Dalro Visual Arts Merit Award calls for applications

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The Dalro Visual Arts Merit Award offers a comprehensive nine-month residency programme. The winning artist will be provided with a working studio for nine months at Ellis House in Johannesburg from 1 June 2024 to 31 March 2025, a materials stipend, framing budget, and a living stipend.

This residency runs concurrently with the Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize Residency, offering a rich schedule of crit-sessions, workshops, and exhibitions throughout the year.

The culmination of this nine month-long journey is the artist’s first solo exhibition, to be held at the prestigious Dalro Gallery in Johannesburg in March 2025. This exhibition will showcase the body of work developed over the residency, offering a platform for the artist to share their vision with the world.

Beyond the creation of art, the programme introduces artists to industry experts who provide invaluable assistance in navigating the complex processes of the art industry. This includes guidance on business registration, financial management, preparation for the secondary market, and working with galleries.

Young artists aged between 21 to 35 are encouraged to submit their applications for the Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize and the Dalro Visual Arts Merit Award by visiting www.bnapfoundation.co.za or www.Dalro.co.za.

A group exhibition will be held at the Dalro offices in Johannesburg to celebrate the birth of this prestigious collaboration. The exhibition titled Motions and Motives will feature artworks by established and mid-career visual artists based in South Africa.

Motives and Motions is an exhibition aimed at creating an actionable mandate between Dalro as a collective management organisation, and the visual arts community as the creators of works of art where copyright laws are seldom enforced and regulated.

The motives of Dalro are clear, to collect royalties on behalf of copyright holders and remunerate them for the use of their work. By collaborating with Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize Foundation, Dalro invites established and mid-career visual artists to protect their works under copyright laws and influence emerging artists to do the same.

Artists are further encouraged to bring forward motions that will positively impact their business operations in alignment with copyright laws. An example of this would be, copyright holders receiving a royalty from the use of their artworks.

Examples of use include an artwork being used as a catalogue, book cover or billboard and an artwork being adapted by another visual artist.

The real question is, how do we make sure that artists continue to benefit from artworks they’ve created even after the artworks have been sold?

This exhibition presents a safe space for artists to voice their concerns of career longevity, legacy and a seat at the table where legalities that will affect their careers are being discussed.

The collaboration between BNAP Foundation and Dalro marks the beginning of Dalro strengthening its ties to the visual arts community and undertaking the responsibility of protecting all artworks under copyright laws.