PRELIMINARY NOTICE OF EXHIBITION: PLANT 2016 - KIRSTENBOSCH

The PLANT exhibition of contemporary botanical art will be held at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Town from 16 - 25 September 2016 and is being organized by BAASA (the Botanical Artists Association of Southern Africa) to celebrate our amazing flora.

This fresh look at contemporary botanical artworks will feature one or two excellent works per artist. The exhibition will not be judged or medals awarded, but there will be a selection process. In addition to the main theme of botanical art, there will be a “Bug Room” with small, affordable works featuring local insects to celebrate biodiversity. Cards and prints by botanical artists will be for sale.

Artists will be asked to submit one or two botanical artworks (not older than three years) featuring Southern African flora and/or any insect paintings they would like to exhibit. Selection will be in Johannesburg and Cape Town in August.

“PLANT – Contemporary Botanical Art at Kirstenbosch”

This exhibition differs from Kirstenbosch Biennale Exhibitions and will look like this:

• PLANT will be an exhibition of top current botanical artworks. It will not be a competition (no judging, no medals).
• Artworks will feature Southern African Flora of the artist's choice.
• Selected works will be required to be framed in simple white moulding to give a fresh contemporary look against the green walls of the Old Mutual Hall.
• One or two botanical artworks per artist may be submitted for selection.
• Works should not be older than three years.
• There will be a Bug Room section, for small framed insect works. Artists may submit works in either botanical or insect sections or both.
• There will be a silent slideshow running on a large screen on the stage during the exhibition, showing photos of artists at work, from field work, classes, sketch books, individual studios etc. These images are to be supplied by BAASA members.
• Cards and prints by botanical artists will be on sale.
• The public may be asked to vote for their favourite painting and the most popular will be given an award or prize.

Some details of how it will work:

• Artworks will be selected by a BAASA panel either in Johannesburg or Cape Town during the first week in August.
• Framed selected works will be transported in one consignment from Johannesburg to Cape Town and unsold work returned the same way, free of charge, by BAASA.
• The opening function will be minimal and all costs will be kept as low as possible.
• There will be an online catalogue only, unless a sponsor can be found to do a printed version.
• Sales of botanical artists’ originals, prints and cards will generate a 30% commission for BAASA to cover costs of hanging, printing, etc.
• BAASA branches will be asked to help fund the basic costs. Any profits generated from commission on sales will help fund future exhibitions.
• Publicity for the exhibition will be largely online (through the SANBI website, the BAASA  blog, online art magazines and artists’ own Facebook pages etc). There will be signage at the entrance to Kirstenbosch and also through print media, wherever possible.
• An email address will be generated for the Exhibition Coordinator (Vicki Thomas) to answer questions and provide further details and documentation.
• Previous submitting artists and buyers will be contacted wherever possible.

To make this exhibition a success, all branches of BAASA will be fully involved and reciprocate in all subsequent major exhibitions. The cost to the individual artists will be kept as low as possible to enable everyone to participate. This is commensurate with the BAASA mission statement "to be a non-profit organisation committed to the promotion and development of botanical art ...."

Artists wishing to participate may obtain further details from the Exhibition Coordinator: plantexhibition@gmail.com. Further information will be posted on the exhibition website.

Prepared by Vicki Thomas Feb 25, 2016

Download a pdf version of this document here.