility is a museum and not a gallery, visitors can't buy art at the museum.

Ron Belling paintings

The Ron Belling Art Gallery on Park Drive is one of my favorite galleries. Ron Belling was a military aviation and marine painter. A great percentage of his paintings were painted with historic Port Elizabeth as background. Belling was a self taught painter and perfected his art and became one of the foremost (if not THE foremost) military aviation painters in South Africa.