Art Galleries - South Africa's Thriving Art Scene
If you love art, then you will find that South Africa has a thriving art scene. From traditional artifacts to cutting-edge artistic trends, the country produces virtually every type of art imaginable. Many artists prefer to draw on local sources for inspiration, but others travel overseas and then combine what they have learned at home with what they discover during their travels. The result is a rich artistic feast that will leave every art lover wanting more.
There are several art galleries in South Africa and there is certainly at least one decent art gallery in every city or town. The bigger galleries, such as the South African National Gallery in Cape Town, house some of the best collections in the country. The South African National Gallery also regularly houses collections sent over from other countries, which are displayed in the gallery for a limited period only. The rest of the gallery is used to display artwork from the colonial period to more modern, contemporary works. Its first artworks were acquired in 1871 and today it is thriving, with massive efforts being made to improve the gallery's pre-colonial collections which were depleted during the apartheid regime.
If you wish to take a tour through the artistic halls of time, the best place to start would be one of the many natural ‘galleries’ which dot the country. Caves which once served as home to the nomadic San people are still adorned with their fascinating artistic expressions. A trip to such a cave will usually also afford you the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the South African landscape.
In KwaZulu Natal, the Durban Art Gallery is probably the most outstanding gallery. The Johannesburg Art Gallery serves as the regional gallery for Gauteng, and the King George VI Gallery in Port Elizabeth serves as the regional art gallery for the Eastern Cape. Of course these are not the only galleries in the country. The cities are filled with hundreds of smaller galleries where prints and originals can be bought at varying costs. Some of the country’s universities also house excellent galleries where student artwork is displayed for the benefit of the public.
South Africa is truly a place that excites and inspires and you will see evidence of this in your visits to the many different art galleries around the country. So make sure that you spend some time in at least some of the larger galleries around the country and discover the rich artistic talent that South Africa has to offer.
User Comments & Reviews
2010-02-10 23:49:29
hello!!south africa is oh so most beautiful!
2010-01-20 18:06:33
Hello Judy. Please let me know if you are interested in a guided art tour of South Africa or just in JHB or CT.
2010-01-11 04:48:42
pieter please send me her art work and details
2009-11-19 14:01:11
heck i just re read my comment and realised that my spelling was atrocious
2009-11-18 12:26:13
I have a friend who has been painting for many years and is very talented .she has had no exposure yet and i was hoping that you can help me . i have photographs of her work that i can send you .thanks .pieter.
2009-11-17 14:51:04
as an old man of 75 years age living in cape town and a born and bred durbanite i would like to tell you that i spent many happy hours at the durban art gallery. if i could afford it i would like to make a trip back to durban mainly to the gallery and see the old town hall which i loved, there was a beautiful old painting which i admired of a klerk standing in front of his bosses desk which was piled high with paperwork, the man looked decidedly uncomfortable but beautifully portraid. well i paint and was a friend of john ferguson, who`s simple but effective work i admired and whos philosophy was that he could only where one set of clothing at a time, so money was no object he used to sell his work for 10 pounds whilst other artists of his caliber were asking hundres of pounds for their work. (memory lane.) lol peach
2009-11-10 14:58:56
Thank you for visiting SouthAfrica.com. As we are not directly affiliated with the SA National Art Gallery, could you please visit their official website at : http://www.iziko.org.za/sang/ for additional information. We wish you well with exploring our beautiful country.
2009-11-10 00:11:28
Is There a Guided Tour on Sunday 11th April 2010 for a group from Australia showing the influences that shape African Art today?
2009-10-23 09:07:53
good morning sir\madam i am an art student who would like to exhibite a few artworks(in a form of paintings) or sell some do you have any ideas,please help,
2009-09-18 09:22:42
I have seen alot of Dahla Hulme's art work and i am very interested in it. i would like to find out what it is priced at
2009-09-11 12:02:46
my comment is that art galleries in south afri are far too many to be making good profits therefore we should understand that an art gallery is some thind that we should embrace rather than trying to money out of it by the i am a student at the university of oxford
2009-09-04 17:54:00
i am a student at ukzn and i don't have comments but i want to know what are the opportunities, streng and weaknesses of an art gallery and what are the challenges that you are facing as we are on reccession.
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